Information You Can Use:
A Bi-monthly Service for the UN and Civil Society
Volume II, Issue 3, May-June 2005

Civil Society Observer is a bi-monthly package of documentation of various kinds from all political persuasions to keep you informed of developments related to NGOs and civil society.
It is divided into four sections:

• In the Press – snapshots of how NGOs and civil society are being portrayed by the media and news outlets around the world;
• Trends and Debates –this features academic and scholarly discourse on the role and significance of NGOs and civil society in the contemporary world;
• CSOs and the Multilateral System – position papers, statements and other documents delivered by civil society and NGOs at multilateral and international meetings and events. It also carries documentation relating to NGOs and civil society emanating from the multilateral system.
• CSO Research – featuring analysis and research originating from civil society and NGOs.

These articles offer a snapshot of how NGOs and civil society are being portrayed and profiled in the press around the world.

Dutch Sue Aid Agency over Ransom
BBC News (Europe) - 24 May 2005
Imogen Foulkes

The Netherlands is suing Medecins Sans Frontieres over the nearly $1.25m it paid to release one of MSF's workers held hostage for almost two years in Russia's Dagestan province. It claims that the money was given as a loan, which MSF denies. A Swiss judge will decide the unprecedented case, which could have broad implications for the future handling of kidnapping cases. (read)

A Responsibility to Talk the Talk
The Guardian (UK) - 27 May 2005
John Conley

The corporate social responsibility (CSR) movement has hopes of greatly affecting the way businesses operate in terms of respect for workers, local communities and the environment. Some, however, believe that the movement is merely another publicity stunt aimed at padding the bottom line. Early evidence shows that that the movement is having an impact, but some fear it is being misused as another way to control debate and pre-empt potential criticisms. (read)

Afghanistan: New Code of Conduct to Regulate NGOs True?
IRIN - AlertNet - Reuters - 31 May 2005

Monday, amid accusation by the Afghan government that NGOs had misused funds allocated for post-war Afghanistan, aid organizations in Kabul launched a new code of conduct. This code of conduct seeks to implement a set of minimum standards required for an NGO to be considered legitimate, in hopes of alleviating the problem of profitable organizations registering as NGOs. The Afghan government feels the new code of conduct will compliment the soon to be approved new NGO legislation. (read)

Celebrating Africa Day: What is the Message for the Global Call to Action Against Poverty?
Pambazuka News - 26 May 2005
Yassine Fall

In this article, Yassine Fall, an economist and the president of African Women Millennium Initiative on Poverty and Human Rights, discusses the organization's significance, reflects on the role of the Africa Global Call to Action Against Poverty and questions how to best use the symbolism of Africa Day to aid the campaign. (read)

Good Future Predicted for Micro Finance Institutions Delivering Microcredit
Indonesia Relief - 30 May 2005

A new report shows that MFIs can be attractive to not only potential clients, but investors too, with sustainability being the key. Evidence shows that even MFIs that serve some of the poorest clients are capable of becoming sustainable. MFI's have even begun to show hope of being absorbed into retail-banking sector, as their rate of returns have been improving rapidly. (read)

MDG Campaign Launched Ahead of UN Meet
The Jakarta Post - 7 June 2005

A nationwide campaign to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was launched on Sunday in Indonesia. Some of the issues discussed included the high poverty and unemployment rates, the lack of political commitment to achieving the MDGs and the problems caused by migration to urban areas. Despite the problems faced, hope remains that with broad societal involvement Indonesia can defeat poverty. (read)

African Assails Canada for 'Censoring' Biotech Critics
Global Information Network - 30 May 2005

A leading African scientist and advocate of strong regulation of genetically engineered seeds and crops is calling on the U.N. to censure Canada after he and several other scientists experienced substantial difficulties obtaining visas to attend U.N.-sponsored talks in Montreal. These problems have lead some to question whether the Canadian government can be trusted to facilitate open debate on this controversial subject. (read)

India Claims of Decline in HIV Cases Dismays NGOs
One World (South Asia) - 6 June 2005

Claims by India's Health Ministry that the number of new HIV infections has sharply dropped are in stark contrast to the views of local NGO's that track HIV statistics. The health ministry maintains that HIV rates have dropped by more than 90% but NGOs such as the Naz (India) Foundation say that these results are highly questionable. In response to the controversy, the Union Health Minister has decided to call on unbiased internationally known assessors to settle the debate. (read)

Statements and positions from NGOs and civil society are featured here to demonstrate how these actors relate to the UN system and use multilateral fora to advance the issues they champion. Also featured is documentation on civil society and NGOs emanating from the multilateral system.

