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Non-governmental organization
From Metapedia
A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a legally constituted organization created by private persons or organizations with no participation or representation of any government. In the cases in which NGOs are funded totally or partially by governments, the NGO maintains its non-governmental status insofar as it excludes government representatives from membership in the organization.
Helmut Anheier et al, in the work Global Civil Society, place the number of internationally operating NGOs at 40,000.[1] National numbers are even higher: Russia has 400,000 NGOs.[2] India is estimated to have between 1 and 2 million NGOs.[3]
History
International non-governmental organizations have a history dating back to at least the mid-nineteenth century.[4] They were important in the anti-slavery movement and the movement for women's suffrage, and reached a peak at the time of the World Disarmament Conference.[5] However, the phrase "non-governmental organization" only came into popular use with the establishment of the United Nations Organization in 1945 with provisions in Article 71 of Chapter 10 of the United Nations Charter[6] for a consultative role for organizations which are neither governments nor member states – see Consultative Status. The definition of "international NGO" (INGO) is first given in resolution 288 (X) of ECOSOC on February 27, 1950: it is defined as "any international organisation that is not founded by an international treaty". The vital role of NGOs and other "major groups" in sustainable development was recognized in Chapter 27[7] of Agenda 21, leading to intense arrangements for a consultative relationship between the United Nations and non-governmental organizations.[8]
Globalization during the 20th century gave rise to the importance of NGOs. Many problems could not be solved within a nation. International treaties and international organizations such as the World Trade Organization were perceived as being too centered on the interests of capitalist enterprises. Some argued that in an attempt to counterbalance this trend, NGOs have developed to emphasize humanitarian issues, developmental aid and sustainable development. A prominent example of this is the World Social Forum which is a rival convention to the World Economic Forum held annually in January in Davos, Switzerland. The fifth World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in January 2005 was attended by representatives from more than 1,000 NGOs. Some have argued that in forums like these, NGOs take the place of what should belong to popular movements of the poor. Others argue that NGOs are often imperialist in nature and that they fulfill a similar function to that of the clergy during the high colonial era. Whatever the case, NGO transnational networking is now extensive.[9]
References
- ↑ (Anheier et al, "Global Civil Society 2001", 2001)
- ↑ http://www.voanews.com/uspolicy/archive/2006-01/2006-01-27-voa2.cfm U.S. On Russian N-G-O Law Voice of America 27 January 2006
- ↑ http://www.indianngos.com/ngosection/newcomers/whatisanngo.htm "What is an NGO?" 5 January 2007
- ↑ The Rise and Fall of Transnational Civil Society
- ↑ Davies, Thomas Richard (2007). The Possibilities of Transnational Activism: the Campaign for Disarmament between the Two World Wars. ISBN 978 9004162 58 7.
- ↑ http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter/chapt10.htm
- ↑ http://habitat.igc.org/agenda21/a21-27.htm
- ↑ http://www.un.org/documents/ecosoc/res/1996/eres1996-31.htm
- ↑ Stone, Diane. ‘Transfer Agents and Global Networks in the ‘Transnationalisation’ of Policy’, Journal of European Public Policy, 11(3) 2004: 545-66
