abrogation--in international relations and negotiations, to formally terminate or end a treaty or agreement.

Abuja Declaration--a statement, issued at a meeting of the Organization for African Unity (OAU) in Abuja, Nigeria in April 2001, committing African leaders to responsibility for promoting awareness and respect for persons suffering from HIV-AIDS.  

Acid rain--precipitation with a high nitric or sulfuric acid content, caused largely by the emissions from coal-fired power plants. Acid rain is highly damaging to ecosystems, even those located far downwind of the source of the emissions.

Acute hunger--The most severe form of hunger, in which a person or people are on the verge of death from a lack of food.

Anarchy/anarchic--A type of system in which there is no central rule-making or decision-making authority, and no central authority present to enforce any rules or decisions.  This system is also known as a "self-help" system, meaning those members of the system are "on their own" to make and enforce decisions. This is one common portrayal of the international system.

Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM Treaty)--A treaty signed between the U.S. and USSR in 1972 (and still in effect) which, among other things, legally prevents the development of a comprehensive anti-ballistic missile defense system. 

antibiotics--a medicine or chemical that can destroy harmful bacteria in the body or limit their growth. Antibiotics the first line of defense used in combating most types of disease, but are ineffective in fighting the AIDS virus.

antibodies--a protein produced in the blood which fights diseases by attacking and killing harmful bacteria. HIV typically overwhelms the body's capacity to produce the necessary antibodies to fight it.

arable--land that is fertile and capable of supporting crops for food production.

asylum--a safe haven for people who have fled their country due to war, famine, persecution, disease, etc.

autarky--a condition of economic self-sufficiency for a nation, in which that country is isolated from external economic obligations or interactions.

authoritarian--a system of government in which top government officials in a country exercise complete and total control over that country.  Citizens of the country do not have any power or influence over the make-up of the government or its decisions or actions.

balance of power--the belief that peace and security results from an equal amount of power being distributed among countries (or groups of allied countries), leaving no country or alliance significantly more powerful than the others.

ballistic missile defense (BMD)--a system designed to protect against enemy attack by ballistic missiles. A ballistic missile is a missile that is powered as it rises, then falls freely on its target, detonating some type of destructive device ("warhead") at impact.

Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO)--organization affiliated with the U.S. Department of Defense which oversees the development and integration of new missile and weapons technologies into a planned missile defense program.  The BMDO provides a bridge between the Department of Defense, other federal agencies, major research institutions, and the private sector.

Beijing + 5 Conference--A conference convened in June 2000 to review the progress achieved and obstacles encountered five years after the signing of the Beijing Platform for Action at the Fourth World Conference on Women. 

Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action--two separate and imporant outcomes of the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, China in 1995. The Beijing Declaration expressed the need to advance the goals of equality, development and peace for all women everywhere, following up with more specific expressions of areas for concern. The Beijing Platform for Action is an agenda aimed primarily at removing all the obstacles to women's active participation in public and private life through a full and equal share in economic, social, cultural and political decision-making.

Berlin Mandate—international declaration in 1995 calling on the developed countries to set strong, specific, and binding greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for themselves in order to address the global climate change problem.

bilateral--direct interactions between two countries. For example, bilateral foreign aid is aid given from one country directly to another; for another, bilateral trade is trade in goods and services directly (and only) between two countries.

biodiversity--the variety of the world's organisms, including their genetic diversity and the forms this diversity takes. Biodiversity is a term often used to describe the natural biological wealth supporting human life and well-being, reflecting the interrelatedness of genes, species, and ecosystems.

