NGO Watch®

Paper Warns of Upheaval in Global Governance System

June 26, 2019

United Nations University Rector David Malone and Rohinton Medhora of the Centre for International Governance Innovation lament that the global governance system is experiencing an upheaval at a time when an explosion of new technologies requires greater multilateral cooperation.
NGO Pushes Switzerland on Due Diligence in Agricultural Trade

June 26, 2019

Investigative nongovernmental organization Public Eye has called on the Swiss government to play a larger role, through regulation of and the imposition of human rights due diligence mandates on traders of agricultural products in Switzerland, to address human rights issues in global agricultural supply chains.
Facebook Sparks Criticism by Disabling Search Function

June 18, 2019

Sam Dubberley, a special advisor to Amnesty International’s Crisis Response team, highlights the pressures on the tech industry to support the global human rights agenda in an op-ed calling on Facebook to reverse its “betrayal” of the human rights community by ending a function that allowed NGOs to find evidence of rights violations.
Think Tank Leader Seeks Demise of State-Centered Global Governance

June 13, 2019

Dr. Robin Niblett CMG of Chatham House argues that the “brittle” state-centered global governance system is crumbling and should give way to a more “inclusive approach” relying on the transnational cooperation of civil society, cities, regions, and multinational corporations to promote common policy goals.
ICRC Issues Guidance on Use of AI in Armed Conflicts

June 12, 2019

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has published a paper considering the legal obligations involved in the use of artificial intelligence technology in armed conflicts and in humanitarian action, finding a need for human control in AI applications that could pose risks to human life.
NGO Paper Offers Roadmap for UN Reforms on Refugees

June 12, 2019

The Centre for International Governance Innovation’s World Refugee Council has published a paper offering a roadmap for UN reforms to enhance responsibility-sharing across, and outside of, the UN system to resolve the global refugee crisis.
ISO Revises Global Standard for Electoral Bodies

June 12, 2019

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has highlighted its footprint in electoral processes by announcing an updated standard for “international best practice” for the effective management of elections, including guidance on voter registration, vote counting, and resolution of electoral disputes.
NGO Ranks Supermarkets on Plastics Action

June 12, 2019

The activist organization Greenpeace has published a ranking of 20 of the largest US grocery retailers on their actions to eliminate “single-use plastics” from their stores, finding that supermarkets are failing to act “with the urgency needed to address the pollution crisis they’re causing.”
NGO Publishes Finance Sector Guidance for Climate Action

June 12, 2019

The Centre for International Governance Innovation has published a report identifying a set of scenarios related to global warming that companies in the financial sector can use to develop strategies regarding how they will confront risks climate change poses to their investment portfolios.
NGO Coalition Accuses Companies of Ignoring “Living Wage” Pledges

June 12, 2019

The nongovernmental organization coalition called the Clean Clothes Campaign is criticizing major clothing brands for “violating internationally recognized human rights norms” by failing to fulfill pledges to ensure workers in their global garment supply chains receive a “living wage.”