NGOs Comment on the Report of the UN Secretary-General "In larger Freedom"
UN-NGLS - May 2005

NGLS provided the opportunity for NGOs to comment and make observations on the Secretary-General's Report "In Larger Freedom: towards freedom, security and human rights for all" (A/59/2005). This feedback from NGOs will be collated in a report to be submitted at the informal interactive Hearings for NGOs, civil society and the private sector organized by the General Assembly on 23-24 June. Over 130 submissions from NGOs and civil society. (Read submissions)

L20 and ECOSOC Reform: Complementary Building Blocks for a more Inclusive Global Governance and more Effective UN
German Development Institute - June 2005
Thomas Fues and Andrew Cooper

The ongoing power shift within the global economy calls into question the established structures of multilateral decision-making. In order to simultaneously enhance the effectiveness and legitimacy in global governance, the authors suggest that two complementary tracks need to be undertaken in tandem: First, the UN's ECOSOC has to be reformed in a way which allows it to function as an effective platform of global policy advocacy and coordination on economic and development issues. Second, the present G20 of Finance Ministers and Central Bankers needs to be elevated to the level of heads of state and government to become a Leaders' 20 Summit or L20. (read)

Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (4th Session)
16-27 May - New York

Under the theme of the "Millennium Development Goals and Indigenous Peoples," the fourth session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues focused on MDG 1: "Eradicate extreme poverty and Hunger" and MDG2: "Achieve universal primary education." NGOs taking part in the event emphasized the need for full participation of indigenous communities in all policy and other related decision-making processes; the dissemination of successful indigenous development projects; and a public reaffirmation of the value of indigenous communities for the national and international welfare.
- Indigenous Peoples, Nations -- Collective Statement
- Indigenous Peoples, Nations and ECOSOC NGOs of the Pacific
- Turaga Nation and Tuvanuatu Komiuniti
- Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of Good Shepherd and the Elizabeth Seton Federation

United Nations Forum on Forests (5th Session)
16-27 May - New York

From 16-27 May, the United Nations Forum on Forest held its 5th session, at which Major Group participants stressed the need to reinforce the International Arrangement on Forests (IAF) to achieve implementation of existing agreed goals and policies to push the sustainable management, conservation and development of the world's forests to the top of national agendas. Over 170 participants from the Major Groups attended the Forum.

- NGO Paper (read)
- Women Statement (read)
- Youth Statement (read)
- Statement by the Chairperson of the UN PFII (read)

African Civil Society Statement on Recent Debt Cancellation Proposals
Afrodad - May 2005

The recent proposals put forth by the UK and the US on the management of the multilateral debts of least developed countries is attracting some responses from African civil society. While the African group welcomes these efforts by donor countries, they note some concerns, especially regarding its inclusiveness and comprehensiveness. (read)

A Call for Participatory Decision-Making: Discussion Paper on World Bank Civil Society Engagement
Civil Society Members of the World Bank-Civil Society Joint Facilitation Committee - April 2005

This paper explores the opportunities for more meaningful, empowering forms of participation in World Bank decision-making. First, the report examines the challenges of public participation in the Bank's institutional governance, and in its operations at global, national, and local levels. Second, the report proposes a set of principles and a framework for thinking about how to expand and deepen the opportunities for meaningful public participation in all stages of Bank decision-making. And third, it uses the framework to propose a set of recommendations for improving Bank practice for consideration by the World Bank's management and Board. (read)

Analysis of IMF 2004-2005 Conditionality Review
Eurodad - May 2005

According to this analysis by Eurodad of the IMF conditionality guidelines review, the Fund has failed to evaluate conditionality in terms of its impact on poverty reduction. The authors suggest that NGOs must highlight this failing and ensure subsequent reviews, like the forthcoming IEO evaluation on Structural Conditionality, in order for poverty reduction objectives to be taken into account. (read)

This section draws on the scholarly/academic discourse on the significance of NGOs and civil society in both international and national political landscapes.

