Non-Governmental and Related International Resources (NGOs)

• Multiple NGO Resources
• Selected NGO Websites:

**Union of International Associations. The most comprehensive worldwide website for information on and URLs for IGOs and NGOs, based on the Yearbook of International Organizations (UW Libraries call number JX 1904 Y42). **NGO Research Guide, by Duke University Libraries. Provides an excellent, consise overview of the international role of NGOs as they interact with IGOs, plus supplies subject and alphabetic listings leading to NGO websites.

**DEVELOPMENT GATEWAY "The Development Gateway (the Gateway) is a portal website on development issues, from which users can access information, resources, and tools, and into which they can contribute their own knowledge and experience...." "The Gateway has been initially funded by the World Bank, and will be transferred to the Development Gateway Foundation, an independent non-profit organisation dedicated to reducing poverty and helping to bridge the digital divide by promoting development related ICT initiatives." See esp. AiDA - Accessible Information on Development Activities "AiDA is a common entry point to information on activities of the major international development donors and some civil society organizations and private foundations. A continuing effort is under way to expand the coverage and ensure the timeliness and reliability of information in AiDA. Currently 61,553 records in AiDA (for any start date) show an ongoing status."

Directory of Development Organizations. "Guide to International Organizations, Governments, Private Sector Institutions, Development Agencies, Universities, Research and Training Institutes, NGOs/PDOs, Grantmakers, Banks, Microfinance Institutions and Development Consulting Firms."

"Idealist.org" by Action Without Borders
NON-GOVERNMENTAL INTERNATIONAL ACTIVIST ORGANIZATIONS' homepages found here. "Founded in 1994 and based in New York, Action Without Borders is a nonprofit organization that promotes the sharing of ideas, information and resources to help build a world where all people can live free, dignified and productive lives. Action Without Borders, formerly called the Contact Center Network, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization".

InterAction, American Council for Voluntary International Action. "InterAction is the largest alliance of U.S.-based international development and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations. With more than 160 members operating in every developing country, we work to overcome poverty, exclusion and suffering by advancing social justice and basic dignity for all."

OneWorld.net
"OneWorld brings you alternative news and views from a network of over 1,500 organisations working together for human rights and sustainable development." Look here for NGO links and information, including links to the BBC World Service, Oxfam, Save the Children, Amnesty International, and many other international Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs).

ReliefWeb [Official] "ReliefWeb is the world’s leading on-line gateway to information (documents and maps) on humanitarian emergencies and disasters....ReliefWeb was launched in October 1996 and is administered by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)." Includes a great deal of information about each country!

World Volunteer Web. [Official] "The WorldVolunteerWeb.org supports the volunteer community by providing a global one-stop-shop for information, resources, and organizations linked to volunteerism." Initated by the UN General Assembly, under UW Volunteers. (See "About Us")

ANTITRUST/COMPETITION:

• International Competition Network (ICN).
• Global Competition Forum by the International Bar Association.
• See also Antitrust Law

ARMS CONTROL, SALES, AND DATA:

• Arms Control Association "The authoriative source on arms control". Here find articles from their periodical Arms Control Today owned by the UW Libraries, fact sheets, and studies.
• Federation of American Scientists (FAS), Arms Sales Monitoring Project,
  "The Arms Sales Monitoring Project works for restraint in the global production and trade of weapons. Project staff produce a newsletter,the Arms Sales Monitor, which reports and analyzes U.S. government policies on conventional arms exports and weapons proliferation. The ASM Project works in alliance with other Washington, D.C. based groups concerned about U.S. and global arms trading through the Arms Transfers Working Group. The Project also works with the media to highlight the impact and true costs of U.S. and global arms sales."
  Some of the many FAS web resources:
  
