Page 148 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International

programmes; etc. NGOs, through their membership, have implemented а
number of activities at national level in response to United Nations resolutions.

12. The experience of the UN-NGOs' cooperation shows that there is а
good foundation for further strengthening our partnership. First of all, and this
is most important, we share common aims - to channel the changes in а non-
violent, evolutionary, and democratic way. Second, the capabilities of the
NGOs are significant though often underutilized. Many NGOs possess
considerable financial resources. Among their activists there are а great number
of prominent and influential business and religious leaders, writers, scientists,
etc. These people are аblе to significantly influence public opinion in their
respective countries. 1n some cases а single statement bу а respected spiritual
leader can bе helpful to the solution of а problem, first of all for saving human
life nо less, than the UN resolution.

13. Traditionally human rights issues have been one of the major areas of
the UN cooperation with the non-governmental organizations. Very often
NGOs alerted the UN organs and officials on cases of human rights violations
which the governments were reluctant to report. NGOs made а very significant
contribution to the preparation of the World Conference on Human Rights
which was convened in Vienna in June last year.

14. Another vital area of UN-NGOs' cooperation is humanitarian assis-
tance. The contribution of the non-governmental organizations to the UN
efforts to help the refugees of the victims of natural disasters is difficult to over-
estimate. For the UN, one of the priority fields of activities is, and always has
been, economic development in general and the assistance to the developing
countries in particular. ln this area the scale of cooperation with the NGOs is so
far rather modest. It requires considerable resources, careful planning and long-
term commitment, and perhaps additional thought should bе given on how
better to organize our collaboration in this field.

15. UN and NGOs cooperate in а wide spectrum of fields with which the
World Organization is concerned. However, there is still plenty of room for
further expansion of this collaboration. For example, arms regulation and
disarmament are an important area of potential cooperation. ln this field one of
the current priorities is light arms and landmines. Landmines are the major
killer of civilian population in the conflict areas. Tens of millions of these
devices have been placed in recent years all over the world and they are waiting
for new victims. Demining is а difficult, risky, and expensive process, and many
war-torn societies simply lack resources to undertake it on а sufficient scale.

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