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African
Civil Society Organizations Seek Greater Roles in Governance:
This Day (Lagos) 18 February 2004. Civil Society organizations
have in recent times sought and fought for increasing relevance
concerning governance and development issues around the globe.
Read more about this rising trend and recent CSO consultations
in Africa. People's
Budget Campaign calls for Increase in Housing and Land Reform
Budgets: Business Day, Johannesburg, 17 February 2004: Greater
budgetary allocations are needed to accelerate land reform and
housing provision, both of which have lagged behind demand, proposes
the People's Budget Campaign in South Africa. NGO's File
Civil Lawsuit Against Government's pro-IMF Policies: Jakarta
Post, 6 February 2004: Three non-governmental organizations file
a lawsuit in Indonesia over an economic policy package with IMF
monitoring. Activists
Challenge New U.S. AIDS Plan charging that it leaves many
question unanswered, including the use of generic drugs, funding
levels for the Global Fund, and how U.S. efforts will be coordinated
with other national and global programs. |
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An Enabling
Environment for Civil Society: What Does it Mean and How Does
Law Fit In? : Published by the Centre for Civil Society Research
(University of Natal), this paper explores the notion of an 'enabling
environment' for civil society. After examining the limitations
involved, it adopts a broad, practical view of the legal dimensions
that co-determine the operational context for civil society by,
first, asking the question: 'an enabling environment for what?'
Answers are found in terms of civic existence, expression and
engagement and address five critical outcome domains- Association,
Resources, Voice, Information and Negotiation (ARVIN)- that are
significantly affected by legislation. For each domain, a set
of ideal legal conditions is described and sample questions are
posed that would help assess the degree of legal conformity with
what is needed for a vibrant and effective civil society. Civil Societies
and Peacebuilding - The New Fifth Estate? The author traces
how and why, in the context of global conflict, new orders of
NGO's have evolved into significant political actors and have
increasingly made their presence felt at the local, national and
international level. Mutual
Misgivings: Civil Society Inclusion in the Americas: Published
as part of a larger research project exploring the evolving relationship
between civil society organizations and the multilateral system,
this paper presents a series of case studies that examines civil
society participation in three multilateral processes and organizations
in the Americas: the Organization of American States (OAS), Free
Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), and the Summit of the Americas.
It seeks to understand the why, what, who and how of government
engagement with CSOs and to raise issues for further debate and
consideration. Americans
On Globalization, Trade, And Farm Subsidies: A follow-up survey
released by the Program for International Policy Attitudes (PIPA)
in January 2004 explores American attitudes towards globalization,
free trade, farm subsidies, labor, human rights and environmental
standards. Get the details at: Do NGO's
have a problem of legitimacy? Authored by the Swiss Coalition
of Development Organizations, this paper problematizes the issue
of NGO accountability by contextualizing it within a broader debate
of what the authors call a "democracy deficit" in international
politics. The paper concludes that while setting legal guidelines
for the governance and management of NGO's may be acceptable,
guidelines that attempt to prescribe the "legitimate"
political behavior of NGOs are problematic and unacceptable, with
the potential of reinforcing rather than mitigating "democracy
deficits" where they exist. Handbook
of Non-Profit Institutions in the System of National Accounts:
Prepared by the John Hopkins University in cooperation with the
United Nations Statistics Division, the Handbook calls for national
statistical agencies to bring together data on nonprofit institutions
in a satellite account and to put a value on the volunteer effort
that these organizations often generate. Using the new reporting
tools outlined, countries can better define the size, scope and
activities of their nonprofit sector. |
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Volume
2:
Volume 2 - September
- November 2005 - Issue
5
Volume 2 - July - August 2005 - Issue
4
Volume 2 - May - June 2005 - Issue
3
Volume 2 - March - April 2005 - Issue
2
Volume 2 - January - February 2005 - Issue
1
Volume 1:
Volume 1 - October - November 2004 - Issue
5
Volume 1 - August - September 2004 - Issue
4
Volume 1 - June - July 2004 - Issue
3
Volume 1 - April - May 2004 - Issue
2
Volume 1 - February - March 2004 - Issue
1
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UN-NGLS: Creating Dynamic Relationships Since 1975 To subscribe to our news services, please click HERE To unsubscribe, please send us a message with "unsubscribe" in the subject |
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UN-NGLS,
Palais de Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Telephone:41-22-917-2076, Fax:41-22-917-0432, Email: ngls@unctad.org |
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Conference
on Disarmament Enhances Engagement of Civil Society in its Work:
12 February 2004. The new decision concerning civil society entitles
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to make written material
available to the members of the Conference outside the Council
