The role of human rights International Nongovernmental Organizations (INGOs) has become increasingly important in an age of globalization in which they are seen as heralding a global civil society and a new world order based on a universal human rights. INGOs have been at the forefront of the “human rights revolution” – a revolution of norms and values that has redefined our understanding of ethics and justice. They have shaped the course of the human rights movement not only at the international level but also at regional and national levels. INGO involvements in global transnational networking, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s, have been crucial to the development of the universal human rights corpus as well as its enforcement and monitoring mechanisms. One reason for the growing influence of INGOs within the human rights movement has been their ability to build transnational coalitions and mobilize global action on key human rights issues. This is evident in the role of INGOs in such human rights milestones as the 1992 Second World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, the establishment of a United Nations (UN) High Commission for Human Rights, and the establishment of the International Criminal Court. If the UN midwifed the postwar universal human rights movement, INGOs have weaned and nurtured it.

Despite these successes, however, the work of human rights INGOs (most of which are based in the West) is increasingly underscored by operational challenges and questions over their legitimacy in the global South where they do much of their work.