Summary: Working Group on Civil Society in International Organizations Cooperation

UN System and the Charter’s Aims

This session was the first in a series focusing on the cooperation between civil society and the United Nations (UN). Chair Edith Ballantyne of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom noted that Article 71 of the UN Charter specifically states that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have the right to participate in the activities of the UN. She observed that it was necessary for NGOs to understand the UN system, in order to make use of opportunities available to them and also to work towards increasing the level of NGO involvement. She introduced two speakers, one from a UN organization and one from the NGO community, to provide an overview of existing avenues for NGO involvement at the UN. 

Mr. Tony Hill of the UN’s Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS) talked about the importance of demystifying the UN system for NGOs, so that they are able to get their issues onto the UN agenda. NGLS, which was established in 1975, provides advice and produces numerous publications to explain UN processes and procedures, specifically tailored to the NGO community. NGLS deals with the full range of issues that concern the NGO community, including development work, democratization, women’s reproductive rights, peace and disarmament, human rights and many others.

Mr. Hill stated that because NGOs have a level of expertise and often conduct work not covered by the UN, they are critical to the success of UN programs and initiatives. He cited human rights being monitored by various NGOs as an example of this.
Mr. Hill observed that NGOs have become significant players internationally on diverse issues and that the NGO presence at the UN has grown in the last ten years. He attributed this in part to a number of important UN conferences in the 1990s, which resulted in valuable relationship-building between UN agencies and NGOs and created more opportunities for participation. Another shift, he noted, is that social movements in developing countries are now lobbying the UN, preferring to work directly with UN organizations rather than being mediated by existing NGOs. As a result of these trends, many UN organizations are moving to update their legislation on working with non-state agencies.

Other trends in the UN’s cooperation with civil society include multi-stakeholder dialogues, such as those going on in preparation for the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg; public-private partnerships, such as the vaccination initiatives involving pharmaceutical companies, NGOs, the World Health Organization and individual governments; and multi-stakeholder initiatives, such as the anti-tobacco campaign and ongoing work on corporate accountability and responsibility through the Global Reporting Initiative.

Ms. Renate Bloem, the President of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations (CONGO), opened by stating that due to various challenges to NGO participation in UN activities, such as the efforts by some governments to undermine NGO involvement, it is very important to have civil society and NGO representation at the UN to ensure that the charter-based rights of NGOs are respected.

She pointed out that it was due to NGO influence that governments included Article 71 in the creation of the UN Charter in 1945, though at that time only international NGOs were allowed to participate. After the end of the cold war and the resulting flow of democracy, NGOs increased pressure on the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to accommodate non-international NGOs. Finally, in 1996, new resolutions by ECOSOC allowed national-level NGOs to be given consultative status, which is the designation for NGOs who may participate in UN activities.

CONGO was formed in 1948 to ensure that NGOs with consultative status have the fullest possible opportunities for consultative functions, and it is in turn consulted by UN agencies on issues relating to NGOs. It also fosters alliances between NGOs through dialogue and outreach and training activities. Following a focus on African NGOs in 2001 to increase their visibility, there is a focus on Asian NGOs in 2002.

NGO perception that UN works too closely with private sector
Mr. Hill noted that there is an increasing perception by NGOs that the UN is working too closely with the private business sector, which NGOs see as a violation of UN principles. He thinks that as a result, there is a growing disenchantment with the UN as a forum for pro-public policy.

One participant observed that business interests are getting involved in UN activities by taking places designated for NGOs and that this is decreasing the opportunity for real NGOs to be heard, for example at the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development. Ms. Bloem agreed that this is a problem and that there needs to be a separate designation for the private sector. She also said that it is important for NGOs and the private sector to work together on issues of common concern.

Accreditation of NGOs to the UN
Ms. Bloem observed that it is a government committee that decides which NGOs are given consultative status. While there are currently 2154 NGOs with consultative status, there are 800 still waiting, and it is only gradually that the diversity of these NGOs is increasing to include smaller organizations and more from developing nations.

A participant asked if CONGO is changing its mandate by creating regional focus areas. Ms. Bloem responded quite emphatically that CONGO continues to serve and represent all regions and all NGOs, but that the focus areas were designed to increase the visibility of NGOs from traditionally underrepresented regions.

Another participant said that there is a lack of consistency with NGO access to the UN and also wondered whether Article 71 was designed to keep NGO input at ECOSOC and out of the General Assembly. Mr. Hill said he thought that when Article 71 was created, many NGOs were of an economic and social nature and that was why ECOSOC was named as the body to consult with NGOs. Ms. Bloem agreed that sometimes NGOs are able to attend sensitive negotiations between governments and yet sometimes are not even allowed into the building where meetings are taking place. Both Mr. Hill and Ms. Bloem said that in order for change to occur, NGOs need to create coalitions with like-minded governments on specific issues, sometimes even bringing issues away from the UN (as occurred with the Landmines Convention) before bringing them back again.

Conclusions
Both presenters concluded that civil society has a critical role to play in enriching the work of the UN and also in monitoring the commitments made by governments at the UN, particularly as those governments often work on four-year mandates but may make longer-term promises. Mr. Hill described the participating NGO community as a “loyal opposition”, in that it supports the work of the UN, but also acts as its critic. The chair closed by saying that there are many levels of the UN at which to be heard, as well as a growing need to increase accommodation for the many voices representing civil society.

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