Saturday, April 4, 2009

Make NGO’s stay on track

Sat, 2009-04-04 00:53 By Somar Wijayadasa

As international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) continue to multiply in geometrical proportions, there is an increasing need to monitor their activities. At last count, there were over 48,000 international NGOs worldwide-- and growing. Unfortunately, most of them lack transparency and accountability.

Sri Lanka has been a happy hunting ground for NGOs-- both during the tsunami and during the current war in the north. Hardly a day goes by without some outraged public statement critical of the international as well as local NGO’s. There are justified suspicions that some NGO’s – flagrantly abusing the freedom and powers vested in them - are covertly working against Sri Lanka’s interests. Some NGO’s misrepresented their activities and operate under false pretenses. This has now become a common phenomenon in many countries.

The term Non-Governmental Organizations is a misnomer because most NGO’s are funded and directed by foreign governments, foundations, and corporations, and are directed by those who set them up or fund them in accordance with their own agendas and strategic goals.

Millions of dollars are poured into the coffers of the NGO’s in the name of research & development, social justice, human rights, think tanks, policy institutes, grassroots democracy, etc. NGO’s today are the world's largest unregulated industry, and many unscrupulous people have made these their source of easy and high living. Most NGO’s stay in the business due to lack of minimum regulatory standards governing their activities.

Many a times, the Sri Lankan Government have challenged the biased actions and undiplomatic positions taken by heads of UN Agencies operating in Sri Lanka. The latest anti-Sri Lankan position surprisingly arose from a Tamil woman heading the UN’s Human Rights. It is strongly suspected that these UN officials are funded by corrupt NGO’s who support the LTTE. Many UN officials in Sri Lanka have often violated the ethical UN standards, and worked against the sovereignty of a member country.

>> Full Story

0 comments: