Western European and Others Group

Group of Western European and Other States
AbbreviationWEOG
Formation1957; 67 years ago (1957)
TypeRegional group
Legal statusActive
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WEOG member and observer states

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 and is composed of 28 Member States mainly from Western Europe, but also from North America, the Eastern Mediterranean, Fennoscandia and Oceania.[1]

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]

  1. ^ Wanza, Serah N. (27 November 2017). "What Are The Five Regional Groups of the United Nations?". Worldatlas. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  2. ^ Agam, Hasmy; Sam Daws; Terence O'Brien; Ramesh Takur (26 March 1999). What is Equitable Geographic Representation in the Twenty-First Century (PDF) (Report). United Nations University. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  3. ^ Volger, Helmut, ed. (2010). A Concise Encyclopedia of the United Nations (PDF). Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. pp. 592–6. ISBN 978-90-04-18004-8. S2CID 159105596. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-01-13.
  4. ^ Götz, Norbert (2008). "Western Europeans and Others: The Making of Europe at the United Nations". Alternatives. 33 (3): 359–81. doi:10.1177/030437540803300305. S2CID 145099552. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  5. ^ "United Nations: Israel & the WEOG". Jewish Virtual Library. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. n.d. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  6. ^ Service, America Times News (October 4, 2022). "Speech by H.E. President José Ramos-Horta of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste at the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly".