NGO and Government Relief Operations

NGO and Government Relief Operations

Part 3a)

Non-governmental organization (NGO) is a term that has become widely accepted as referring to a legally constituted, non-governmental organization created by natural or legal persons 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 and excludes government representatives from membership in the organization. Unlike the term intergovernmental organization, "non-governmental organization" is a term in general use but is not a legal definition. In many jurisdictions these types of organization are defined as "civil society organizations" or referred to by other names.

History

National NGOs go back to antiquity. International non-governmental organizations have a history dating back to at least 1839. Rotary, later Rotary International, was founded in 1905. It has been estimated that by 1914 there were 1083 NGOs. International NGOs 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. 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 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 organization that is not founded by an international treaty". The vital role of NGOs and other "major groups" in sustainable development was recognized in Chapter 2 of Agenda 21, leading to intense arrangements for a consultative relationship between the United Nations and non-governmental organizations.This structural association between internal and external public policy is to be expected. It would be surprising if Western governments were advocating wildly different scenarios. In both situations, governance is being redefined in more complex ways as the privatization of public and economic life advances. Relief in war zones is also conditioned by the perceived national and regional interests of Western governments. Thus, while there is a structural similarity at policy level, in practice there is a marked unevenness in application (Currey 2003).

The present background to relief in war zones is the growing polarization of the global economy. The existence of a wealth gap between the richest and poorest parts of the world is long-standing. The size of the gap, however, is widening. Over the last three decades, for example, compared to the poorest fifth of the world's population, the richest fifth has doubled its share of global income from 30 to 61. At the same time, more than a quarter of the world's population now have incomes lower than in previous decades. In some cases lower than 20 years ago.

It is misleading to see economic polarization and impoverishment as a direct cause of instability. While important contributory factors, functional considerations are insufficient explanations on their ...