Prospect of Non-governmental Organizations for the Greater Institutional Avenue in the International Human Rights Regime: A Critical Analysis

S. M. Atia Naznin

Abstract

Notwithstanding the dominance of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to uphold human rights in recent years, skeptics constantly allege that NGOs’ involvement in global politics and human rights is a threat to the Westphalian paradigm of state sovereignty. However, in this era of mutual collaboration and peaceful coexistence undoubtedly, we are in the midst of ‘associational revolution’ that requires active presence of NGOs. Therefore, other related thoughts should be analyzed which advocate for the greater institutional role of NGOs in framing the circle of international human rights. Following these two opposite directions, present paper focuses on the international human rights system as centered in the United Nations (UN) as opposed to the three regional human rights arrangements, e.g., European, Inter-American and African, although they are complementary to the UN human rights mechanisms and prominent in international human rights regime. The aim of the article is to explore the scope of NGOs in involving in greater institutional role within the UN as well as the challenges before the UN in accommodating NGOs. By analyzing the potentials of NGOs in editing the grammar of human rights, this paper concludes by contending that world would possibly not be a better place if NGOs are not given a wider institutional platform within the UN.

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