Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- List of Contributors
- Introduction: Reflections on Dialogues between Practitioners and Theorists of Human Rights
- SECTION I NORTHERN INGOs AND SOUTHERN AID RECIPIENTS: THE CHALLENGE OF UNEQUAL POWER
- SECTION II INGOs AND GOVERNMENTS: THE CHALLENGE OF DEALING WITH STATES THAT RESTRICT THE ACTIVITIES OF INGOs
- SECTION III INGOs AND ECONOMIC RIGHTS: THE CHALLENGE OF DEALING WITH GLOBAL POVERTY
- Conclusion: INGOs as Collective Mobilization of Transnational Solidarity: Implications for Human Rights Work at the United Nations
- Index
Conclusion: INGOs as Collective Mobilization of Transnational Solidarity: Implications for Human Rights Work at the United Nations
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 July 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- List of Contributors
- Introduction: Reflections on Dialogues between Practitioners and Theorists of Human Rights
- SECTION I NORTHERN INGOs AND SOUTHERN AID RECIPIENTS: THE CHALLENGE OF UNEQUAL POWER
- SECTION II INGOs AND GOVERNMENTS: THE CHALLENGE OF DEALING WITH STATES THAT RESTRICT THE ACTIVITIES OF INGOs
- SECTION III INGOs AND ECONOMIC RIGHTS: THE CHALLENGE OF DEALING WITH GLOBAL POVERTY
- Conclusion: INGOs as Collective Mobilization of Transnational Solidarity: Implications for Human Rights Work at the United Nations
- Index
Summary
We have seen throughout this book that while international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) have gained importance, they have come to be confronted with a number of ethical challenges. This has been reinforced by the fact that INGOs work in areas which are often contentious and in countries which do not necessarily welcome their initiatives. Against this background, the book has concentrated on the ethical challenges encountered by INGOs in the course of their human rights work on the ground. These challenges have been discussed within the framework of three sets of issues.
There is, first, the question of Northern INGOs and Southern aid recipients, namely, the impact that inequality of power has on the agenda setting, ownership of policies, implementation, and financing of Southern NGOs. Second, there is the issue of the relations between INGOs and governments, with the challenges that the former face when they work in countries and with states that restrict their activities. A third question is the role of INGOs in the defense of economic rights and whether the challenge of dealing with global poverty should take priority over other human rights concerns.
The goal is for INGOs to address challenges in a successful manner. If the ethical dilemmas encountered by INGOs during the course of their human rights work on the ground are challenging, the dilemmas they face in the diplomatic and political settings, in the United Nations (UN) context in particular, are equally trying.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Ethics in ActionThe Ethical Challenges of International Human Rights Nongovernmental Organizations, pp. 279 - 302Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006