Engaging the Community in Poverty Reduction Strategies and the Millennium Development Goals in Central Asia
Intrac Bulletin - May 2005
Charles Buxton

This article details the failure of the government and international agencies to implement a successful Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) in Kyrgyzstan, possibly due to inefficient civil society involvement. To the disappointment of NGO leaders, despite an active NGO sector, the currently employed PRS has only enjoyed limited success. Also addressed by this article, are concerns of inefficiency and corruption within the state. (read)

Mobilizing for Social Change: Impacting Policy, Politics and the Legislative Agenda
Center for Philanthropy and Public Policy -- 2005
Timothy Wirth

The author argues that although the progressive impulse in America has slowed considerably, and a conservative movement has gained much influence with the government and media, individual's lives can change when brains, fortitude and cash come together. He suggests that philanthropy can positively impact public policy, despite America's seeming difficulty in detecting a philanthropy driven progressive voice. (read)

Microfinance and the State: Exploring Areas and Structures of Collaboration
Economic and Political Weekly (India) - April 2005
M.S. Sriram

In this paper, new forms of collaboration in the delivery of microfinance services are discussed as well as changes in regulatory policies and institutional arrangements, which can help the state optimally allocate resources for the poor. According to the authors, to best aid the poor, state support for the development of infrastructure and support mechanisms for the poor should be done through elected representatives and professional institutions. (read)

The Future of Corporate Responsibility Codes, Standards and Frameworks
Global Reporting Initiative and AccountAbility -- May 2005
Ernst Ligteringen and Simon Zadek

Sustainable development can only be realized if corporate responsibility becomes a focus concern not only for individual companies but also the business community as a whole. To aid the integration of corporate responsibility into their business strategies and management processes, there exists an array of codes, standards, guidelines and frameworks. This briefing was developed in order to aid companies in answering questions that may arise in deciding the manner in which to use these tools. (read)

Civil Society - State Partnerships for the Promotion of Citizen Security in Brazil
SUR Journal (Human Rights University Network) - June 2005
Fiona MaCaulay

In Brazil, there is far greater danger of producer capture in policing than in the prison system. In part because of the Police's distrust of civil society in monitoring their role, and also because a culture of community policing has not yet taken hold. Fortunately, the prison system has been much more open to change with partnerships being created between the state and local NGOs that have actually lead to positive transformations of the management and ethos of some small prisons. (read)

Dual Responsibilities of NGOs: Market and Institutional Responsibilities
International Society of Business, Economics and Ethics - May 2005
Jai-Beom Kim, Philip Cheng, Chong Ju Choi and Tarek Ibrahim Eldomiaty

Now more than ever, there are opportunities for partnerships between public and private sector organizations. From an economic perspective, Multi National Enterprises (MNEs) may not see the appeal of partnerships with NGOs, but if they take into account the non-marketing advantages, the perceived value may be enhanced. This paper provides a framework for integrating institutional and market value and responsibilities, which the authors hope, will facilitate successful partnerships between MNEs and NGOs. (read)

Poor Public Understanding of Global Justice
One World UK (from BOND) - May 2005

Rotimi Sankore argues that the 'shocking' images of Africa that are often used by NGOs and the media create negative stereotypes, inevitably doing more harm than good. He stresses that if simplistic images of poverty continue to be used, public understanding of development issues will remain stunted. In part two of this article, Andrew Darnton examines statistical evidence and discovers that despite a broad concern for reducing poverty, most people have a limited understanding of the key issues involved.
- The Pitfalls and Consequences of Development "Pornography"
Rotimi Sankore (read)
- Public Awareness - Understanding International Development Issues
Andrew Darnton (read)

Advocacy is a feature often associated with NGOs and civil society, but many also have the capacity to produce compelling and valuable research, which underpins their advocacy work. This section carries examples of recent civil society and NGO research.

The Damage Done: Aid, Death and Dogma
Christian Aid - May 2005

The 2005 Christian Aid report details how unrestricted free trade can have devastating effects on poor communities. Examples include the agriculture crisis in India, the subversion of democratic institutions in Ghana and an epidemic of prostitution and drug smuggling in Jamaica. The report calls on the British government to end their blind support of liberalization policies. (read)


Ethical Business: How a New Breed of Business is Changing the World
New Economics Foundation - 2005

New Economics Foundation has identified a group of businesses that it calls "Ethical Pioneers." These businesses separate themselves from the majority by taking a holistic business approach, thereby making sure that their business practices do more than serve their financial bottom line. These pioneers are motivated by a social or environmental problem, and address it in such a way as to remain profitable, while at the same time not ignoring their values. (read)

Youth and the Millennium Development Goals: Challenges and Opportunities for Implementation
Ad Hoc Working Group for Youth and the MDGs - April 2005

