Chapter 27 recognizes NGOs as partners in the implementation of Agenda 21. Indeed, without their participation, it is difficult to see how the objectives of Agenda 21 could be reached at all. To that end, governments and international organizations are asked to accommodate NGOs and develop mechanisms that will allow them to play a partnership role. NGOs should not only participate in the implementation of Agenda 21 but also play a part among the institutions charged with reviewing and evaluating the implementation. NGOs also participated in large numbers in the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo.

Throughout its existence, UNFPA has collaborated closely with a variety of NGOs which have served as executing agencies for UNFPA-funded activities all over the world. In 1991, for example, NGOs were the third largest recipients of UNFPA assistance. Organizations that have received UNFPA support include, inter alia, the International Planned Parenthood Federation, the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population, the World Conservation Union, The Population Council, and numerous universities and research institutes in both developed and developing countries.

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