"Brain Drain"—the movement of intellectuals and trained workers from the poorer developing countries to the developed countries of North America and Europe, in seeking better career opportunities and higher standards of living.

bureaucratic inertia--a common term in the study of government and public administration; bureaucratic inertia is often used in a derogatory sense to refer to the slow pace of large and highly complex organizations (bureaucracies) in accomplishing their tasks. While sometimes organizations suffer from bureaucratic inertia because of workers' low productivity, bureaucratic inertia more often than not results from the many rules, regulations, policies, and procedures that public and governmental organizations legally have to follow.

capitalism--an economic (not political or governmental) system that favors and requires a free market, competition, and private (as opposed to governmental) ownership of the means of production (i.e., businesses). Capitalism is encouraged among developed countries because it harnesses competition, innovation, and consumer spending to fuel economic growth.  Capitalism is sometimes resisted in lesser developed countries (LDCs) because poverty and corruption often prevent capitalism from working properly and, it is felt by some, often makes these conditions worse.

carbon sinks--the use of natural biomass to absorb carbon dioxide (CO2, a greenhouse gas) out of the air. It is thought that carbon sinks can moderate the rate and reduce the ultimate impacts of climate change resulting from human-generated emissions of CO2.  

carrying capacity--the finite amount of life (plant, animal, and human combined) that can be supported by any ecosystem. 

centrally planned economies—an economy where the government sets and attempts to control what goods and services will be produced and consumed (and when); refers primarily to the communist-era economies of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

child labor—as defined by ILO Convention 138, "any economic activity performed by a person under the age of 15." However, certain kinds of child labor (like family farm work) are considered acceptable.

Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)--created as part of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, the CDM is an attempt to lower the overall cost of reducing greenhouse gas emissions released to the atmosphere by allowing developed countries to invest in low-cost reduction opportunities in developing countries and receive credit for the resulting emissions reductions (which they can apply against their own reduction targets).

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)--an international bill of rights for women, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979. The CEDAW defines what constitutes discrimination against women--basically, the restriction or nullification of basic rights and freedoms on the basis of gender alone--and sets up an agenda for countries to follow in order to end such discrimination. The CEDAW currently has 168 signatories.

Convention 138—an international agreement passed by the UN’s International Labor Organization (ILO) in 1973; the principal international standard against child labor.

Convention 182—drafted in 1999; calls on countries to take measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the "worst" forms of child labor (which have not yet been defined).

Convention on the Rights of the Child—adopted in 1989 by the UN General Assembly; follows up on the Declaration on the Rights of the Child by outlining accepted rights for all persons under the age of 18.

cultural destabilization—the process where one dominant culture or way of life, (including language, customs, dress, etc.) is affected by the introduction of a different culture or cultures. This happens most frequently through immigration, and is seen as a negative change in countries with strongly held cultural identities.

cultural imperialism--an attempt to impose or favor one culture over others through a subtle form of domination over prevailing cultural practices, often through use of media images and manipulation and societal pressure. 

culture--the values, norms, and practices of a group of people that are passed on in whole or part from one generation to the next.

debt bondage—an arrangement in which children are forced to work to pay off a family debt. This is a major focus of human rights advocates working to combat child labor.

debt-for-nature swap—financial transaction in which an organization or nation interested in environmental conservation acquires debt from a foreign country, and then agrees to pay off the debt if the country will commit some of its own resources to conservation.

de facto discrimination--discrimination (based on a person's race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc.) faced by that person or group in the daily conduct of everyday life in a particular society that is not supported or mandated by the laws of that society.  Sexual harassment in the workplace in most Western nations would be an example of de facto discrimination.

de jure discrimination--discrimination (based on a person's race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc.) faced by a person or group that is supported or mandated by the laws of that society.  The "Jim Crow" laws in the American south at the turn of the century would be an example of de jure discrimination.

deterrence--a logic which dominated nuclear and security relations between the Cold War superpowers (the U.S. and the USSR). A highly simplified version of nuclear deterrence goes like this: Country A tells Country B that if Country B does some action "X", Country A will attack Country B with nuclear weapons. The theory is that Country B will be deterred from (avoid doing) action "X" because of its fear of nuclear attack by Country A. The key for deterrence to work is that the leaders of Country B must also believe that Country A has nuclear weapons and really will use them if action "X" is carried out. Proponents of deterrence believe that it works in the long run even if both Country A and Country B have nuclear weapons, because not only will Country A's weapons deter Country B's actions, but Country B's weapons will deter Country A's actions as long as both sides believe the other side really has the weapons and is willing to use them.

developed countries—also referred to as "industrialized countries" "EDCs" or "the North", this term refers to the more affluent nations of the world, located mainly in North America and Western Europe. These countries have extremely productive economies and high standards of living compared to the majority of the world.

developing countries—also referred to as "less developed countries (LDCs)" or "the South", this term refers to the poorer nations of the world, located mainly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. These countries have much higher poverty rates and much lower standards of living than the U.S. and other Western countries.

