NGOs Political Outcasts at High-Level UN Meetings
►http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/176-general/50722-ngos-political-outcasts-at-high-level-un-meetings.html
Thousands of NGOs are being denied access to high-level meetings during the UN General Assembly from September 20 to October 3, 2011, despite having UN issued passes. Though NGOs have consistently played an important role at the UN and were once described by a former UN Secretary-General as the world’s “third superpower,” the UN has barred NGOs from the GA for “security purposes.” The UN has long depended on the “advocacy skills, creative resources, and grassroots reach” of various NGOs. By blocking their access to these meetings—many on topics that NGOs specialize on— the UN is hindering its ability to effectively address global issues.
This year, however, the ban has generated more protests because most NGOs have been shut out of three key “high-level meetings” scheduled for next week - on desertification and poverty eradication; on racism and xenophobia; and on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases - plus a nuclear security summit.