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Abbreviation | WEOG |
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Formation | 1957 |
Type | Regional group |
Legal status | Active |
Politics portal |
The Group of Western European and Other States, also known as the Western European and Other States Group or WEOG, is one of the five United Nations regional groups. It is composed of 28 member states.[1] Most of these are in Western Europe, but the group also includes Australia, Canada, Greece, Israel, New Zealand, and Turkey. The United States and Vatican City participate as observers.
The Group is a non-binding dialogue group where subjects concerning regional and international matters are discussed. Additionally, the Group works to help allocate seats on United Nations bodies by nominating candidates from the region.[2][3][4]
Unlike most other Regional Groups, WEOG is unusual in that geography is not the sole defining factor of its membership. Instead, its membership is based on geopolitical breakdown, being part of the "Western world" of affluent, developed liberal democracies, and are either part of Western Europe or a majority European-descended state, and part of the NATO military alliance and/or the US-led western military-economic community.[5][6]