The influence of NGOs on international relations

Modern NGOs as actors in international relations

It is now well known that many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) play an important role in collecting and disseminating facts about alleged human rights violations. Financial institutions and organizations such as the United Nations rely heavily on data on human rights violations provided by NGOs. It is also well known that a large number of NGOs perform many functions on behalf of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The fact that NGOs also contribute-and often very significantly-to the development of human rights norms is an aspect of NGO activity that is usually overlooked.

International relations, and in particular the treaty-making process, have traditionally been the privileged domain of governments as representatives of nation-states. Governments are the main actors. The term “nongovernmental organizations” implies that they are only secondary or auxiliary organizations. However, these organizations often express values and interests common to humanity as a whole. Although states remain the main legislative actors, they must take into account the will of various democratic, anti-war and anti-nuclear movements.

Main methods and mechanisms of activity

The involvement of NGOs in the human rights norm-setting process is generally a recent phenomenon. However, there are NGOs that have long been actively involved in international campaigns against slavery, trafficking in women and children. NGOs have created a favorable climate for the conclusion of international conventions in these areas.

For example, a respected nongovernmental organization, the International Committee of the Red Cross, has played an important role in the development of standards in international humanitarian law. Examples include the 1864 Geneva Convention for the Protection of Victims of War, the 1977 Protocols in addition to the 1949 Geneva Conventions. The International Labor Law Association initiated the Berne International Labor Conventions in 1905, 1906 and 1913, which were the forerunners of many conventions adopted in later years by the International Labor Organization.

The United Nations first coined the term “NGO” after World War II. NGOs were first formally recognized in international law in 1945 with the approval of the United Nations Charter, which refers to “nongovernmental organizations” in Article 71. This agreement introduced an updated standardized form of cooperation among actors in international society. However, “recognition of their existence has only limited effect and can in no way be considered equivalent to a legal status.” In general, despite the vagueness of the term, the United Nations created a term for its public advisors, which subsequently found wide use.

In terms of the actual development of international standards, NGOs choose to follow different practices and procedures, depending on the rules applied by international forums, the receptivity of these forums to NGO input, and the type of relationship and proximity of NGOs to international secretariats and government delegates.

There are also many cases where NGOs produce full texts of international instruments on issues of particular interest to them. One example is the Principles of Medical Ethics, originally developed by the Council for International Organizations for Medical Sciences (CIOMS) and eventually endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly.

Legal status of NGOs

NGOs are becoming more active and effective in their work to set standards in the field of human rights protection. In the context of the United Nations and other international organizations, certain skills and qualities are very important, if not indispensable, for influencing NGOs that also seek to influence governments and parliaments to gain acceptance of international human rights treaties through ratification or accession. These activities are important as a counterweight to the immobility and lethargy that characterizes many national and international bureaucracies.

From the legal perspective of international relations, NGOs seem to remain “unknown land”. A historical analysis of the perception of NGOs in international law shows that the question of the international legal personality of NGOs has not yet been adequately answered. Paradoxically, while states increasingly include NGOs in global governance structures and procedures, it remains unclear what characterizes them and what status they officially have under international law. Although states welcome the contribution of NGOs in the human rights field and have given specific recognition to “private associations” at the national level, they have not yet agreed on a standard for NGOs working in the transnational field.

An analysis of rules and regulations over the past century has shown that international law regarding the status of NGOs remains significantly underdeveloped. The rights and obligations of NGOs under the UN Charter are insufficiently defined. More effort has been made to regulate the relationship between NGOs and other entities such as the United Nations than to set standards for NGOs.

Thus, while NGOs are increasingly involved in promoting international legal standards on a range of issues, the status of NGOs in international law has not yet improved. Given the growing number of NGOs involved in international affairs and the changing role they play in negotiation processes, it is surprising that it is still unclear how to characterize NGOs in legal terms. NGOs are often invited to participate in the field of human rights protection because they are seen as organizations representing civil society and thus their participation is interpreted as legitimizing or democratizing the entire process. Given that, however, some states take advantage of this situation and select, appoint, or support specific pro-government NGOs, the need for more thorough legal regulation of these organizations in international standards is becoming increasingly important. Moreover, it is in the interest of NGOs to keep their image “clean”, otherwise the representativeness of NGOs-and thus their raison d'être-could be called into question.

Translation by Costantino Ceoldo