Chamber twice per annual session. ECOSOC
Decides on NGO Participation in Commission on Sustainable Development:
6 February 2004. Adopting a draft decision, the Economic and
Social Council decided, on an exceptional basis, that non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) and other major groups accredited to the
World Summit on Sustainable Development could participate in the
first two-year implementation cycle of the Commission on Sustainable
Development. IMF Independent
Evaluation Office (IEO) Meets with CSO Representatives: On
8 January 2004, senior IEO Staff met with representatives from
CSOs to discuss the IEO work program for the IMF's financial year
beginning May 1 and progress with the evaluation of the PRSP and
PRGF initiatives. World Bank
Explores Strategies for Improving Engagement with CSO's: Between
28 October 2003 and 13 February 2004, the World Bank made available
for public comment a draft paper, entitled "Issues and Options
for Improving Engagement Between the World Bank and Civil Society
Organizations". NGO Major
Group Discussion Paper on Water, Sanitation and Human Settlements
This paper was written based on contributions from the wider NGO
community, in response to a call for information sent out by the
NGO Major Group Focal Points. Drafts of this paper have been widely
circulated for review. UNCTAD
XI - CSO Hearings were held on 23 February, providing an opportunity
for dialogue between Member States and civil society representatives
on issues relating to the four sub-themes of UNCTAD XI, to be
held in Brazil in June 2004, including development strategies
in a globalizing world economy; building productive capacity and
international competitiveness; assuming development gains from
the international trading system and trade negotiations; partnerships
for development. Statements from the February hearings, as well
as the 16 January hearings, are available online. |
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From 'Donorship'
to Ownership: Moving Towards PRSP Round Two (Oxfam): If poor
countries are to reach the Millennium Development Goals, it is
vital to critically evaluate the lessons learned from both the
consultation process and the policy content generated by the first
round of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP's), argues a
newly released Oxfam Briefing paper. From OAU
to AU and NEPAD: Strategies for African Women: Excerpt from
a Report on a Regional Strategy Meeting on Women's political participation
and gender mainstreaming in the African Union and its Specialized
Mechanisms. Risky Development:
Export Concentration, Foreign Investment and Policy Conditionality
(World Vision): Risky Development uses data from 84 developing
countries from 1981 to 2000 to examine the links between trade,
growth and poverty. The report concludes that a country's development
strategy should not be externally imposed, but rather should be
based on a careful appraisal of its capacities and the costs,
benefits and risks of different strategies. Teach a
Child: Transform a Nation: Investing in universal primary
education is one of the best ways for poor nations to boost economic
growth, their citizens' health and other indicators of developments,
says a new report released by the Basic Education Coalition, a
group of 16 private US development and relief agencies. The Future
of Multilateralism after Monterrey and Johannesburg (FES):
The key ingredients for a strengthened and democratized multilateral
system have been sketched out in numerous reform reports, expert
bodies, NGO demands, and official resolutions adopted by governments
in New York, Monterrey and Johannesburg argues a paper published
by Friedrick Ebert Stiftung (FES). However, the realization of
this vision depends on the initiative of individual governments
to overcome, in the framework of coalitions, political blockades
at the global level, without losing sight of the need to strengthen
the hand of the UN and its General Assembly as the center of multilateral
cooperation. The Pros
and Cons of Private Provision of Water and Electricity Service
(Citizen's Network on Essential Services): This booklet seeks
to describe the main rationales for using the private sector to
deliver water, sanitation and electricity services, and attempts
to evaluate them in theory and practice. It also identifies policy
trends and the major policy instruments used by multilateral organizations
to promote private provision in these sectors. It concludes with
recommendations for assessing the feasibility of private provision.
The Policy
Roots of Economic Crisis, Poverty and Inequality: The SAPRI
Report: The findings of a multi-year participatory investigation
undertaken by the Structural Adjustment Participatory Review International
Network (SAPRIN) has recently been published by ZED Books. The
book is the result of a unique five year collaboration between
citizens groups, developing country governments and the World
Bank, and explores the consequences of adjustment for manufacturing,
food security, social development, poverty and inequality. To
view an extract from the book click here: http://www.un-ngls.org/cso/SAPRIN_Conclusion.doc |
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 Information You Can Use: A Bi-monthly Service for the UN and Civil Society Volume I, Issue I, February-March 2004 |
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The
views reflected in this publication are those of the authors and
not those of the United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service
or the UN system. See
UN Link -- http://www.un.org/terms.htm#disclaimer
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