NGO Forum

Editor’s note:  The Times of India published the above-titled article, which reads in part as follows.

“Amnesty International’s brouhaha about the new FCRA regulations and subsequently, its decision to wind up activities in India have evoked response on expected lines. Interestingly, responses from the strong and wide network of civil society movement in India are feeble, a reflection of the fact that society at large, perhaps is least concerned about whatever happens to these NGOs. This is not a healthy sign, although the NGO sector itself is largely to blame for this situation.”

Click here to read the entire article.

Editor’s note: The Times of India recently posted the above-titled blog, which reads in part as follows:

“Amnesty International’s brouhaha about the new FCRA regulations and subsequently, its decision to wind up activities in India have evoked response on expected lines. Interestingly, responses from the strong and wide network of civil society movement in India are feeble, a reflection of the fact that society at large, perhaps is least concerned about whatever happens to these NGOs. This is not a healthy sign, although the NGO sector itself is largely to blame for this situation.”

 Editor’s note:  E-International relations posted the above-titled article by Molly Ruhlman, which reads in part as follows:

“Global governance is a complex ecosystem of formal and informal institutions. It is formally the domain and responsibility of sovereign nation states, and traditionally studied with a microscope on national interest and state power. Non-sovereign nations and other organizations and associations lack full international legal personality. They are in many ways marginal to central decision-making, diplomacy and negotiation in formal intergovernmental organizations (IGOs). But global governance is much bigger than formal IGOs, and indeed is increasingly composed of multi-stakeholder, complex governance institutions and informal “soft law” agreements. Even within the confines of formal IGO structures, where sovereign nation-states negotiate and decide, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) play an important role.”

Editor’s note: the Barents Observer published the above-titled article, which reads in part as follows:

“Launched in 2008, and updated in 2016, EU’s Arctic policy is not old but as changes take place rapidly, the Commission and External Action Service want to re-examine the role of the EU in Arctic affairs.

High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borell, said the Arctic is a rapidly evolving frontier in international relations.

‘We must ensure that the Arctic remains a zone of low tension and peaceful cooperation, where issues are solved through constructive dialogue,’ Borrell said, pointing to what he calls ‘a number of players seeing new strategic and economic opportunities in the High North.’

Editor’s note:  The above-titled article was posted on the Star’s website.  It reads as follows:

“The issue was discussed during a meeting between deputy Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Dr Edmund Santhara Kumar and 100 representatives from Indian community NGOs at Menara DBKL auditorium on Saturday (July 10).

Edmund said competent NGOs needed to be sufficiently funded as they were the frontliners in addressing the community’s socio-economic problems.

‘The NGOs could be broken into clusters such as education and religion, and focus on their areas of concern,’ he said, adding that NGOs were also impartial as they are not politically motivated.’”

Financial Times posted the above-titled article which reads in part as follows:

“Hungary’s so-called ‘NGO law’ is a violation of several EU principles, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled last Thursday. In a decision that caused little surprise among observers, the EU’s highest court backed up its Advocate General, pointing out that the restrictions imposed by the law are in breach of three articles of the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights as well as Article 63 of the Maastricht Treaty.

Limiting civic space under the guise of transparency

Editor’s Note: France24.com  published the above titled article.  The article reads in part as follows:

“Leading non-governmental organisations on Tuesday blasted the UN Security Council’s “shameful” inaction towards the Covid-19 crisis, especially over a call for truces in some conflict zones during the pandemic.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for ceasefires in fighting around the world two months ago.

But the Security Council – debilitated by a confrontation between China and the United States – has failed to agree on a resolution supporting the initiative in the conflicts which fall under its mandate, the NGOs said in a statement.

Editor’s note:  The UN posted the above-titled article, which reads in part as follows:

“Opening its regular session for 2020, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations today recommended 66 entities for special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and deferred action on the status of 34 others.

The 19-member Committee vets applications submitted by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), recommending general, special or roster status on the basis of such criteria as the applicant’s mandate, governance and financial regime.  Organizations enjoying general and special status can attend Council meetings and issue statements, while those with general status can also speak during meetings and propose agenda items.  Those with roster status can only attend meetings.

Editor’s note: the Devpolicy Blog posted the above-titled article by Terence Wood and Sherman Surandiran, which reads in part as follows:

“Over the years, different staff and volunteers at the Development Policy Centre have gathered data on donations to Australian aid NGOs. Data have usually come from Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) annual reports or NGOs’ own annual reports. (We’re very grateful to ACFID and NGOs for being transparent enough to make this possible.)

The data collected hasn’t always ended up in the same place. So, slowly, the two of us have been collating and tidying datasets. In this blog we revisit two earlier posts, updating findings on NGO donations.

Editor’s note: Bloomberg published the above-titled article, which reads as follows:

“(Bloomberg) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban suffered a setback in his clash with the European Union over democratic norms as an adviser to the bloc’s highest court slammed his crackdown on foreign-funded groups.

A controversial Hungarian law ‘introduces unjustified restrictions’ on non-governmental organizations that receive donations from abroad, hampering the free movement of capital, Advocate General Manuel Campos Sanchez-Bordona of the EU Court of Justice said in a non-binding opinion on Tuesday.

He also called the law, which has been used to target groups linked to financier George Soros, an ‘unjustified interference’ with fundamental rights.