C H A P T E R 4
Partnership and Empowerment
NGO community health worker shows women in
Bangladesh village how to use a condom.
Civil society groups are playing a growing role in
carrying out the ICPD Programme of Action.
The ICPD Programme of Action represents a consensus among governments, but it
recognizes that giving practical effect to a concept of development centred on human
aspirations and values will require collaboration among governments, civil society and the
international community. Many of the issues were first brought to national and
international attention by organizations outside government, and implementing its
recommendations calls for action, advocacy, stewardship and feedback by many different
participants.
In the forefront are health advocates, including family planning organizations, groups
with an interest in education, women’s organizations and those concerned with the
family. Groups with a broader range of interests and concerns have also become involved,
including many concerned with economic development, poverty, the environment, urban
affairs, human rights, and religious and ethical questions. One of the most important
signs of progress in implementing the Programme of Action in the last five years has been
the growing involvement of organizations outside governments.
The
Emerging Vision of Civil Society
This process has drawn renewed attention to the variety of and relationships among
civil-society organizations and the public sector. Civil society takes different forms,
but it may be thought of as a range of associations, organizations and institutions that
bind people of similar interests together. It includes voluntary membership groups, the
private sector and its groups and associations, cultural organizations and advocacy
groups. Among its components are cooperatives, trade unions, micro-enterprise and
self-help groups, women’s groups, health and development advocacy and service groups,
business associations, charitable organizations, religious bodies, trade unions, political
parties, clans and other family-based systems, lobbying groups, social movements,
political parties, professional associations, men’s groups, youth groups — in
short, the whole range of ways people get together to express their views and attain their
ends other than through the formal State.1
The State can be involved, to different degrees in different settings, with a range of
such groups (for example, as sponsor, partner, organizer, financier, manager, licenser or
regulator), but the special roles and responsibilities of the State are distinct. The term
non-governmental organization (NGO) is often used to refer to groups that are not part of
the State apparatus but is generally understood to be less inclusive than civil-society
organizations (CSOs) as a whole.2
Parliamentarians play a special role in effecting national action. They are a bridge
between civil society and the public sector, serving as the voice of local groups, leaders
and other community influentials and of the electorate. Local leaders and respected
individuals can also help to mobilize, mediate, and unify opinion and action.
National and international NGOs have been an important part of the ICPD process and its
subsequent implementation and review. By the third Preparatory Committee meeting in 1994,
which negotiated the final draft of the Programme of Action, 934 NGOs had been accredited.
By the ICPD itself, 1,254 NGOs from 138 countries and territories had been accredited.
They participated both directly (when they were included as members of country
delegations) and indirectly (as advocates and as participants in the NGO Forum).
NGOs and other civil society organizations have also been active participants in
assessing progress since the ICPD. A roundtable meeting on partnership with civil
Partnership and Empowerment NGOs and other civil society organizations have been active
participants in assessing progress since the ICPD. A round table meeting on partnership
with civil society was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in July 1998. 3 There were also an NGO Forum and a Youth
Forum at The Hague in February 1999, which attracted representatives from around the
world.4 NGOs active in the
implementation of the Programme of Action were also accredited to participate in the
preparatory meetings for the special session of the United Nations General Assembly in
1999.
In the years since the ICPD, the relationship between civil-society organizations and
governments has continued to mature. In many countries, including many developing
countries, NGOs have moved closer to involvement in decision-making. They are often
included in discussion of national population policy and in official delegations to
international and regional conferences. They are not only advocates for reproductive
health and rights and gender equity but are also active in programmes to improve
women’s status and rights and reproductive health services.
The ICPD marked a turning point for recognition of NGOs as genuine partners of
governments in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating policies and programmes.
In the 1998 UNFPA field inquiry, however, only 49 of 114 countries reported having taken
significant measures to promote the involvement of NGOs at various stages of policy and
programme implementation.
A further 26 countries have taken significant measures to strengthen the institutional
capacity of civil society. Some countries have undertaken both activities, so that a total
of 56 countries have taken strong steps to strengthen the partnership with civil society.
Nineteen countries have representatives of NGOs or other civil society members at the
national bodies responsible for formulating policies or other committees to address issues
of population and development and, more recently, reproductive health.
Nineteen countries have included NGOs in consultation and dialogue on policy and
programme implementation. Eleven countries have established coordinating committees for
NGO activities and 10 countries have created an enabling environment for civil society by
establishing formal procedures for registration, providing tax incentives, or allowing
broader funding mechanisms.
There has been significant progress, but five years after Cairo the partnership between
governments and civil society is not complete or even, in some countries, acknowledged.
The range of CSO and NGO activities throughout the world is too extended and diverse to
be captured in any single report. The examples presented are only indicative.
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