Isabel OrtizAssociate Director

UNICEF Policy and Practice

Distribution of World Income - Public Policies for Whom? The Challenge of our Generation

Global Income Distribution by Countries, 1990-2007 (or latest available) in PPP constant 2005 international dollars

Source: Ortiz and Cummins (2011) UNICEF

The UN and CSOsSince its creation, the UN has committed itself to ensure

that Civil Society has a voice and a role to play in the work of the organization

Engagement has considerably evolved over the years1970’s - 1980’s: significant increase in their participation in the

activities of the organization. However, NGOs involved were mostly northern-based international NGOs

1990’s on: "second generation" of UN-NGOs relations Much larger scale of NGO presence across the UN system More diverse institutional character of the organizations involved, now

including national, regional and international NGOs, networks, coalitions and alliances

Greater diversity of the issues that NGOs seek to address at the UN

CSOs play a key role at major United Nations Conferences and are indispensable partners for UN efforts at the country level

NGOs are consulted on UN policy and programme matters

UN Democracy Fund was established by the Secretary-General in July 2005 as a UN General Trust Fund. Supported by 36 Member States, its chief function is funding projects that strengthen the voice of civil society in democratic processes around the world

Oversees partnerships with associated NGOs and provides a wide range of information services to them (weekly NGO briefings, workshops, annual NGO conference )

Over 13,000 CSOs have established a relationship with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)

The Non-Governmental Liaison Service promotes dynamic partnerships between the United Nations and non-governmental organizations

UN ECOSOC Consultative StatusThe first time NGOs took a role in formal UN

deliberations was through the ECOSOC in 1946International, regional and national NGOs, non-profit

public or voluntary organizations are eligible to obtain consultative status with UN ECOSOC

There are three categories of consultative status: General: reserved for large INGOs whose area of work

covers most of the issues on the agenda of ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies

Special: granted to NGOs which have a special competence in, and are concerned specifically with, only a few of the fields of activity covered by the ECOSOC

Roster: NGOs that tend to have a rather narrow and/or technical focus and that can make occasional and useful contribution s to the work of the Council or its subsidiary bodies

Accredited NGOs at the UNTo be accredited, an NGO must have been in

existence (officially registered with the appropriate government authorities as an NGO/non-profit) for at least two years

Must have an established headquarters, a democratically adopted constitution, authority to speak for its members, a representative structure, appropriate mechanisms of accountability and democratic and transparent decision-making processes

Consultative status provides NGOs with opportunity to participate in relevant international conferences convened by the UN and in meetings of the preparatory bodies of these conferences

Currently around 3,400 NGOs enjoy consultative status with ECOSOC

Added value of the UN as partnerAccess to governments = ability to create platform

for CSO perspectivesTrusted partners due to long history of

engagementAbility to promote capacity development and

engagement with other sectors of societyCan lead to meaningful

civil society inclusion

within the global political

system

Why should international organizations engage with CSOs?It increases national ownership, legitimacy and

credibility of policies and programsIt helps improve democratic governance A strengthened civil society is a necessary

condition to realizing progress in human rightsIt can make work more efficient and sustainable

UNICEFUNICEF's work with civil society has evolved

throughout the decades in response to the changing landscape of child survival and development, strategic shifts in UNICEF's programmes, and the growth of civil society

1940s: a close collaboration with service delivery NGOs in emergency relief operations Today: Country, Regional, and HQ Offices increasingly engage diverse civil society actors in areas such as research and analysis, policy advocacy, and social mobilization

• CSOs are closely involved in the work of UNICEF at the country level (in 190 countries where UNICEF is active), and they are also consulted in the formulation of policy at HQ

• The NGO Committee on UNICEF (80+ organizations) for over 50 years has helped to cultivate and strengthen partnerships with NGOs• The Committee participates in the meetings of the

UNICEF Executive Board

Worldwide engagement

UNICEF-CSOs collaboration• Partnerships and collaborative relationships

with CSOs leverage results for children in several ways:1. Implementing programmes;2. Preparing for and responding to emergencies;3. Generating knowledge and innovative practices;4. Advocating for children’s rights and engaging in

policy dialogue;5. Facilitating the participation of children and

young people;6. Supporting the development of an active civil

society that promotes children’s rights

1. Implementing programmesWith their close proximity to target groups, CSOs can

deliver services in remote or hard-to-reach communitiesIn situations that require a physical presence in the

community and technical expertise, competent CSOs can play a critical role in scaling-up public programmes.

