NGO Rights and Responsibilities: A New Deal For Global Governance

Submitted by crinadmin on

The rise of NGOs is seen by many as one of the most important
democratising forces of recent decades, bringing with it the hope
of spreading participation,north-south links, and protection of
human rights. The non-governmental sector is now conceived as
a vital contributor to a healthy civil society -
increasingly seen as the essential glue of good societies,
functioning markets, the conditions for democracy and a vital
voice in holding power to account.

But NGOs themselves are now face increasing scrutiny - they are
grappling with the problems of success. Questions are asked -
often by developing countries Governments - about the
legitimacy, accountability and integrity of NGOs. Who do they
speak for and are they in touch with those they claim to
represent? Are they internally efficient and do they put their
funds to use in a way that the public would approve of? Are they
more preoccupied with maintaining
their market share than cooperating with one another and
getting the message across

Are they really the key force for emerging global democracy - or
simply the new form of Western imperialism? The danger is that
there will be a stand-off between NGOs, governments and
international organisations - seeking to allocate blame, for
example, when the Seattle WTO talks failed, instead of finding
new ways to reconstruct global cooperation so that all of those
who could contribute to shared objectives of development,
democracy and healthy societies have a
voice.

Michael Edwards argues that if we want global cooperation to
work, it is not enough to have simply become aware of the
shortcomings of NGOs. His pamphlet seeks
to break through the current impasse to examine what the new
rules of the road are. Michael Edwards is Director of Governance
at the Ford Foundation. He was previously Senior Civil Society
Specialist at the World Bank. He writes in a personal capacity and
his views should not be taken as those of the Ford Foundation.

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Owner: Michael Edwards in Association with NCVO

Organisation: 
Save the Children UK
Tags: 
Reporting to and monitoring the CRC

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