"NGOs have been partners of DPI since...1947 "
There are literally tens of thousands of non-governmental organizations in the world. However, most of them do not have NGO status with the United Nations. Some NGO’s are highly influential—enjoying what is called “consultative status” with the upper echelon of the United Nations. Another category of NGOs is less influential—they are given what is called “associate status” with the UN’s Department of Public Information. There are only about 1,400 NGOs that are associated with the DPI. By the UN’s own definition, an NGO associated with the DPI is a non-governmental organization that works in partnership with the United Nations. As an example, on the United Nations DPI-NGO website, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, states concerning the purpose of NGOs: “If the UN’s global agenda is to be properly addressed, a partnership with civil society at large is not an option, it is a necessity.”
NGO’s are intended to facilitate that partnership between the United Nations and civil society. The DPI/NGO Section of the United Nations’ website explains in greater detail the vital role NGOs play, saying:
“NGOs have been partners of DPI since its establishment in1947. The NGO Section of DPI is part of DPI’s Outreach Division, and acts as its liaison to the UN. It provides a range of information services to civil society and other partners, including the academic community, educational institutions and the public at large.”
The Department of Public Information is a division of the vast UN bureaucracy and is responsible for disseminating information in behalf of the United Nations. To that end the DPI has enlisted the help of a wide variety of non-profit citizens groups that have an interest in supporting the United Nations’ global agenda. According to the DPI, qualified organizations serve in a political partnershipwith the United Nations. How do NGOs and the DPI cooperate? The DPI asks and answers that very question:
“The DPI/NGO Section oversees partnerships with associated NGOs to better support the work of the UN. NGOs that have the commitment and the means to conduct effective information programmes with their constituents and to a broader audience about UN activities may apply for association with DPI. NGOs may disseminate information through newsletters, bulletins and pamphlets, radio or television programmes, or through public activities such as conferences, lectures, seminars or workshops.”
According to the above statements taken directly from the United Nations website, all accredited NGOs are expected to cooperate with the Department of Public Information by using their own resources “to conduct effective information programmes with their constituents and to a broader audience about UN activities.” In other words, to put it bluntly: NGOs are required to propagandize in behalf of the United Nations. The Watchtower’s letter to the branch offices even quotes from the very same UN document cited above, which outlines the purpose of NGOs. However, the Watchtower only selectively quotes from a footnote, saying:
“Moreover, NGOs are informed by the United Nations that association of NGOs with DPI does not constitute their incorporation into the United Nations system…”
Of course, it is true that NGOs are not incorporated into the United Nations governmental system. NGO’s, as the name implies, are non-governmental organizations. If they were “incorporated into the United Nations system” they would become governmental organizations. The Watchtower is merely obfuscating the issue. The issue is not whether NGOs have a grant of governmental authority from the United Nations. The crucial point is that all NGOs associated with the DPI are considered to be in a political partnership with the United Nations.
Seeing that the Watchtower quoted from the very document that outlines the criteria for NGOs to become partners with the UN, it is inconceivable that Watchtower officials were unaware that the DPI considers all NGOs to be in partnership with the UN.
Is it possible, perhaps, that the DPI would have granted the Watchtower associate NGO status simply because the applicant wanted to use the UN library and did not also require them to live up to their contractual obligation? No, that is not reasonable. For one thing, as previously stated, access to the library was not restricted to NGOs. According to the DPI, the reason NGOs are encouraged to use the library and given access to other facilities and briefings and so forth, is so that those organizations can be more effective in educating the public about the activities of the UN. That is also why the DPI closely scrutinizes all applicants so that only a small fraction of those that apply are actually accepted.
The suggestion that the United Nations knowingly granted the Watchtower an exemption from the obligations of their partnership is pure fiction.
Here is a contextual quote attributed to Paul Hoeffel, the head of the DPI, taken from Insight on the News website, which sheds light upon the review process:
“The DPI status is under the authority of the U.N. Department of Public Information (UNDPI), which controls U.N. archives and research facilities. To obtain it, according to Paul Hoeffel, chief of the DPI/NGO Section at the United Nations, an organization must have been in existence for at least three years and provide evidence of having worked with the United Nations in some cooperative way. The financial records of the organization must be turned over to the UNDPI for review, and the ideals and philosophy of the organization must not conflict with broad U.N. missions and policy. "We have to be careful who we accept," Hoeffel says. The benefit of this status, he says, is that NGOs gain access to all U.N. facilities and conferences and may gather information on their areas of interest at the U.N. library. Currently, he says, about 250 organizations apply for DPI status a year, with 40 to 50 of these being accepted. There now are 1,400 NGOs with DPI status.”
Not only does the DPI carefully screen all initial NGO applicants, there is also an annual accreditation process. DPI disassociates NGOs that no longer qualify. Below is a quote from a UN official stating that NGOs undergo “rigorous examining” and those that no longer meet the criteria are disassociated.
“Raymond Sommereyns, Chair of the DPI Committee on NGOs and Director of DPI’s Outreach Division, noted that the semi-annual meeting welcomes a new group of highly qualified NGOs to work with the United Nations. ‘At the same time’, he said, ‘we are rigorously examining those NGOs that no longer meet the criteria for association with DPI.’ A list of disassociated NGOs will be available in February 2003.”
Had the Watchtower not actually abided by the terms of the agreement, they would have probably been disassociated by the DPI. However, the Watchtower served as an NGO from 1992-2001 and was only disassociated upon their request, not because they failed to meet the requirements of association.
