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Editorial by Kofi Annan Guest Editorial in "Go Between 67"
By Kofi Annan
Secretary-General of the United Nations
December 1997/January 1998
Five years ago, when I was Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, an incident occurred in Somalia that taught us - both in the United Nations and in the NGO community - a lesson about the importance of understanding each other well.With the United Nations Operation in Somalia came the first mandate of a peacekeeping operation to include the protection of humanitarian workers. On one occasion the NGOs-40 of them-decided to have a picnic on the beach at Mogadishu. When the NGO workers were attacked there, they asked for the protection of United Nations peacekeepers. The UN commander's first reaction was: "Why didn't they tell me they were going to do this?"
When / told the story last September to the 50th annual conference bringing together nongovernmental organizations and the United Nations Department of Public Information, it was to illustrate a cultural gap between NGOs and the UN that is rapidly and happily disappearing. And I said then that if the global agenda is to be properly addressed, a true partnership between NGOs and the United Nations is not an option; it is a necessity.
Over the past 50 years, the relationship between the organization and NGOs has changed beyond all recognition. Back then, the governments of UN Member States were virtually the sole actors in the international process; nongovernmental organizations were seen as supporters, allies, and mobilizers of public opinion in favour of the goals and values of the UN Charter.
Today, NGOs are often on the ground before the international community gives the UN a mandate to act. They are indispensable operators in areas ranging from demining to human rights, from health care to refugees. And they are seen not only as disseminators of public information or providers of services, but as shapers of public policy.
The participation of NGOs in shaping goals and norms acquired true meaning with the global conferences of the 1990s. From the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development at Rio in 1992 through to the Conference of Parties to the UN Framework on Climate Change at Kyoto last December, tens of thousands of organizations were involved, from global to local level, in identifying priorities and issues and in finding ways to address them.
Yet despite the growing manifestations of an ever more robust global civil society, the United Nations has been inadequately equipped to engage it and make it a true partner in our work. And so when / took up the position of Secretaiy-General and embarked on a quiet revolution to reform the UN, enhanced cooperation with NGOs formed a crucial theme in my proposals. This stemmed from a recognition that our common work will be more successful if it is supported by all concerned actors of the international community.
Under my reform proposals, approved by the General Assembly and now being implemented, all substantive departments of the United Nations are designating an NGO liaison officer to facilitate access to the organization. At the country level, where appropriate, the UN system is creating more opportunities for tripartite cooperation with civil society. Training programmes for United Nations staff will include a component dedicated to cooperation with civil society. This will be reflected in the curricula of the United Nations Staff College.
am now hosting a series of gatherings involvind eminent leaders of different sectors of civil society, NGOs among them. And in the year 2000, alongside the Millennium Assembly of the United Nations, NGOs will be holding a Millennium Forum that will provide an excellent opportunity to further cement our relationship.
As we move.towards the end of the decade, NGO agendas are focusing increasingly on ways to implement the goals reached at the conferences of the 1990s. But / hope you will also continue to share with us your vigilance in identifying future needs and priorities; for in a world where change is an essential condition of life, ,these will continue to evolve.
This changing world of open borders and new actors presents us with new challenges. Not all effects of globalization are positive; not all non-state actors are good. There has been an ominous growth in the activities of drug-traffickers, gun-runners, money-launderers and exploiters of young people for prostitution. These forces of 'uncivil society' can be combated only through global cooperation, with the help of civil society. This is the challenge I hope you will help us meet now.
Above all, I hope that you will continue to set your sights high. You have only to look at the International Campaign to Ban Landmines the driving force behind the treaty to ban the production, stockpile, export and use of these abominable weapons-to see that there are no limits to what civil society can achieve in partnership with governmental and intergovernmental actors. And it is often those single-minded enough to believe their mission to be the most important, who are also likely to make it the most successful.
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