"The Conscience of the World": the Influence of Non-governmental Organizations in the UN System

In recent years, the UN has been the focus of intense activity by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) at the major global conferences - the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, the Vienna human rights conference, the Cairo population conference, the Copenhagen Social Summit and the Beijing women's conference. This book explores the influence of the NGOs, which has grown steadily and now covers all the work of the Economic and Social Council, along with programmes in developing countries, the specialized agencies and UN conferences. Their importance in human rights, disaster relief, development and the environment is illustrated by case studies demonstrating their influence. But what are non-governmental organizations What are their historical roots How do they gain recognition at the UN and at conferences What rights of participation do they have and how do they gain influence This volume sets out to answer all these questions.