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European Policy Forum
125 Pall Mall,
London,
SW1Y 5EA
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 20 7839 7565
Fax: +44 20 7839 7339
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One of the major themes of EPF work since it was founded in 1992 concerns systems of governance, including governance in the modern regulatory state. Within this broad context, over the last few years EPF has held a number of conferences and published papers on the role of NGOs in modern governance 1. Meetings have been held in London, Brussels, Washington DC and Geneva. Other partners, academic and official, such as the EU’s Economical and Social Committee, have participated, as have NGOs themselves. Academic participants have included Lord Plant of Highfield, Professor Bridget Hutter and Professor Claudio Radaelli. NGO participants have included Jeremy Hobbs and Dr Simon Wilson.
Out of this work has arisen an interest in the role that an international code of conduct for international NGOs might play in improving the quality of international governance. A paper by EPF Director Frank Vibert sets out an approach to such a code and what role it might play.
The approach described in the paper is termed ‘self-regulation plus’. The ‘plus’ refers to three characteristics desirable in any code:
- The principles contained should be validated as the relevant principles in some way by other key actors in the international system including international organisations;
- The code should be ‘nested’ alongside other related international codes;
- The code should be accompanied by some kind of review system that monitors observance.
International NGOs themselves are beginning to recognise the need for such a code and proposals from within the NGO movement are expected to emerge shortly. EPF’s work provides a starting point from which such proposals might be assessed.
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1. NGOs, Democratisation and the Regulatory State (London 2003)
Governance and NGOs of the Future (London 2005)