NGO, Heal Thyself!

For all their braying about the need for multilateral institutions and corporations to make more information public, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Amnesty International are not as transparent as they preach. That is one of many noteworthy findings from the first "Global Accountability Report," released in January by the Global Accountability Project (GAP) of the ...

For all their braying about the need for multilateral institutions and corporations to make more information public, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Amnesty International are not as transparent as they preach. That is one of many noteworthy findings from the first "Global Accountability Report," released in January by the Global Accountability Project (GAP) of the One World Trust, a division of the British Parliament's All-Party Parliamentary Group for World Government. Touting itself as the "first of its kind to compare the accountability" of intergovernmental organizations, transnational corporations, and international NGOs, the gap report rates the governance structures and online information disclosure of 18 leading organizations, from Nestlé to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

For all their braying about the need for multilateral institutions and corporations to make more information public, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Amnesty International are not as transparent as they preach. That is one of many noteworthy findings from the first "Global Accountability Report," released in January by the Global Accountability Project (GAP) of the One World Trust, a division of the British Parliament’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for World Government. Touting itself as the "first of its kind to compare the accountability" of intergovernmental organizations, transnational corporations, and international NGOs, the gap report rates the governance structures and online information disclosure of 18 leading organizations, from Nestlé to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

Only four of the seven surveyed NGOs publish annual reports online. And only three (the International Federation of the Red Cross, Oxfam International, and the World Wide Fund for Nature) provide financial information within their annual reports. "Contrary to popular opinion," says the report, intergovernmental organizations are "relatively transparent." In fact, the much lambasted World Trade Organization ranked third overall in terms of online information disclosure. Each of the surveyed intergovernmental organizations published an annual report, and they represented the only group to have a majority of organizations with information disclosure policies. Another surprise: Among transnational corporations, Microsoft ranked second to last in its provision of information online; the technology giant was also the only corporation among the six surveyed not to publish an annual social and environmental report.

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies earned top marks among the 18 organizations surveyed for its combined scores in governance and information disclosure. The Bank for International Settlements, which sets international monetary and financial standards, ranked last for both its poor online information disclosure and the ability of a small minority of its members to dominate its governance. A copy of the report can be obtained at www.oneworldtrust.org.

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