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Chapter 16: Parliamentary and Non-Governmental Organisations The Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers (CIOR) The CIOR was founded in 1948 by the Reserve Officer Associations of Belgium, France and the Netherlands. The Confederation now brings together all existing Reserve Officer Associations in NATO countries - 18 in total. The members of these Associations are active as civilians in business, industrial, academic, political and other fields of professional life, in addition to their role as Reserve Officers. They are therefore in a position to contribute to a better understanding of security and defence issues in the population as a whole, as well as bringing civilian expertise and experience to the tasks and challenges facing reserve forces in NATO. CIOR is the abbreviated title of the organisation and is derived from the full name in French "Confédération Interalliée des Officiers de Réserve". The Confederation is a non-political, non-governmental, non-profit-making organisation dedicated to cooperation between the national Reserve Officers Associations of NATO countries and to solidarity within the Atlantic Alliance. The CIOR's principal objectives include working to support the policies of NATO and to assist in the achievement of the Alliance's objectives; maintaining contacts with NATO's military authorities and commands; and developing international contacts between Reserve Officers in order to improve mutual knowledge and understanding. Delegates to the CIOR are elected by their national Reserve Officer Associations. The head of each delegation is a Vice-President of CIOR. The CIOR International President and Secretary General are elected by an Executive Committee. They serve for two years and are members of the same national association. Apart from the President and Secretary General, the Executive Committee consists of the 18 Vice-Presidents and up to four other delegates from each national Association. Voting is on the basis of a single vote cast by each Vice-President on behalf of his delegation. The Executive Committee is the CIOR's policy body and decides which country will assume the presidency, where congresses will be held, what projects will be assumed by the various commissions and the final actions to be taken on these projects. The CIOR is financed by annual subscriptions from its component national associations based on the size of the membership of each association and on subsidies, gifts and legacies. Four permanent commissions and one legal committee work on behalf of the Executive Committee under the guidance of the President. The Commissions are as follows: Commission 1 - Defence Attitudes and Security Issues; Commission 2 - Civil/Military Cooperation; Commission 3 - Communication; Commission 4 - Competitions. The Executive Committee may from time to time appoint a sub-committee or sub-commission to consider specific matters outside the terms of reference of permanent commissions or committees. The CIOR meets on an annual basis in the summer, alternating the location among member countries. It also organises a winter conference for the CIOR Executive Committee and Commissions.