Global History 12
Non-governmental Organizations
What is a Non-governmental Organizations (NGO’s)?
Organization that operates independently from any form of government. There is a focus on human rights, environmental, or development work.
United Nations:
• Began in 1945. Today 193 countries are members. Some exceptions include the Vatican, Kosovo and Taiwan. The UN does not make or enforce laws.
• The goals of the UN:
• Maintain world peace
• Develop friendly relations between states
• To cooperate in solving international problems
• To harmonize the actions of all states
• The UN has five major sections:
• 1 – The security council: The security council is made up of 15 countries who are responsible for keeping world peace
• 2 – The general assembly: Where every country in the world has a chance to make statements and observations about world affairs
• 3 – The economic and social council: Organize non-political and non-military UN programs
• 4 – The secretariat: Deal with the “paper work”
• 5 – The International Court of Justice: Humanitarian law and war crimes
Millennium Development Goals:
What are they? 8 international development goals established by the UN in 2000.
• All 193 members of the UN signed the United Nations Declaration in agreement with the common desire to achieve the 8 goals by 2015
Goals:
• Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger
• Achieve Universal Primary Education
• Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
• Reduce Child Mortality
• Improve Maternal Health
• Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases
• Ensure Environmental Sustainability
• Develop a Global Partnership for Development
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA):
Purpose: To engage in policy development in Canada and internationally
Goals:
o Increasing Food Security
o Securing the future of children and youth
o Stimulating sustainable economic growth
UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
Purpose: It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country. The number of refugees of concern to UNHCR stood at 10.5 million at the beginning of 2011
Amnesty International:
Goal is to defend human rights. Amnesty International is independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion, and is financially autonomous, due to donations from individual members and supporters
Oxfam:
Oxfam is an international confederation of 17 organizations networked together in 92 countries, as part of a global movement for change, to build a future free from the injustice of poverty