"digital divide"--in a global sense, "digital divide" refers to the tremendous disparity in access to technolgoy between the small minority of developed countries who are highly technological and the vast majority of developing nations that are technologically underdeveloped. This gap pertains to items such as personal computers and Internet access, but also includes simpler technologies like telephones.  ("Digital divide" was a term first used to refer to the disparity in access to computer technology between the rich on the one hand, and the poor and minority groups on the other, in the United States)

Digital Opportunity Task Force ("dot force")--a task force established at the Group of Eight (G-8) summit in Okinawa, Japan in 2000 to address the international disparity in access to technology. The "dot force" is considered innovative in that it seeks to bring public, private, and non-governmental sources together to address this problem.

direct foreign investment--investment by a foreign corporation directed at an existing company located abroad, or to establish a new country abroad.

disarmament--an effort seeking agreements among countries to reduce or eliminate certain weapons of mass destruction.

drug resistance—situation where a standard drug used to treat a disease has lost its effectiveness as a result of some change in the disease or the way it is contracted. This is a growing problem in fighting most of the world’s major diseases.

drug therapy--in the context of HIV-AIDS, the use of expensive drug "cocktails" (or combinations of powerful, and sometimes experimental, drugs) to fight off the deadly symptoms of the full-blown disease.  Drug therapy, given the scarce and experimental nature of the drugs used, is extremely expensive and therefore almost unknown outside the wealthier nations of the world.

Duma--the Russian Parliament, re-constituted after the end of the Cold War in 1991-92.

"either-or approach"--a term, often used in political science, to describe the process of characterizing a problem as having only one possible solution.  Someone can be called an advocate of an "either-or approach" if they tell you that you must solve a problem by doing "X", or "Y", but not both, a combination of both, or anything else.

emissions trading—market-based, economic approach to greenhouse gas reduction. In emissions trading, a country that has met a pre-established target for emissions sells or transfers its "rights to pollute" to another country who is over their target.

environmental "double-standards"—an accusation by the developed countries that poorer countries support strong environmental protection standards for the developed countries which they themselves do not have to follow.

epidemic--the appearance of a particular disease in a large number of people in the same period of time.

European Union—The Western European regional organization established by the Maastricht Treaty in 1983. This organization is designed to promote political and economic integration among European nations. The EU is the latest in a series of efforts at European cooperation beginning in the 1950’s.

factors of production--a term in economics referring to the main inputs of economic production (or output).  The three main factors of production are capital, labor, and land/natural resources.

Framework Convention on Climate Change—an agreement passed at the "Rio Earth Summit" of 1992.  The Convention's objective is to cut back on human sources of climate change. It has met five times and has called for larger and more enforceable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from industrialized countries.

gender gap--the difference that exists between males and females in access to some social good or benefit based solely on their difference in gender (a difference almost always in favor of men).  For example, the gender gap in education refers to the increased likelihood of better educational opportunity and achievement for males than females in most societies.

genocide--any acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.

global climate change—also known as the "greenhouse effect." This term refers to major predicted shifts in the global climate as a result of high levels of greenhouse gas pollution such as carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere. Global climate change results largely from the consumption of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas).

"global commons"—a term used by environmentalists and others to describe the relationship of the global environment and human activity. "Global commons" recognizes that the ecosystem is shared by all and implies that there is a common responsibility to maintain it.

"Greenhouse Effect"—see "global climate change"

greenhouse gases--any gas contributing to the production and retention of heat in the Earth's atmosphere. The primary greenhouse gas in excess in the Earth's atmosphere is carbon dioxide, which results in large part from the human consumption of carbon-based fossil fuels.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—a measure of income within a country, excluding their earnings from commerce with other nations. GDP is widely used as a way to evaluate economic development and compare standards of living between nations.

Group of Eight (G-8)--A forum for the world's eight largest industrialized nations--Italy, France, Germany, Britain, the United States, Japan, Canada and Russia--to meet on a regular basis to discuss, debate, and potentially coordinate economic and social policies. The latest meeting of the G-8 was in July 2001 in Genoa, Italy and was the subject of massive street demonstrations and protests.

hegemony—dominance or controlling behavior by one actor; in international relations, hegemony refers to dominance exercised by one nation or bloc of nations on others in order to gain an advantage.

HIV-AIDS-- a term referring to the two stages of the world's most serious immune system disease, a disease which can be contracted through sexual contact, blood transfusion, or other situations in which bodily fluids are transferred from an infected to a non-infected person. HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) refers to the contraction and incubation stage of the virus, in which the disease destabilizes and destroys the infected person's immune system. This stage often goes undetected in a person unless tested. AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) refers to the full onset of the disease, in which the immune system essentially stops functioning and the person falls ill from any of a variety of diseases which the body is no longer able to fight off.

"homeland defense"--a term coined in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States; basically refers to the protection of a nation's territory and borders from external attack.  "Homeland defense" in its current usage refers not only to the use of a nation's military and law enforcement for basic protection, but also to increased surveillance and alterations in civil liberties and freedom of movement within a country.

human rights—refers to some standard of basic treatment which all humans should expect. This is a widely debated term with no widely agreed on definition. It can refer to basics such as food and shelter, or be expanded to include political freedom, economic opportunity, etc.

immune system--the human body's inherent ability, through the use of antibodies and white blood cells, to fight off pathogens leading to illness and disease. HIV/AIDS attacks the body's immune system, making a person more vulnerable to disease and less able to fight it off.

immunization—programs of treatment against major preventable diseases with drug vaccines, usually carried out in young children age 5 and under.

Industrial Revolution--a time of dramatic change from the mid 18th to late 19th century, where production transitioned from hand tools and handmade items to products which were mass produced by machines. Workers became more productive, and goods became more widely available. However, pollution increased and working conditions were harmful.

Infectious and communicable diseases—diseases which can be transmitted from one person to another, either directly or through a intermediary such as a mosquito, polluted water source, etc.

Information and Communications Technology (ICT)--a term of wide usage in the international community referring to technology concerned with speeding and facilitating the exchange and distribution of information. Although ICT in advanced industrialized countries is generally used to refer to Internet and computer-based technology, on a global scale ICT also includes satellite links and telegraph, facsimile, and even things taken for granted in the developed world such as telephone access. 

inheritance rights--the inherited claim of an individual to land, wealth, or some other material benefit belonging to his or her forebears. Women are routinely denied inheritance rights in many societies, therefore making it impossible for them to claim property or income belonging to deceased family members.

interceptor missiles--in the latest version of the United States' national missile defense system as proposed by President Bush, interceptor missiles will be heavily relied on to track and "shoot down" enemy missiles crossing into protected air space. This is commonly referred to in the defense industry as "hitting a bullet with a bullet", and its technological feasibility is the subject of debate between supporters and opponents of NMD.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)—a team of the world's foremost climate change scientists, commissioned by the U.N. to monitor and research the world’s changing climate.

International Telecommunications Union (ITU)--headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the ITU is an international organization which governments and the private sector use to coordinate global telecommunications networks, services, and policies.

Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)—a program created by the United Nations in 1987 to look at ways in which health professionals and other public officials can fight against the worldwide spread of AIDS.

Kyoto Protocol—term used in reference to a compromise reached in Kyoto, Japan in December 1997 on greenhouse gas reduction. In Kyoto, 38 industrialized countries reached a binding agreement to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases to below-1990 levels by 2012.

Lome Declaration--A declaration approved at the Third Conference of African National Human Rights Institutions held in Lome, Togo in March 2001 which urged African nations to: (a) ensure that their laws, policies, and practices respect human rights in the context of those affected by HIV/AIDS; (b) promote more effective programs for AIDS prevention; and (c) improve the quality and access to care and medication. 

marginalization--often used in an economic or political sense to refer to the rendering of an individual, an ethnic or national group, or a nation-state powerless by a more powerful individual, ethnic or national group, or nation-state. Marginalized persons, groups, or countries have little power or control over their destinies.

market economies—an economic system where supply and demand are determined largely by the fortunes of "the market" (the collective preferences of producers and consumers in the economy).

market mechanisms--used in economics and political science to refer to attempts at capturing the power of the profit motive and self-interest to attain socially desirable goals. For example, many current proposals for dealing with the global climate change problem have suggesting using market mechanisms in order to make it profitable for individual consumers and business interests to choose "green" options.

mass migration—movement of large numbers of people from one place to another, usually triggered by some event such as war or famine.

moral framework—an outline for thinking about an issue or problem as "right" or "wrong", "good" or "bad".

multinational corporations (MNCs)—private companies with branches or subsidiaries in more than one country.

multisectoral approaches--refers to the blending of the public and private sector, as well as sub-sectors of each, in developing approaches to social problems.

national interest—a generally held belief by citizens of a nation about what is "good" for that nation. For example, it would be in a country’s national interest to have stable borders, and against it’s national interest to have borders which are not respected.

National Missile Defense (NMD)--a system proposed by the United States to detect, intercept and destroy ballistic missiles in protected airspace, before they hit their targets. Though it has a long history as a policy proposal, NMD has reached the peak of its popularity in the first year of the Bush Administration. It is opposed by most U.S. allies and other nations.

neo-imperialist--a term often used by critics in LDCs of the policy approaches of the world's wealthiest and most powerful nations to developing world issues, based on the legacy of imperialism. For instance, human rights criticisms of the social and cultural practices of developing nations issued by EDCs and international organizations are often themselves criticized for being "neo-imperialist", meaning they reflect an attempt to control and dominate the world's poorer nations.

non-governmental organizations (NGOs)—international organizations with private memberships, often organized around a particular issue such as environmental protection or human rights.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)—an economic agreement between Canada, the United States, and Mexico that went into effect in 1994. It seeks to eliminate trade barriers between these countries, and to reduce most restrictions on foreign investment and financial transactions among them by 2009.

nuclear disarmament--the gradual reduction of nuclear weapons, toward the eventual goal of total elimination of all forms of nuclear arms.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)--a landmark international treaty with the objective of preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, promoting co-operation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and furthering the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament. As of January 2000, a total of 187 parties had joined the Treaty, including the five nuclear-weapon States. 

Organization of African Unity (OAU)--established on May 25, 1963, at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with the purposes of promoting the unity and solidarity of the African States, defending the sovereignty of members, eradicating all forms of colonialism, and promoting international support for the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

pandemic--a disease existing in almost all of an area or in almost all of a group of people, animals or plants 

patriarchal--a society characteristically controlled by men in which men use their power to their own personal and social advantage 

political efficacy--the ability of an individual or group to exercise power and attain goals and objectives within the confines of the political system.  

portability--the ability to be carried around easily; the portability of personal computers, for example, makes them easy to use, distribute, and carry

promiscuity--personal sexual conduct involving a high number of different sexual partners or sexual relationships

re-emergence—an outbreak of a disease once thought to have been under control or eradicated.

