Introduction to International Politics

International politics is a very important field of study in political science. On this page you will find a range of links to the foreign affairs departments of governments around the world, international organizations, as well as material on international trade and human rights. 

For information directly related to Canada's foreign policy, connect to the Canadian Foreign Policy and National Defence page of Nelson's Canadian Politics on the Web. 

GOVERNMENT FOREIGN RELATIONS DEPARTMENTS 

Connect to the international relations departments of the following governments: 

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS 

The United Nations was founded in 1945 to promote world peace an security. It is governed by the UN Charter and has two principal chambers for international debate and action, the General Assembly and the Security Council, that are supported by the UN Secretariat. The UN also has a large number of affiliated agencies and organs: 





Other International Organizations

African Union  

Arab League

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)

Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN)

European Union

G-7/8 Information - unofficial site from the University of Toronto 

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

NAFTA Secretariat

North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) 

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Organization of American States

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)

Western European Union



International Judicial Bodies

Court of Justice of the European Union

Inter-American Court of Human Rights

International Court of Justice

International Criminal Court

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)



Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

Amnesty International

Doctors Without Borders - Medecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Earthwatch Institute International

Friends of the Earth

Greenpeace

HateWatch

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) includes the Red Crescent. 

Peace Brigades International

Project Ploughshares

Rainforest Action Network

World Wildlife Federation

HUMAN RIGHTS 

International Human Rights Agencies

African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

The UNHCHR also provides a useful Human Rights Treaty Bodies Database, which offers information on a range of international bodies that monitor human rights treaties. 

A very useful UN site presents links to a wide range of its many sites related to human rights issues, including: 



International Human Rights Documents

United Nations - see the complete list of human rights documents or consult to the following important documents and the list ratifications by country (pdf): 

Universal Declaration of Human Rights - 1948 

International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights - 1966 

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - 1966 

Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - 1966 

Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aiming at the abolition of the death penalty - 1989 

Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples - 1960 

United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination - 1963 

International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination - 1965

International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid - 1973 

Convention against Discrimination in Education - 1960 

Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief - 1981 

Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief - 1992 

Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War - 1949 

Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War - 1949 

Convention (No. 169) concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries - 1989 

UN Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples - 1993 



European Union

European Convention on Human Rights - 1950 (Council of Europe) 

Organization of American States

American Convention on Human Rights

Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic Social and Cultural Rights Protocol of San Salvador Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights to Abolish the Death Penalty Proposed American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 

American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man

Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture

Organization of African Unity

African [Banjul] Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights - 1981 

African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child - 1990 

Addis Ababa Document on Refugees and Forced Population Displacements in Africa - 1994 

Kampala Declaration on Intellectual Freedom and Social Responsibility - 1990 
 
 

Other Human Rights Resource Sites

Center For Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

Center for World Indigenous Studies Home Page

Human Rights Internet - A Human Rights Gateway

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Web

Michigan Refugee Case Law Site

University of Minnesota Human Rights Library

 

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 

Organizations

Asian Development Bank

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)

Inter-American Development Bank

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

NAFTA Secretariat

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

World Bank (IBRD)

World Trade Organization

Documents

Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement

Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement

Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) - information plus draft text 

North American Free Trade Agreement - information plus text of the treaty 

World Trade Agreement (GATT) 1994

Other International Politics Resource Sites 

International Relations - from the University of Keele 

Poly-Cy Guide to International Relations

World Wide Web Virtual Library - international politics resources