  • The Nuclear Information Project, documenting nuclear policy and operations.
  • Secrecy News a newletter on government secrecy.
  • WMD [Weapons of Mass Destruction] Resources.
• International Peace Academy (IPA) "is an independent, international institution dedicated to promoting the prevention and settlement of armed conflicts between and within states through policy research and development."
• Institute for Science and International Security "ISIS is a non-profit, non-partisan institution dedicated to informing the public about science and policy issues affecting international security. Its efforts focus on stopping the spread of nuclear weapons, bringing about greater transparency of nuclear activities worldwide, and achieving deep reductions in nuclear arsenals. ISIS's projects integrate technical, scientific, and policy research in order to build a sound foundation for a wide variety of efforts to reduce the threat posed by nuclear weapons to U.S. and international security."
• Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. (an IGO) "Our mission is to implement the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention in order to achieve the OPCW's vision of a world both free of chemical weapons and in which cooperation in chemistry for peaceful purposes for all is fostered."
• Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO Preparatory Commission) (Is an IGO) "The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is a cornerstone of the international regime on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and an essential foundation for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament. Its total ban of any nuclear weapon test explosion will constrain the development and qualitative improvement of nuclear weapons and end the development of advanced new types of these weapons."
• Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Don't miss the excellent SIPRI Databases!
• UN Peace and Security Through Disarmament webpage.

"The Bank Information Center (BIC) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization that provides information and strategic support to NGOs and social movements throughout the world on the projects, policies and practices of the World Bank and other Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs). BIC advocates for greater transparency, accountability and citizen participation at the MDBs." BIC provides analysis and criticism of MDBs and links to key MDB policy and procedure publications.

BOUNDARY DISPUTES:
International Boundaries Research Unit (IBRU) "works to enhance the resources available for the peaceful resolution of problems associated with international boundaries on land and at sea, including their delimitation, demarcation and management. Since its foundation in 1989 IBRU has built up an international reputation as a leading source of information and expertise on boundary and territorial issues around the world.
This website provides information on IBRU's activities and services, including research and consultancy, conferences, training workshops and publications. The site includes a searchable boundary news archive, a publications 'purchase and download' service, and links to other boundary-related websites and online resources.

Canadian International Affairs Organizations:
Canadian Institute of International Affairs [NGO] "...providing Canadians with a non-partisan nation-wide forum for discussion, analysis and debate of international affairs."
International Development Research Centre [GOV] "is a public corporation created by the Canadian government to help communities in the developing world find solutions to social, economic, and environmental problems through research."

Center of Concern, Promoting Global Justice and Peace Since 1971 ..."envisions a world in which every woman, man and child can survive, thrive, and contribute back to our communities, enhancing life for all who share the planet. Through research, analysis, networking, public education and advocacy, the Center works to advance more just, sustainable and authentically human development for all, especially for the marginalized and those in poverty." Although founded by the Catholic Society of Jesus, this organization claims to be "Interfaith/Ecumenical".

Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)
A mixture of private and governmental international and U.S. government datasets and information resources of an environmental and socioeconomic nature.

Cities Alliance Consultative Group. "A global alliance of cities and their development partners committed to improve the living conditions of the urban poor through action in two key areas: City development strategies (CDS) which link the process by which local stakeholders define their vision for their city, analyse its economic prospects and establish clear priorities for actions and investments, and City-wide and nation-wide slum upgrading to improve the living conditions of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020 in accordance with the Cities Without Slums action plan. "

Earth Charter Initiative, Values and Principles for a Sustainable Future. "The Earth Charter is an authoritative synthesis of values, principles, and aspirations that are widely shared by growing numbers of men and women in all regions of the world. The principles of the Earth Charter reflect extensive international consultations conducted over a period of many years. These principles are also based upon contemporary science, international law, and the insights of philosophy and religion. Successive drafts of the Earth Charter were circulated around the world for comments and debate by nongovernmental organizations, community groups, professional societies, and international experts in many fields."

Economics WWW Page, entitled WebEc.
An exhaustive list of government and academic/professional sources, related to economics information, to data, and to economics as a discipline.

Economics Departments, Institutes and Research Centers in the World (EDIRC) by Christian Zimmermann (Center for Research on Employment and Economic Fluctuations - CREFE, University of Quebec at Montreal, Canada). For Economics Working papers, both full text and citations, see IDEAS or RePEc which stand for "Internet Documents in Economics Access Service" and "Research Papers in Economics".

