Can NGOs and civil society really have an impact through UN conferences?

It’s a question I’ve often asked myself. Sometimes the answer seems, unequivocally, “yes!”, but other times I am less sure. While there is no doubt that civil society (NGOs, think tanks, loose groups of citizens) make valuable contributions, I wonder whether they are really able to shake up the discourse between governments. The meetings of the G8 and the World Trade Organization, for example, are so often accompanied by violent protests that the distance between “ordinary” citizens and Governments seems insurmountable.

At the two crime congresses organized by the United Nations that I’ve been involved in, I have been surprised by the degree to which NGOs are integrated in conference events. This seems particularly true at this edition of the Congress, as civil society but also the United Nations and certain Government organizations are all involved in the ancillary meetings.

To explore the issue of NGO influence, I e-mailed Gary Hill, who has played a key role in organizing the involvement of non-governmental entities in the Congress, and Mirella Dummar-Frahi, UNODC Civil Affairs Officer.

When I asked Gary whether NGOs can really influence the discussion, he wrote: “YES! Official UN resolutions, conventions and standards for the transfer of sanctions, victims and restorative justice are just a few of the issues which originated in the NGO community and have become part of official UN documents and policies”. And Mirella stresses that civil society’s participation in the international debate “is crucial to bring reality and experience to policymakers and to report what actually happens on the ground”.

As Gary reminds us, “the United Nations General Assembly and the Crime Commission have made it very clear that input from NGOs and civil society is critical if the UN crime prevention and criminal justice programme is to have an impact in making our world safer and more humane”.

Let’s see what happens at the Congress next week.

About the Congress

The countdown has started: today is my last day at work before I leave for Brazil tomorrow morning and it’s only three days to the start of the Congress. Since I’m not on site yet, below is some official information (some of it taken from the press kit prepared by the United Nations Information Service in Vienna and shown in the picture).

The Twelfth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice is a global forum bringing together a diverse gathering of policymakers and practitioners in crime prevention and criminal justice.

Between 12 and 19 April 2010, government representatives will meet in Salvador, Brazil, to discuss a wide range of issues, including youth and crime, smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons, money-laundering, corruption, cybercrime and violence against migrants. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, based in Vienna, acts as secretariat of the Congress. For the official agenda, click here.

In addition, over 70 so-called “ancillary” meetings will be held by experts from research institutes affiliated with the United Nations, non-governmental organizations, think tanks and other entities working on issues related to crime prevention, criminal justice and the rule of law. Some of their presentations will be on issues that are already on the agenda to be discussed by governments (youth and crime, for example), while others are not (victims’ rights is one). For more information about the workshops and presentations offered, click here.