By B. S. Raghavan
FT Asia Intelligence WireAugust 23, 2000
Something like the campaign slogan (Go, Al, go!) of the US Democratic presidential candidate, Mr. Al Gore, may also come in handy to pep up the world's non- governmental organisations (NGOs). No doubt, there are among them well-known and aggressive outfits such as Greenpeace, Narmada Bachao Andolan, Amnesty and Nader's Raiders. Voluntary groups now and then make a world-wide impact with spectacular demonstrations as during the 'Battle for Seattle' and the meetings of the Asian Development Bank at Bangkok or the G-8 at Okinawa.
Other than these, by and large, NGOs fit the description of being languid. This is because most of them lack any kind of clout or teeth as organisations of concerned citizens to promote public causes or call to account governments and public agencies in order to enforce canons of good governance. Some of them even end up toadying up to officialdom.
The vital role that NGOs can play as instruments of people's power was evident even at the time of drawing up of the charter of the United Nations in 1945. Article 71 of the charter makes it incumbent on that body to forge partnerships with citizen organisations as a means of supplementing governments' efforts, keeping policies on the right track, acting as a check on abuses and generally, infusing the people with a spirit of self-confidence, self-reliance and self-help and a realisation of their rights and responsibilities as citizens, voters and taxpayers.
Pursuant to this objective, the UN has envisaged a system of giving consultative status to NGOs registering themselves with it. This enables them to participate in important conferences and working parties covering the entire scope of the UN's activities and programmes, and make sure their views are given due weight before the adoption of recommendations.
For instance, at the UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992, the NGOs outnumbered participant governments by two to one.
All that notwithstanding, out of tens of thousands of NGOs in the 185 countries which are members of the UN, only 1,603 (and none from India) have registered themselves with that body seeking consultative status. In 1999, on a directive from the General Assembly, the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, wrote to all the sister agencies, member-governments and international organisations to elicit their views on ways of further enlarging the UN's relations with NGOs. Hardly five per cent of the addressees in each category replied. That the Government and NGOs of India were prominent among those ignoring the Secretary-General's epistle should occasion no surprise. The UN charter, for the record at least, plays up the value of partnerships with the NGOs. The citizen's charters of the various Ministries and Departments at the Centre and the States do not even deign to mention them. Ministers and officials, in general, look askance at NGOs which make matters worse by pillorying them constantly for funds or nomination to some committee/delegation or other. To become a force, they have got to be up and going, and not be seen as mere name boards.
More Information on Credibility and Legitimacy of NGOs