ELECTIONS and PARLIAMENTS

ELECTIONS:
• "IFES is a nonprofit democracy development organization that works to give people a voice in the way that they are governed. Formerly the International Foundation for Election Systems, IFES is the world’s premiere election assistance organization, providing countries with the technical advice and tools they need to run democratic elections." Be sure to see the IFES ELECTION GUIDE for online information on past and forthcoming elections around the world.

  More Election pages:
  

• Election Results Archive (ERA) "is a collection of electronic files containing data on election results from around the world," by the Center for Democratic Performance, Dept. of Political Science, Binghamton University, State University of New York.
• Elections and electoral systems around the world which is part of the extensive Political Science Resources website by Richard Kimber of Keele University, United Kingdom.
• Elections one subset of Political Sciences Resources, Foreign Politics by the Documents Center, U. of Michigan Library.
  
• Electionworld is now an entry in Wikipedia. NOTE: Electionworld.org information has been transfered to Wikipedia, under "Electionworld". Wikipedia is an open-edit online encyclopedia. Electionworld.org information has been combined with other Wikipedia election information.
  
• Latin American Election Statistics: A Guide to Sources. "This electronic publication, when complete, will provide a chronology of elections since independence at the municipal, state, and federal levels in selected Spanish-speaking Latin American countries and list sources of statistics for each election as identified. The statistics themselves are not reproduced here except occasionally for national-level results of presidential elections, seats won in congressional elections, or numbers of municipalities won by specific parties."

  PARLIAMENTS:
  

• Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
  
• Televised Legislatures Around the World. C-Span provides links to legislative body homepages and televised proceedings, as available.
  
• Web Sites of National Parliaments Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government and Public Policy, Washington University in St. Louis [Missouri USA].

Federation of International Trade Associations (FITA), "founded in 1984, fosters international trade by strengthening the role of local, regional, and national associations throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada that have an international mission. FITA affiliates are 450+ independent international associations which fall into six categories."
See also INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL TRADE LAW.

FLAGS OF THE WORLD "FOTW (Flags Of The World) is a site originally established by Giuseppe Bottasini, and devoted to vexillology. Here you can read more than 6200 pages about flags and view more than 11,600 images of flags." Also includes clickable MAPS of SUB-NATIONAL entities (counties, states, etc.). "Vexillology: the scientific study of flags and their history." Tom Gregg.

"Foreign Embassies." Covers embassies both in the U.S. and elsewhere plus many links to additional national and regional government information.

"G No. or GROUP OF No. ..." (ie. Group of 8 or G8, etc.)

The Global Fund, To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria "was created to dramatically increase resources to fight three of the world's most devastating diseases, and to direct those resources to areas of greatest need. As a partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities, the Global Fund represents an innovative approach to international health financing." See Also UNAIDS.

Global Policy Forum (Primarily UN Reform)
"A group of citizens from several countries founded Global Policy Forum in December, 1993, to monitor global policy making at the United Nations. At a time of rapid globalization, when nation states are weakening, the founders of GPF wanted to promote a more open, accountable and democratic policy process at the global level. Seeing the UN as the most open and universal institution, they sought to make it more responsive to citizen concerns, and so to foster democracy, social justice, human rights and mutual solidarity."

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) "The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) was established in late 1997 with the mission of developing globally applicable guidelines for reporting on the economic, environmental, and social performance, initially for corporations and eventually for any business, governmental, or non-governmental organisation (NGO). Convened by the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES) in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the GRI incorporates the active participation of corporations, NGOs, accountancy organisations, business associations, and other stakeholders from around the world."

GROUP OF ....
A Guide To Committees, Groups, And Clubs. "This factsheet provides information on the following committees, groups, and clubs, whose activities are, or were, germane to the work of the IMF:"....
The IMF provides an extensive list of this type of organization including links, annotations and membership.

