NGO Watch®

NGO Networks Merge to Push Human Rights in ICT Sector

February 10, 2016

The Global Network Initiative has announced that it is adding seven major telecommunications companies from the Telecommunications Industry Dialogue to its network, which seeks to pressure information and communications technology ("ICT") businesses to adhere to principles of free expression and privacy rights in their dealings with national governments.
Academics, NGO Launch "Lab" on Human Rights Research

February 05, 2016

The Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at NYU School of Law, Human Rights Watch, and the Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute are launching a Human Rights Methodology Lab, which will gather experts from disciplines ranging from economics to environmental science to share investigative techniques on human rights violations.
Activists Plan Lawsuits Based on UN Climate Deal

January 12, 2016

Politico reports that environmental activists are preparing litigation strategies that will seek to use commitments made by national governments in the recent UN climate deal agreed in Paris and data produced under the deal's country-by-country reporting requirements to bind governments to policies addressing climate change.
Paper: "Civil Society" Shapes Administrative Rules of Global Governance

January 11, 2016

An article from Gianluca Sgueo of the European Parliamentary Research Service considers the role and effectiveness of "civil society actors" and coalitions in developing administrative rules for governance at the supranational level and explores tensions among these groups that make them appear less desirable as shapers of such administrative global governance.
UN Chief Seeks NGO Pressure for Climate Deal

January 06, 2016

In recent remarks, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on representatives of nongovernmental organizations to ramp up pressure on governments to abide by the pledges they made as part of a UN climate deal agreed in Paris.
HRW Offers Cautious Praise for Climate Pact's "Rights" Recognition

December 30, 2015

Katharina Rall of Human Rights Watch ("HRW") praises the recent UN climate agreement for language asserting that "human rights" are at stake in limiting the impact of global warming and calls on activists to serve as "watchdogs" in the implementation of the pact to ensure that such rights are respected.
Oxfam: UN Climate Deal Is Not Enough

December 30, 2015

Illustrating the dissatisfaction of activist groups with non-binding international agreements on environmental policy, the nongovernmental organization Oxfam has published an article asserting that the global climate-change deal agreed at a recent UN conference in Paris does not accomplish enough to limit or contain the catastrophic effects of global warming.
NGO Explores Global Governance Options for Carbon Market

December 22, 2015

In a recent article, Andrei Marcu of the Centre for European Policy Studies considers a number of different options for a unified "carbon market" governed by a central, international body under the terms of the Paris climate agreement.
AI: Climate Change Harms Rights, Creates Refugees

December 22, 2015

Amnesty International ("AI") has published a piece seeking to identify a "direct link" between global warming and "the rights to life, health, food, water and housing" and arguing that people identifying themselves as climate "refugees," who move from their homes due to the effects of climate change, are "entitled" to support from countries responsible for the phenomenon.
NGO Seeks Investor Pressure on Companies over Trafficking

December 22, 2015

Acknowledging the "unprecedented scrutiny" British corporations are facing following the passage of a UK law requiring companies to report on their efforts to rid their supply chains of forced labor, nongovernmental organization Finance Against Trafficking has released a report guiding investors on how to pressure companies to perform extensive supply-chain due diligence in this area.