Nongovernmental Organizations in the United Nations System: The Emerging Role of International Civil Society.

Discusses relationship between projects of the United Nation's (UN) Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) review and post-cold war concepts of international civil society. The relationship between the UN and NGOs has always been one of controversy and fluctuation. In the early years of the UN, there was strong cooperation between ECOSOC and those NGOs with social and humanitarian concerns. However, Communist and Third World states adopted a general policy of opposition to NGOs, for different reasons, and the attitude of Western states was often characterized by prevarication and opportunism. In the early 1950s, consultative status was withdrawn from four NGOs as the result of efforts of Great Britain and the U.S., who were unhappy with the NGOs' criticisms of the U.S. and the UN's role in Korea. States who have been criticized by human rights NGOs continue to attempt to block accreditation. This forced the Committee to a vote for the first time in March 1993, and, as a result, majority decisions were made to recommend to ECOSOC that both Human Rights Watch and ILGA be accredited. ECOSOC accepted these recommendations in July 1993 with significant support coming from Western, East European, and Latin American states and strong opposition from Asian and African states.