Civil Society Organizations Fighting Corruption: Theory and Practice Workshop , Surrey workshop paper Final at 15 June 2012

Transcription

1 Civil Society Organizations Fighting Corruption: Theory and Practice Workshop , Surrey workshop paper Final at 15 June 2012

2 Civil Society Organizations Fighting Corruption: Theory and Practice Workshop Faculty of Business Economics and Law, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU 2 7XH Who are CSOs and from where do they gain their legitimacy? Michel van Hulten , Surrey workshop paper Final text at 15 June 2012 From: SAXION University of Applied Sciences School of Governance & Law, Corruption Studies Enschede, the Netherlands Michel van Hulten, July 9, 2012

3 Who are CSOs and from where do they gain their legitimacy? CSOs tend to know better I hope that others in this conference will tell us what happens to State Parties in their relationships with the non-governmental world. I also hope that some participants can also answer the question: What measures are needed to overcome CSOs reluctance to engage and how will these measures vary between different states?

4 Civil society is the arena -Outside of the family -Outside the state -Outside of the market (business) created by individual and collective action associations to advance shared interests

5 The European Commission defined civil society organizations in 2000 as: - Citizens have the right to form associations - to pursue a common purpose which is a fundamental freedom in democracy. Belonging to an association provides an opportunity for - citizens - to participate - actively - in new ways other than or in addition to involvement in political parties or trade unions. Increasingly NGOs are recognised as a significant component of civil society and as providing valuable support for a democratic system of government. Is this still the EU-definition? Another one has not been proposed yet.

6 No-one talks openly about the mutual distrust between governments and civil society organisations My perception of reality is that authorities distrust organizations that they do not have under control. And reversely, most if not all CSOs are wary of governmental interference!

7 Who are CSOs and from where do they gain their legitimacy? Who are CSOs? Are they just another answer to the needs ordinary citizens feel to be heard and answered? Listening and answering in a way different from politics and public administration? Is it the citizen s way to circumvent the solutions the authorities propose and implement, answering their problems? Do citizens prefer to deal themselves with their problems and find and implement solutions, organized in a non-politically neutral way? Are CSOs non-political?

8 Will better functioning politicians and public servants make the existence of CSOs superfluous?

9 Is this history? Governments neglected to take care of basic needs in our societies: - protection of human rights - taking care of the weak and sick - integrity in society -.. Should not Governments of the world exercise their experience and power, instead of leaving these tasks respectively to - Amnesty International - the Red Cross and Red Crescent organizations - Transparency International? -..?

10 There are tens of thousands of CSOs per country. Hundreds of thousands (possibly millions) as we count globally and include all internationals. Some count them inclusive of also all Local Authorities (LAs). In Europe: more than 91,000 of them at local level (municipalities), 1,150 intermediary level organizations (districts, counties) and more than 100 regional bodies. Do all CSOs qualify as such? Are there criteria? Wikipedia as consulted on 4 April 2012 mentions: The number of internationally operating NGOs is estimated at 40,000. National numbers are even higher: Russia has 277,000 NGOs; India is estimated to have around 3.3 million NGOs in year 2009, which is one NGO for less than 400 Indians.

11 CSOs: how many? Tens of thousands of CSOs per country. Hundreds of thousands (possibly millions) globally. Some count additionally as CSOs also all Local Authorities (LAs). In Europe: more than 91,000 of them at local level (municipalities), 1,150 intermediary level organizations (districts, counties) and more than 100 regional bodies. UK civil society is currently thriving. There are a reported 870,000 formal civil society associations. Wikipedia as consulted on 4 April 2012 mentions: The number of internationally operating NGOs is estimated at 40,000. National numbers are even higher: Russia has 277,000 NGOs; India is estimated to have around 3.3 million NGOs in year 2009, which is one NGO for less than 400 Indians.

