International organizations are often divided into Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The book, Guide to IGOs, NGOs, and the Military in Peace and Relief Operations (Hol Ref JZ4850.A17 2000) provides the following explanations: an IGO is formed "when two or more governments sign a multilateral treaty to form such a body and agree to finance its operations." An NGO is a "private, self-governing, not-for-profit organization" which is "dedicated to the service and protection of those sectors of society that tend to be unserved or underserved by governments and other official institutions such as the United Nations."

The Union of International Associations divides International Organizations into 3 categories: Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs), Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs), and provides definitions.

The  links on this page are divided into IGOs and NGOs.

Directories

Links to IGOs (Northwestern University Library)   A list of IGOs with web sites.

United Nations Directory (alpha list)    A "portal to web sites of the United Nations, its funds and programmes, and specialized agencies. It also includes links to key projects and initiatives and to various joint programmes of the UN System."

Search Engines

Google Intergovernmental Organizations Custom Search Engine  A custom search of hundreds of intergovernmental organization web pages

Non-Governmental Organizations Custom Search Engine  A custom search of hundreds of non-governmental organization web pages.

United Nations Information

The United Nations publications are available on the website Official Documents of the United Nations (1993-  ).   The Media Materials & Reserves unit houses the Index to UN Documents and Publications CD-ROM (JX1977.A18 I53x) indexing documents from 1948-present which are full-text in the Readex microfiche collection (JX 1977 .A2, cabinet 18) in the Holland Microforms Rm.

For more about United Nations information see the WSU Libraries Guide United Nations.

Directories

Associations Directory (American Society of Association Executives)

WANGO (World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations)  Search their directory of NGO's by region and then by country and/or activity. WANGO also offers documents and resources for administrators of NGO's.

NGO List (Duke University Libraries)  Provides region, subject, affiliation, country and a link to the home page of the organization

Search Engines

Non-Governmental Search Engine    Searched are web pages of NGOs with Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, sites listed on the University of Minnesota Human Rights Library, the Duke University Libraries' NGO Research Guide, and the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (WANGO).

State NGOs

State Associations and Organizations (American Society of Association Executives) Limit to state name in the State/Province search box