Global Civil Society
Global Civil Society
Functions
1) Informational
IGOs acquire, analyze, and distribute information. Many IGOs are constituted of professionals in
various subjects who can best educate IGOs and member states. UNDP gathers, analyses, and
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distributes climate change data. IGO researchers have greater opportunities to do global research
than state researchers.
2) Forum
IGO forums allow members to discuss opinions, work out compromises, and collaborate on
global concerns. This happened when the global community drafted the Kyoto Protocol to the UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change to lower greenhouse gas levels.
3) Normative
IGOs typically determine and define suitable norms of behavior for its members in the global
system. This may affect the behavior of states and international organizations. An example is the
adoption by the UN General Assembly of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which has
been the global standard for human rights aspirations for over sixty years and is referred to by
states and international organizations such as the European Union (EU), the Organization of
American States, and Amnesty International.
4) Rule Creating
Regarding rule creating, several IGOs produce legally enforceable international treaties. The UN
created many of the major multilateral treaties in existence today, including the Convention
against Torture, the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. IGOs
are ideal platforms for creating treaties since they have a worldwide membership and a ready
place for debate.
5) Rule Supervisory
Rule supervision is connected to rule creation. Many IGOs created international treaties establish
new entities to oversee treaty compliance. These committees may accept State reports of
compliance, monitor treaty compliance, settle disputes over treaty provisions, and, if available,
enforce treaty obligations and penalize violations.
6) Operational
IGOs ultimate function is operational. UNHCR collects worldwide resources to house, clothe,
and nourish refugees. The organization determines when refugees are needed, finds settlement
sites, and distributes resources. Delegating this obligation to a single international body allows for
a faster response and streamlines the procedure from the UN to refugees in need.
Functions
1) Information
▪ First, NGOs may be good providers of information and data for states, their citizens, and
international organizations owing to their specialization
▪ States and the UN depend on Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch Dog
yearly human rights reports to evaluate the situation in particular countries, and they rely
on Doctors without Borders for medical aid in crisis circumstances
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▪ NGOs' effect varies since they lack official authority. Many NGOs are seen as having
political intentions, which may reduce their effect on state and international policy
2) Normative
▪ NGOs also monitor state behavior and denounce breaches of international standards since
they are not tied to state power politics
▪ Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch provide yearly reports on state human
rights practices
▪ States utilize these studies to create policy and will contest their veracity if they feel
unjustly condemned
▪ NGOs often have a political goal, but they are not part of the global power system and are
thus perceived as more neutral in their support to communities.
▪ NGOs have fulfilled numerous purposes in states, from planting trees and educating
about sustainable agriculture to promoting political involvement and providing basic
health care and education to neglected groups.
▪ This capacity to operate at the grassroots level might enable NGOs to have a bigger
influence than IGOs.
▪ International organizations give governments a place to share information and talk about
problems. This makes cooperation stronger by promoting the sharing of information and
the openness of actions.
▪ Membership in international organizations gives governments a group of states to which
they belong and with whom they can interact. This makes it more important for
governments to keep up a good image so they can continue to benefit from cooperation
around the world.
❖ Current research shows that joining an international organization puts pressure on a country to
follow its rules and procedures. This is one of the main reasons why international organizations,
especially IGOs, are so effective.
❖ There are state counterparts. If a country doesn't follow the rules and values of the international
organization or doesn't care about enforcement, it could be shunned, which would make it harder
for it to promote and protect its own interests.
✓ Reputations of NGOs affect how the government acts. Studies show that more NGOs working in
or paying attention to a state lead to policy changes in the state or around the world.
✓ IGOs can't do something that NGOs can do: they can't campaign for a certain state action at the
local level.
✓ Efforts to stop female circumcision in Africa because it hurts women's health and the release of
bad country reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have changed the way
states act because they care about their reputations.