Rumsfeld Report--a 1998 report officially titled "The Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat" and issued by a special commission chaired by now-U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. This report was generally seen as highly supportive of the adoption of an expansive NMD system by the U.S.

sexual harassment--any conduct of a perceived sexual nature making a person anxious, unhappy, or uncomfortable. Sexual harassment is especially frequent in societies or situations that are heavily male-dominated, although sexual harassment is truly about power imbalance rather than gender and can be perpetrated by females against males.

social welfare state—nations with a high degree of government spending on social programs that provide income support, subsidized health care and education, retirement benefits, etc. The Western European democracies are generally regarded as the largest social welfare states.

sovereignty—Political independence of a state from any "higher authority" or outside intrusion; in theory, sovereignty gives a state equality and legitimacy in the world system.

stigma--a deep feeling that other people do not respect you or have a good opinion of you. Cultural and social stigmas are especially powerful, and can leave people feeling marginalized and powerless in their immediate surroundings.

Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START)--Nuclear arms control discussions and agreements between the United States and the USSR (now Russia) that began in the 1980s; has produced agreements in 1991 and 1997 on the reduction rather than the elimination of nuclear arsenals. START III remains unfinished and may hinge on U.S. plans to pursue an extensive NMD system.

sub-Saharan Africa--huge region of Africa south of the Sahara desert, encompassing about 2/3rds of the African continent's landmass and the vast majority of its people.

Taliban--fundamentalist Islamic clerics currently controlling approximately 90% of Afghanistan; the Taliban have achieved worldwide notoriety for their drastic imposition of their own severe interpretation of Islamic law on the Afghan society, and have been the subject of widespread international criticism for human rights abuses and their treatment of women.

theater missile defense--the defense of regions or limited subsets of airspace within a ballistic missile defense program, rather than the national or possibly multi-national system currently proposed by the Bush Administration. Theater missile defense was envisioned by the first Bush and Clinton Administrations as more technically feasible and more effective than a national system.

Umbrella Group--a bloc of nations including the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada, and Australia, which has emerged in the various rounds of COP negotiations, and supports emissions trading and emissions credits for financing reductions abroad ("market mechanisms") to promote cost-effectiveness.

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)—an agency created by the United Nations General Assembly to promote the protection of children's rights and to assist in meeting their basic needs. UNICEF’s position is that the survival, protection and development of children are essential to human progress.

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED, or Rio Earth Summit)—a meeting held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992 to discuss the world’s most serious environmental problems and the relationship between the environment and economic and social development.

United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)--a United Nations organization promoting women's empowerment and gender equality, and dedicated to ensuring the participation of women in all levels of development planning and practice.

United Nations Development Program (UNDP)--the UN's principal provider of development advice, advocacy and grant support. UNDP has six priority practice areas: Democratic Governance; Poverty Reduction; Crisis Prevention and Recovery; Energy and Environment; Information and Communications Technology; and HIV/AIDS. In addition, UNDP has expressed interest in promoting both cooperation between LDCs and the empowerment of women.

United Nations General Assembly—the "lower" chamber of the United Nations, which includes all UN member countries and deals with all issues brought before the UN. It operates on a "one nation/one vote" system.

United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS--A UN umbrella organization co-sponsored by six international agencies, designed to lead, strengthen and support an expanded response to the AIDS epidemic. UNAIDS is particularly concerned with: preventing the spread of HIV; providing care and support for those infected and affected by the disease; reducing the vulnerability of individuals and communities to HIV/AIDS; and alleviating the socioeconomic and human impact of the epidemic.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)—the United Nations attempt at guaranteeing a set of individual, social, economic, and political rights for all people in the world community.

Vienna Declaration and Program of Action--landmark Declaration passed at the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna; proclaimed that it is the "duty and responsibility of States to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems." 

virus--a very small organism, smaller than a bacterium, which causes disease in humans, animals and plants. HIV is a virus.

weapons of mass destruction--generally perceived by the international community to be nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons.  Weapons of mass destruction, because of their extensive destructive force, are generally reviled by peace activists and are usually subjected to some level of international legal restriction.

World Bank—a collection of international agencies that provide capital and technical assistance to developing countries for economic and social development projects.

World Health Organization (WHO)—a specialized agency of the United Nations with 191 member states; promotes technical cooperation for health among nations and carries out programs to control and eradicate disease.

WHO International Health Regulations (IHR)—in force since 1971, these regulations help monitor and control a handful of serious diseases which have the potential to spread between countries.