GROUP OF 8 OR G8 Information Centre, U. of Toronto, Canada)
A unique source for information on the Group-of-7/8 meetings (USA, Canada, Germany, Japan, France, United Kingdom, Italy, and the Russian Federation along with various other participants, e.g. developing countries, the European Union ).

The GROUP OF 20 or G20. "On September 25, 1999 in Washington, D.C., the finance ministers of the Group of Seven (G-7) leading industrialized nations announced the creation of the Group of Twenty (G-20). This new international forum of finance ministers and central bank governors represents 19 countries, the European Union and the Bretton Woods Institutions (the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank). The creation of the G-20 fulfilled the commitment by G-7 leaders at the June 1999 Summit at Köln "…to establish an informal mechanism for dialogue among systemically important countries within the framework of the Bretton Woods institutional system."

The Group of 77 (G-77)

"The Group of 77 (G-77) was established on 15 June 1964 by seventy-seven developing countries signatories of the "Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Countries" issued at the end of the first session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva. Beginning with the first Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77 in Algiers in 1967 which adopted the Charter of Algiers, a permanent institutional structure gradually developed which led to the creation of Chapters of the Group of 77 in Rome (FAO), Vienna (UNIDO), Paris (UNESCO), Nairobi (UNEP) and the Group of 24 in Washington, D.C. (IMF and World Bank). Although the membership of the G-77 has increased to 133 countries, the original name was retained because of its historic significance."

• Human Rights Education and Research Network (HRERN), University of Washington.
  Information about HRERN programs and events, plus links to internet human rights resources.

• European Court of Human Rights (Council of Europe).
• LexMercatoria, Human Rights. Excellent collection of human rights treaties and conventions plus links to UN and International NGO websites.
• OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER for HUMAN RIGHTS (OHCHR is an IGO);
  
  • Human Rights in the World.
  • International Human Rights Instruments full text of human rights treaties;
    
  • Treaty Body Database find full text of publications of UN human rights treaty bodies here (CAT, CCPR, CEDAW, etc).

  ---

• Forced Migration Online (FMO)
• Global IDP Project, "monitoring internal displacement worldwide" (Norwegian Refugee Council).
• Human Rights Internet. An international NGO, documentation centre, and publishing house which has published since 1997 _For the Record [year]: The UN Human Rights System_ containing by country relevant UN texts.
• ICRC databases on international humanitarian law by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Includes the so called "Red Cross or Geneva treaties/conventions on war", on this page "1949 Conventions & Additional Protocols".
• LEGISLATIONLINE
• Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief, "a coalition of experts and representatives from religious and other life-stance communities, academia, NGOs, international organisations and civil society."
• Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization. "The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) is a democratic, international membership organization. Its members are indigenous peoples, occupied nations, minorities and independent states or territories who have joined together to protect their human and cultural rights, preserve their environments, and to find non-violent solutions to conflicts which affect them. UNPO provides a legitimate and established international forum for member aspirations and assists its members in effective participation at an international level."

Institute for Global Communications (IGC Internet)
"The Mission of IGC is to advance the work of progressive organizations and individuals for peace, justice, economic opportunity, human rights, democracy and environmental sustainability through strategic use of online technologies."

Institute for International Policy, University of Washington

InterAcademy Council (IAC)
"was created by the world's science academies to mobilize the best scientists and engineers worldwide to provide high quality advice to international bodies - such as the United Nations and the World Bank - as well as to other institutions."

International & Area Studies, eScholarship Collaboration "Led by scholars from over 20 centers and organized research units from eight UC campuses, eScholarship's international and area studies collaborators focus on the importance of increasingly sophisticated understandings of the dynamics of other societies - and the regional and global political, economic, and cultural systems in which we live. In July of 2000, in collaboration with the University of California Press, eScholarship made available digital versions of titles in the IAS Research Monograph Series. Free access to these works through the eScholarship program reflects IAS goals of encouraging the rapid dissemination of international research in the social sciences and the humanities. To date, the full text of eleven IAS monographs have been made available at this site..."

