January 24, 2007	Wednesday	Muharram 04, 1428

UNITED NATIONS: The massive humanitarian effort, according to a new study, was “testimony to the skills and power of many NGOs.”

“But it also heightened concerns about opportunities for the misuse and abuse of humanitarian funds,” says the 102-page report, titled “Debating NGO Accountability”, released here.

Within months, says the study, there were complaints in Sri Lanka about corruption in aid distribution, and the lack of strong political will on the part of the government to address the challenge.

In Indonesia, even the coordinator of an NGO, mandated to challenge corruption in relief efforts, was arrested by police for alleged corruption.

A series of about 30 articles in US newspapers also raised the issue of ethical failures -- including “sky-high salaries of top executives and expenses for offices, travel and perks” -- while disputing the motives of some of the so-called humanitarian missions.

“They highlighted conflicts of interest, failures to adhere to an organisation’s mission, questionable fundraising practices, and a lack of transparency,” says Dr Jem Bendell, author of the study, which was commissioned by the UN NGO Liaison Service (NGLS).

Tony Hill, coordinator of NGLS, points out that the heads of 11 leading human rights, environmental and social development international organisations publicly endorsed the first global accountability charter in June last year -- perhaps as a result of the increasing number of scandals involving charitable organisations.

These organisations include ActionAid International, Oxfam International, Amnesty International, CIVICUS World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Transparency International and Save the Children Alliance.

“Concerns about the role and accountability of NGOs have been voiced from different quarters in recent years,” says Hill in a preface to the study.

Some donors, governments, corporations, and international agencies raise important questions about the effectiveness of NGO work and the legitimacy of their advocacy, he notes.

In many parts of the world, NGOs are providing more services today than ever before, according to the study. These range from schools and hospitals to water and shelter. Still, the lack of accountability is seen as a major shortcoming.

However, Bendell, an associate professor at Griffith University Business School in Australia and director of the consulting firm Lifeworth, argues that “accountability” in itself is not simply a good thing, as it so often assumed.

Rather, he says, it must be clear that groups must be accountable specifically to those that are affected by their decisions and actions.

It is this concept of “democratic accountability” that lies at the heart of the study, and will allow NGOs to continue to develop as effective and important actors in the international arena, notes Bendell, who is currently advising the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the world’s largest environmental organisation, on strategic development.

In his study, he cites the example of the Washington-based NGO “Fifty Years is Enough’ which criticises the policies and programmes of the World Bank, an international financial institution which manages over $25 billion annually, and has a paid staff of over 8,000.

This NGO, which has three paid staff members and a very tight budget, “has an implicit accountability to the World Bank in the sense that it would be quickly criticised if it made mistakes with its basic facts and figures and have to explain itself.”

“Promoting greater organisational accountability of this small NGO to all those affected by its work, such as the World Bank, and with the resources this process would require, would not help promote the accountability of decision making to those affected by decisions in the field it works on.”

Bendell also points out that promoting organisational accountability as whole may not promote the accountability of decision-making processes to the people whose lives they influence.

“The relative power of different organisations must be taken into account in our understanding of the accountability challenge,” he said.

Asked if all international NGOs should sign the charter, Bendell told IPS: “Yes, it would be great for every major international NGO to sign the Accountability Charter.”

He said the charter provides a basis for NGOs to come to a greater awareness of their common purpose in promoting public benefit, not private profit.

Asked about government regulation of NGOs, Bendell said that charity law and tax law are key mechanisms that governments use to regulate NGOs.—Dawn/The IPS News Service