Global Policy Forum

2000

Secretary General Kofi Annan has called NGOs the "conscience of humanity" and "essential partners of the United Nations." NGOs unquestionably can bring progressive advocacy, democratic oversight and much-needed accountability to the deliberations of the UN and other global institutions. NGOs are often way ahead of governments in their thinking and their advocacy goals.

But NGOs are very diverse and not all are equally laudable or accountable. Action on the NGO issue must make distinctions and remain conscious of the limits of NGOs as democratic and representative voices.

GPF's program on NGOs has two goals: to analyze NGOs' role in global policy making and to promote responsible NGO access to the global policy arena.

GPF provided world-class information and analysis on NGOs through the web site. During the year, we posted more than two hundred articles and documents on a wide range of NGO issues, including the legal status of NGOs (NGO independence is threatened or even impossible in a number of countries).

We also considered the debate about whether NGOs are democratic and representative and we looked at the nature of NGO funding and how it affects their work. We examined NGO diversity, which includes variation in size, political outlook, mandate and countries of origin.

We considered the relations of NGOs to various international institutions and the new procedures for consultation and dialogue that have developed. We looked at how NGO networking enhances the effectiveness of NGO advocacy campaigns and we reflected on how NGOs learn and improve their advocacy approaches. We considered especially the growing protest movement around issues of globalization and how NGOs work to promote change at the global level.

We posted a number of articles on right-wing NGOs and their efforts to gain access to the UN and other agencies. In particular we were concerned about conservative religious groups' disruptive effect on international conferences on population and women's rights.

NGOs that are hostile to the UN have adopted aggressive behavior towards delegates that has resulted in restrictive new rules for all NGOs. GPF has sought to stimulate creative thinking and new approaches that can safeguard and expand democratic NGO access.

Citing security concerns, the UN has increasingly imposed rules that reduce NGO access, hampering the work of many progressive organizations on human rights, women's rights, economic justice, the environment and more.

During 2000, Global Policy Forum worked vigorously for improved access. We participated in many NGO strategy sessions, we worked with the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Status (CONGO), we attended meetings of the ECOSOC intergovernmental Committee on NGOs, and we had many informal meetings with delegates and UN officials.

Three issues that we especially promoted were: unimpeded NGO access to UN meetings, NGO access to the UN's document database and regular rules for NGO participation in UN conferences.

The UN Secretariat invited GPF to consultations during the year. We joined a small group of NGOs in a private meeting with Assistant Secretary General Gillian Martin Sorensen. We also joined a CONGO delegation in a meeting with Secretary General Kofi Annan that reviewed a broad range of NGO concerns.

GPF was active in promoting NGO access to open meetings of the Security Council. We also participated with the World Federalist Movement and others in promoting NGO access to the UN General Assembly, a campaign that will involve international lobbying by NGOs and will likely last several years.

GPF participated in the NGO Millennium Forum in May, an event that brought 1,500 NGO representatives to New York from all over the world to make recommendations to the UN Millennium Summit in September. GPF organized two working groups, one on UN finance and one on Security Council reform and we drafted the text that was debated, modified and eventually adopted.

Judging from the very heavy use of our web site, the frequent inclusion of GPF in consultations, and the enthusiastic feedback from many sources, GPF's work on NGOs in 2000 achieved a new level of accomplishment and effectiveness.

Global Policy Forum is supported primarily by contributions from generous individuals who join as members. GPF also receives grants from foundations and partner institutions. GPF is incorporated in the State of New York, registered as a charitable organization and recognized by the US Internal Revenue Service as a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the revenue code.