In Rwanda, NGO Bamporeze in implements a community-based protection programme for children orphaned by AIDS that is supported by UNICEF

2. Emergencies readiness and responseCSOs often have a comparative advantage –

they are uniquely positioned to deliver essential supplies and services to vulnerable or hard-to-reach groups - over other development actors when delivering emergency relief due to:proximity to target groupsknowledge of local contextsrelatively flexible administrative structures

In Myanmar, UNICEF provided over 30 NGOs with health commodities to mitigate the effects of Cyclone Nargis on the health and well-being of children and women

3. Generating knowledge and innovative practices

• Often cutting-edge evidence and analytical reports come from iNGOs and think-tanks – for instance Oxfam, Save the Children Fund, Action Aid, Christian Aid, EURODAD, Third World Network, IDEAs and many others.

• At local level, the

knowledge of CSOs = ability to develop \\\\\\\\\\\\\ innovative solutions

4. Advocacy and engaging in policy dialogue

• Civil society can deepen and enrich policy dialogue through research, analysis, and advocacy. It acts as mobilizers of support for policies for children and women

• EX: UNICEF promotes civil society’s active involvement in national initiatives, such as child-friendly budgeting and legislative reform– Latin America: social budgeting initiatives supported by UNICEF (e.g., Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, etc.)– UNICEF partners with Tostan for the eradication of female genital mutilation/cutting in ten African countries

UNICEF actively supports the National Youth Observatory to design and implement a comprehensive M&E system at the country level specifically around the issues that mostly affect Tunisian young people and children

Ex: National Child or Youth Observatories:TUNISIA

Example II: MoroccoUNICEF has supported the creation of the

Moroccan Evaluation Association (MEA)Aim: to contribute to national debate and

advocacy for systematic evaluation of public policies

Based on the widely accepted assumption that if the national M&E capacity is weak, it is unlikely that any development efforts will reach significant positive results for citizens

The Association has been recognized as a national independent association being invited to speak on evaluation matters in public events

5. Facilitating the participation of children and young people

MOROCCO - UNICEF, UNDP and UNFPA supported the recent Youth National Summit (22-24 May 2011)More than 845 young people gathered together to have

their voices directly heard by members of government, private sector and political parties

They discussed issues relevant to them – education, health, youth employment, political participation, socio-economic support, etc.

Ministers of several Departments answered young people directly and had to develop proposals for a better investment in young people

May 2012: follow up meeting when Integrated National Strategy and time-bound Action Plan will be approved

6. Supporting the development of an active civil society that promoteschildren’s rights

• The existence of a well-functioning civil society focusing on the rights and the development of children constitutes an end in itself

• UNICEF helps CSOs to build their capacities to advocate for children’s rights and implement child-focused programmes (to ensure the long-term sustainability of child-focused programmes and policy reforms)– Sponsors training opportunities– Convenes networks of likeminded CSOs– Creates opportunities for collaboration, joint

coordination and mutual learning

Challenges for effective partneringFunding – How can CSOs be funded without

compromising their independence? (Funders tend to impose their preferences, not to fund CSOs too critical, etc)

Differences in respective organizational cultures and administrative processes (possibly creating administrative burden for CSOs)

Diverse expectations and approaches

Strategies crucial to empowering civil societyStrengthening an independent voiceHaving a longer-term and context-

specific perspective on developmentUnite! UNICEF motto: “Unite for

Children” - Often CSOs divided because of working on different topics /approaches

Ensuring that communities consider CSOs to be legitimate

Strengthening the demand-side of human rights

Thank you

Isabel Ortiz Louise Moreira Daniels

UNICEF Policy and Practice