Liu Xinsheng: International NGO and Human Rights Protection

Liu Xinsheng: International NGO and Human Rights Protection

On March 31, 2022, under the auspices of Professor Zhang Wei, co-director of the Institute for Human Rights of China University of Political Science and Law, the Global Human Rights Forum series lectures invited Liu Xinsheng, the former Chinese Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus and the current human rights expert on the Advisory Committee of the United Nations Human Rights Council, gave a lecture about the thesis of “International NGO and Human Rights Protection”.

Firstly，ambassador Liu explained the concept and definition of international NGO. The UN ECOSOC Resolution 288(X) in 1952 issued a decision that any international organization not established under an intergovernmental agreement can be regarded as an international non-governmental organization. Professor Salamon of Johns Hopkins University believes that international NGO have the characteristics of organization, non-government, non-profit, autonomy and voluntary nature. The field of NGO activity is broad. Domestic NGO have the advantage of efficiency in providing public goods and can make up for government shortcomings; at the same time, they can also create employment opportunities and promote economic growth; they can also increase the transparency and rationality of resource use to expand social equity. International NGO have the ability to exert influence in the decision-making process of national governments, intergovernmental organizations and international conferences, provide advice and information to countries and intergovernmental organizations, participate in the implementation of new projects of intergovernmental organizations and participate in coordinating the settlement of international disputes as coordinators. All in all, it plays an important role in forming public opinion in the international community that reflects public opinion.

The development of international NGO can be roughly divided into three stages. In the 19^th century, the representative organization of the "establishment and popularization stage" of NGO was the Red Cross, which mainly engaged in social relief, charity and social welfare; in the "growth stage" of the 20^th century, NGO turned to promote social and economic development; in the "adjustment and development stage" of the 21^st century, with the development of multilateral diplomacy around the world, the scope of work and activities undertaken by NGO has become more diverse. Ambassador Liu Xinsheng believes that the current rapid development of international NGO is due to the end of the Cold War, the weakening of national sovereignty and international cooperation, and the process of globalization. There are four organizational modes of NGO, the main differences lie in the establishment mode and relationship between headquarters and branches, and the way of carrying out work. The source of funds for NGO is mainly government funding in developed countries; membership fees and operating income in middle-income countries, represented by countries such as South Korea and Japan; and foreign donations in third world countries.

The second part of the lecture deals with the relationship between NGO and the United Nations. Article 71 of the Charter of the United Nations states: the Economic and Social Council shall consult non-governmental organizations in various fields of activities; it shall establish suitable arrangements for consultation; after consultation with states, ECOSOC may consult with “national organizations”. In 1968, the UN ECOSOC adopted Resolution 1296 (XLIV), granting international NGO consultative status, which is divided into three types: general consultative status, special consultative status and roster. NGO in consultative status should work on issues of concern to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission and its subsidiary bodies, and must be representative and international, able to represent civil society in countries in different regions of the world, as well as democratic participation and democratic decision-making. The resolution also established the “NGO Committee” to approve and admit NGO, determine their consultative status with the UN ECOSOC and monitor them. Subsequently, resolution 1996/31 recognized the consultative status of NGO in various countries and regions, and made it clear that they could express their views independently in the Economic and Social Council without having to go through international NGO in consultative status.

NGO in consultative status with the United Nations can set up agencies and permanent representatives in the United Nations in New York, Geneva and Vienna, obtain the agenda of ECOSOC and subsidiary bodies meetings, attend meetings as non-voting delegates, and make written statements related to ECOSOC and have them communicated by the Secretary. It can also be entrusted by the Economic and Social Council and its subsidiary bodies to conduct research, surveys or preparation of documents for the NGO Committee. They must abide by the purposes, principles and rules, and undertake to submit work reports to the Economic and Social Council every four years, indicating their support for the work of the United Nations.

Ambassador Liu Xinsheng introduced the relationship between NGO and international human rights protection. NGO can provide information, background presentations and research results related to human rights protection and can promote charitable and legal aid projects. In the universal periodic review of the United Nations Human Rights Council, NGO are very active in the preparatory stage and can participate in the review process. Information submitted by NGO is included in the “Other Relevant Stakeholders” report for reference by States during the review period. Non-governmental organizations can participate in the preparation of the review of the international human rights convention bodies, but cannot participate in the substantive review. They can influence the topic, scope, trend and depth of the UN human rights protection activities in certain procedures.

The third part of the lecture dealt with the current situation of major international NGO and Chinese NGO. Ambassador Liu introduced the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, Amnesty International, Greenpeace, and the World-Wide Fund for Nature. Since China's reform and opening up, the activities of domestic NGO have developed rapidly. The Law on the Administration of Domestic Activities of Overseas NGO enacted in recent years has formed a 2+2 management model. China began to pay attention to the international activities of NGO in the 1990s, and more and more organizations have joined the UN ECOSOC for consultative status.

The lecture ended successfully with the warm applause of the students.