Non-governmental organisations originally appeared in the mid nineteenth century. After the Second World War, and with the creation of the United Nations, the need and place for a consultative role for organisations that were neither governments nor member states was recognised. The acceptance of these bodies led to the term ‘Non-governmental organisations’. The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) originally defined these bodies as ‘any international body that is not founded by an international treaty’, however the United Nations now describe a Non-Governmental Organisation as a “not-for-profit, voluntary citizen’s group, which is organised on a local, national, or international level to address issues in support of the public good. Task oriented and made up of people with common interests, NGOs perform a variety of services and humanitarian functions, bring citizens concerns to governments, monitor policy and programme implementation, and encourage participation of Civil Society stakeholders at the community level.” They provide analysis and expertise, serve as early warning mechanisms, and help monitor and implement international agreements.
NGOs have, since the end of the Second World War, become increasingly more important to global development. They often hold an interesting role in a nation’s political, economic or social activities, as well as assessing and addressing problems in both national and international issues, such as human, political and women’s rights, economic development, democratisation, inoculation and immunisation, health care, or the environment.
While NGOs were instrumental in achieving the inclusion of human rights standards in the United Nations Charter in 1945, they were few in number and influence at that time. Only forty-one NGOs held consultative status with ECOSOC in 1948 and fewer yet focused exclusively on human rights issues. Since the 1960s, however, the number of NGOs and their influence both...