This paper aims to provide an overview of youth participation as it currently exists, to outline the ways in which youth are directly involved and affected by each Goal, to demonstrate the ways in which young people are contributing to the MDGs, and to provide 'Options for Action' that governments, the United Nations system, donors and other actors can harness, support, and scale-up in order to support young people in making significant contributions to achieving the MDGs. (read - 1.35Mb pdf file)

NEPAD and Civil Society Participation in the Peer Review Mechanism
Southern African Regional Poverty Network - May 2005
Len Verwey
NEPAD is a socio-economic development framework for Africa that seeks to eradicate poverty, integrate Africa into the global economy, accelerate the empowerment of women and attain sustainable growth and development of the continent. Feelings are mixed as to the success of NEPAD, and as is such the author believes continued revision of its' implementation is necessary. This paper aims to provide civil society with information on NEPAD and to facilitate its' participation in the processes. (read)

Accountability Upside Down - Gender Equality in a Partnership for Poverty Eradication
Eurostep and Social Watch - 2005
Mirjam Van Reisen

The implementation of the Beijing Platform, which focuses on gender equality, and the MDGs, which focus on poverty, is being reviewed in 2005. The authors argue that the solutions to these issues are inexorably linked, but that unfortunately, the issues themselves risk being reviewed separately. The authors also illustrate the problem of policy evaporation, which makes it extremely difficult to track what impact, if any, political commitments have on resource allocation for gender equality issues. (read - 5Mb PDF file)

How to Meet the Millennium Development Goals in Urban Areas
International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) - April 2005
Arif Hasan, Sheela Patel and David Satterthwaite

MDG targets cannot be reached unless urban dweller's basic needs of water, sanitation, health care and education are met. The authors argue that these wants cannot be fulfilled without changes in local governments and organizations. Perhaps unexpectedly, they do not advocate increased aid or debt relief to accomplish the MDGs but instead champion increased responsibility on a local level. (read)

The Ethical Criteria for Eligible and Responsible Civil Society Involvement in Response to the Needs and Challenges of Human Security in the Arab Region
Arab NGO Network for Development - 2005

This paper addresses the main challenges that CSOs in the Arab countries are facing, including their often service-oriented nature, lack of a comprehensive development vision, lack of coordination of programs and strategies and the challenges faced by the legal restrictions set by Arab governments. The premise being that only when these challenges are overcome will CSOs be strong enough to face the problems of human security in the area. (read)

Long Due Reform? The IMF, World Bank, Global Economic Governance 60 Years Later
CIDSE (Cooperation international pour le developpment et la solidarite) - April 2005

Sixty years after the creation of the IMF and the World Bank, noting that the IFIs have strayed significantly from their mandates, CIDSE is calling for their roles to be reevaluated. CIDSE argues that the IMF and World Bank have caused more harm than good due to their forcing inappropriate one-size-fits-all economic policies on borrower countries. In this publication, CIDSE provides Catholic Social Teaching based insights into what manner of reforms they believe to be necessary. (read)

Real Aid: An Agenda for Making Aid Work
Action Aid USA - May 2005

In this report, ActionAid demonstrates that despite high official numbers, wealthy countries' donor efforts are abhorrently insufficient. They illustrate the gap between real and so called phantom aid by elucidating the often-surreptitious manner in which official aid is often calculated. ActionAid believes that all donors have an obligation to provide .7% of their national income in real aid, which not one donor has met. (read - 1.1Mb PDF file)

Nature for Sale: The Impact of Privatizing Water and Biodiversity
Friends of the Earth - 2005

The 34 national stories in this publication provide real examples of the terrible consequences that can result from water and biodiversity privatization, as well as what Friends of the Earth member groups are doing to fight back. Through illustrating personal experiences with these issues, Friends of the Earth hopes to make the general public aware of the seriousness of privizatization of natural resources. (read)

Global Warming: Personal Solutions for a Healthy Planet
Palgrave MacMillan - July 2005
Chris Spence

A new book; Global Warming: Personal Solutions for a Healthy Planet, has been making headlines for its' ability to bring an advanced level of understanding of the complex issue of global warming to the layman's level. This book offers a balanced look at global warming as well as practical solutions to combat it. (read)

Building Organizational Resilience to HIV/AIDS - Implications for Capacity Building
INTRAC (Praxis Paper) - March 2005
Rick James

HIV/AIDS, which now causes over 3 million deaths per year, is having significant economic and social impacts, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The survival of many CSOs is threatened by this pandemic. The author argues that there is a need to build organizational resilience and recommends a combination of interventions as well as an integration of HIV/AIDS impact analysis into CSOs' long term planning and goals. (read)