Page 21 - History of Germany

Library of Congress – Federal Research Division Country Profile: Germany, April 2008

of 5, Group of 7, Group of 8, Group of 10, Inter-American Development Bank, International
Atomic Energy Agency, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International
Chamber of Commerce, International Civil Aviation Organization, International Confederation
of Free Trade Unions, International Criminal Court, International Criminal Police Organization,
International Development Association, International Energy Agency, International Finance
Corporation, International Fund for International Development, International Hydrographic
Organization, International Labour Organization, International Maritime Organization,
International Monetary Fund, International Olympic Committee, International Organization for
Migration, International Organization for Standardization, International Red Cross and Red
Crescent Movement, International Telecommunication Union, Multilateral Investment
Geographic Agency, Nonaligned Movement (guest), North Atlantic Treaty Organization,
Nuclear Energy Agency, Nuclear Suppliers Group, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Organization for Security
and Co-operation in Europe, Paris Club, Permanent Court of Arbitration, United Nations (UN),
UN Conference on Trade and Development, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UN Industrial Development Organization,
UN Monitoring, Verification, and Inspection Commission, Universal Postal Union, West African
Development Bank (nonregional), Western European Union, World Customs Organization,
World Health Organization, World Intellectual Property Organization, World Meteorological
Organization, World Tourism Organization, World Trade Organization, and Zangger Committee.

Major International Treaties: In the area of arms control, Germany is a party to the Biological
Weapons Convention, Chemical Weapons Convention, Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty, Limited
Test Ban Treaty, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Ottawa Convention on Land Mines, and
Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. Regarding the environment, Germany is a
party to the conventions on Air Pollution, Air Pollution–Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution–Sulphur
85, Air Pollution–Sulphur 94, Air Pollution–Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic–
Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change–Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of
the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, and Whaling. Germany has signed, but not ratified,
the convention on Air Pollution–Persistent Organic Pollutants. In the area of human rights,
Germany is a party to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhumane, and Degrading
Treatment or Punishment, Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against
Women, Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, Convention on
the Rights of the Child, International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant
Workers, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and International Covenant on
Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Germany also has ratified the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court.

NATIONAL SECURITY

Armed Forces Overview: Germany is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO). In 1999 Germany participated in an armed conflict for the first time since World War
II during NATO’s intervention in Kosovo. Previously, Germany made a token military

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