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NGOs and the Council - UN Security Council - Global Policy Forum NGOs and the Council
Security Council members now have close contact with leading Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The NGO Working Group on the Security Council holds meetings nearly every week with Council ambassadors. Council delegates meet with NGOs in a variety of settings to discuss policy questions, including ad hoc consultations and Arria Formula briefings.
Photo: NGO Working Group Meeting with Ambassador Jean-David Levitte of France (2002)
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NGOs and the Security Council (2004)
This article details the growing engagement of NGOs with the UN Security Council in the period after 1990. As the Council grew more active, NGOs began to seek out Council members and argue for better policies. GPF took the lead in setting up the NGO Working Group on the Security Council in 1997 with the help of forward-looking ambassadors. Some positive results have followed, but great power interests set firm limits to what NGOs can achieve.NGO Working Group on the Security Council
The Working Group brings together thirty major NGOs for frequent meetings with Council ambassadors. This section provides information about the Working Group's purposes, membership and activities, including a record of all meetings and basic data.Arria Formula and Other Special Meetings between NGOs and Security Council Members
In addition to the NGO Working Group series, Council members meet with NGOs in other setting to discuss policy questions. Also, the International Peace Academy organizes briefings for Council members on a regular basis.
Briefings and Formulas
The Council meets with outside parties to get information and advice, including meetings with NGOs. An important forum for such meetings is the Arria Formula, named after Venezuelan ambassador Diego Arria who invented this important meeting method.
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