12 Who are CSOs and from where do they gain their legitimacy? Is numbers a legitimization? How serious are these large numbers of CSOs? 1. Just one example from my experience in Slovenia in the years : The Government of Slovenia in the years invited NGOs to participate and co-operate into the working groups dealing with the 31 sectors in which the EU-accession preparatory work had been split. From the invited roughly civil society institutions, only some 160 came forward and accepted the invitation, but only 1/10th of them actually took part in the real work: From all hundreds of thousands CSOs in the world roughly have been accepted by ECOSOC on behalf of the UN-system as NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. The EC Joint Transparency Register contains slightly more than organizations, but also including law firms, NGOs, think tanks - indeed any organization or self-employed individual engaged in influencing EU policy making and implementation. These thousands in any case have to be taken as serious partners. Among them the number of CSO is in any case smaller.

13 Who are CSOs and from where do they gain their legitimacy? United Kingdom Transparency International in the recent description of the National Integrity System NIS: The UK has a strong, well-resourced and thriving civil society, which enjoys strong legal protection and is relatively free from undue external influence. A caveat is that civil society organizations are often reliant on state funding and this could, potentially, impact on how dependent they are from state influence. The Civil Society Almanac 2010 identifies CSOs (including universities, housing associations, charities, sports clubs, political parties, and employee-owned businesses). UK debate about the future of civil society in the UK * +, - plans to develop a Big Society Bank and a Community First Fund, which will help neighborhoods implement their own improvement plans. - Plans to create a National Citizen Service with the aim of connecting more young people with their communities and empower them to make a contribution. Some reports suggest that UK civil society is currently thriving. There are a reported 870,000 formal civil society associations with combined assets of 210 billion. They include cooperatives, trade unions, voluntary and community organizations, faith-based organizations and housing associations. * +.

14 Finland Who are CSOs and from where do they gain their legitimacy? The TI-NIS for Finland of 2012 mentions: - The third sector plays a vital role in the citizens everyday lives. - The majority of Finns belong to more than one association in the course of their life. According to a study in 2004, 75% of the population belonged to at least one association. - Some CSOs operate in the leisure sector while others operate in welfare services. CSOs are dependent on the financial resources which they receive. - This leads to the development of activities being largely tied to where the state and municipalities want to direct their funding. The role of civil society is at a turning point. On the one hand, there are reasons to strengthen the role of CSOs in producing welfare services. On the other hand, funding and current legislation pose considerable challenges to non profit service activities. Many CSOs have not traditionally been active or shown initiative in anticorruption activities.

15 Who are CSOs and from where do they gain their legitimacy? Vocabulary CSO, NGO, Third Sector,.? Different words are being used to describe the same phenomenon, which is citizens dealing with their own matters in a most direct way on (mostly) a voluntary basis. Some of these names have a negative connotation ( non ), others are positive. Some are in many countries legally defined. - Foundation (sometimes fund ) - CSO for Civil Society Organization, positive - NGO for Non-Governmental Organization, negative, saying what the organization is not. [Mostly an NGO is also non-business and non-profit] - Third Sector - Association - Civil Society - Non-Profit Organization - Not-for-profit Organization - Trust - Unincorporated association - Voluntary- and also volunteer-organization - Social benefit organization - Citizen sector organization - institute or institution, - pressure group - advocacy group - lobby. - Association From these, the word association received formal recognition when the EC used it in the first sentence of the preamble of the document issued by the EC in the year 2000, after several years of consultation with CSO umbrella-organizations, regarding her relationship with the NGO-world.

16 Who are CSOs and from where do they gain their legitimacy? Legitimization not only by Brussels but also by the UN Association is also the word chosen by the United Nations, in: UN General Assembly Resolution 15/21, The rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, 6 October (see in the paper Annex 7)

17 Who are CSOs and from where do they gain their legitimacy? Word to be used: preferably Civil Society Civil society covers the broadest concept of the sector, it is something intangible. It stands for ideal principles of pluralism, democracy and openness, within which non-profit organizations represent one form of incorporation. It is at the moment my preferred choice.

18 Comparison between TI and AI as examples of widely different manifestations of CSOs Transparency International Restricted membership Membership-tenure is limited in time, but mandates are renewable without limit Governments (80%) and business (10%) pay considerable share of annual budget Support by the powerful Members have a private interest in the TI-mission to become accomplished. Amnesty International Mass movement No time limits on membershiptenure Members pay all, mostly small personal contributions Keeps the powerful at distance Members have a collective interest: solidarity with the victims