NGO Watch®

NGO Warns of Global Backsliding on Rights Agenda

February 05, 2018

The 2018 Rule of Law Index from the nongovernmental organization World Justice Project purports to show that nearly two-thirds of the 113 countries around the world examined for the report have experienced a diminution in respect for fundamental human rights amid a rise in "authoritarian nationalism" and a "general retreat from international legal obligations."
Article: Transform Global Governance Through SDGs

January 30, 2018

An article from the nongovernmental organization Transnational Institute suggests that the actual achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is less important than using the process of working toward the SDGs as an opportunity to "lay foundations for alternative modes" of global governance based on "social and environmental justice."
Coke Faces Criticism for "Band-aid" Plastics Policy

January 29, 2018

Activist organization Greenpeace has downplayed the impacts of beverage company Coca-Cola's announcement that it will increase its use of recycled plastic to 50% worldwide by the year 2030, arguing that this policy is a "band-aid" that will do little to reduce the company's "plastic footprint."
NGO Criticizes McDonald's Move Toward "Sustainable" Packaging

January 29, 2018

Activist environmental organization Greenpeace has criticized the announcement of fast-food company McDonald's that it would create all of its guest packaging from renewable, recycled, or "certified" sources by the year 2025 and tackle its use of foam packaging for failing to deal with the "epidemic" of the production of single-use plastics.
NGO Criticizes EU on Rights Protection

January 24, 2018

As part of its 643-page review of human rights practices in countries around the world, Human Rights Watch warned that EU institutions and the bloc's member states are treating the global human rights agenda as an "optional extra" in areas like migration and combating terrorism, paving the way for the rise of "anti-rights governments."
Academic Seeks More Flexible Methods of Rights Enforcement

January 22, 2018

Professor Alexander Betts of the University of Oxford argues that the UN system has become "toothless" in an increasingly "illiberal" world and that civil society and governments must invent new, "adaptive" ways to bypass the traditional methods of human rights blaming-and-shaming to hold countries to account for their abuses.
UNESCO Hosts Climate Action Forum for NGOs

January 05, 2018

In December, the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) hosted the 8th International Forum of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), where UNESCO sought buy-in and contributions from NGOs on how to implement the international organization's global strategy for addressing climate change.
HRW Gathers Rights Evidence Through Drones

January 05, 2018

An article from Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports that the activist organization has begun using aerial drones to gather information on the implementation of the global human rights agenda and assures the public that HRW guards against the misuse of this technology by conducting "a rigorous review" of legal, security, and privacy issues "before any drone flight."
Observer Seeks More Scrutiny of Aims of "Rights" NGOs

January 03, 2018

Ruthie Blum of the Gatestone Institute writes that the Danish government's decision to halt funding for the Human Rights International Humanitarian Law Secretariat over its ties to anti-Israel nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) is an exception in the general failure of European governments to scrutinize funding that goes to radical causes through pro-"human rights" NGOs.
NGO Criticizes FIFA's BHR Implementation in Russia

December 29, 2017

A Human Rights Watch press release accuses the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) of "falling short" of its commitments to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (BHR) in the run-up to the opening of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.