International Insititute for Environment and Development (IIED) "is an independent, non-profit organization promoting sustainable patterns of world development through collaborative research, policy studies, networking and knowledge dissemination. We work to address global issues, for example; mining, the paper industry and food systems."

International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). Very useful for tracking environment and development issues.

International Institute of Social History (IISH) "was founded in 1935. It is one of the world's largest documentary and research institutions in the field of social history in general and the history of the labour movement in particular. Most of the collections are open to the public."

International Relations and Security Network (ISN) "The International Relations and Security Network (ISN) is an initiative designed to promote the free flow of unclassified information and to facilitate cooperation through training and education using modern information technology. The ISN consists of a range of high-quality services for people working in international relations and security policy. These services include news bulletins and backgrounds on current events, a limited area search service, annotated links directories, research reports and publications, distance learning modules, educational and training activities, and conferences and seminars." (Swiss Federal Institute for Technology, Center for Security Studies and Conflict Research)

International Rivers Network "IRN supports local communities working to protect their rivers and watersheds. We work to halt destructive river development projects, and to encourage equitable and sustainable methods of meeting needs for water, energy and flood management."

Jackson (Henry M.) School of International Studies, University of Washington, Seattle WA USA
Includes information on academic programs and events, links to regional studies centers and beyond, and UW Libraries resources. See especially the International Studies Program.

LIBRARIES (INTERNATIONAL):

• International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)
• National Libraries of the World: Address List

Managing Global Issues Information Project/Network,Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "The Network is a free, on-line, searchable database designed to enlarge the international community of scholars and practitioners interested in the comparative analysis of global issues management. The Network stores information on: (1) Experts, (2) Publications (3) Institutions/Research Projects, and (4) Meetings. Each entry is coded according to one of 20 global issues (e.g. weapons of mass destruction, labor rights, environment, etc.) and/or one of 16 global themes (e.g. NGOs, compliance, enforcement, etc.)."

MIGRATION (International):

• Global IDP Project, "monitoring internal displacement worldwide" (Norwegian Refugee Council).
• International Organization for Migration (an IGO).
• Forced Migration Online (FMO) ("a world of information on displacement") "provides instant access to a wide variety of online resources dealing with the situation of forced migrants worldwide." Don't miss their "Web Catalogue" of related sites.
• International Rescue Committee "– a critical global network of first responders, humanitarian relief workers, healthcare providers, educators, community leaders, activists, and volunteers. Working together, we provide access to safety, sanctuary, and sustainable change for millions of people whose lives have been shattered by violence and oppression."
• "Migration Information Source Fresh thought, Authoritative Data, Global Reach".
• See also Refugee Law.

MONUMENTS AND SITES (International):

IGO:

• World Heritage Centre (UNESCO).

NGO:

• International Council on Momuments and Sites. "ICOMOS is an international non-governmental organization of professionals, dedicated to the conservation of the world's historic monuments and sites."

Network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development (nrg4SD)..."was formed at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development by a group of regions committed to policies of sustainable development to be a voice for, and to represent regional governments at the global level, promoting sustainable development and partnerships at the regional level around the world."

NEWS ON THE WEB:

• Alertnet, Alerting humanitarians to emergencies by the Reuters Foundation.
  See also HEWS, Humanitarian Early Warning Serivce, A Global Multi-Hazard Watch Service to Support Humanitarian Preparedness.
• News Sources on the Internet Global Coverage UW Libraries, Microforms & Newspapers Collection.
• Newslink "is one of several directories to newspapers on the web."
  
• NEWS and MEDIA: on Yahoo
  Includes current international headlines supplied by Reuters. Also includes news sources originating in or concerning individual countries.

PARLIAMENTS:

PUBLIC OPINION:

• Public Opinions ...
  A UW Libraries webpage of public opinion resources, edited by Communications Librarian Jessica Albano.
• Pew Global Attitudes Project. "The Pew Global Attitudes Project is a series of worldwide public opinion surveys, originally of more than 38,000 people in 44 countries, and expanded with additional surveys to a total of nearly 75,000 people among the 50 populations surveyed (49 countries plus the Palestinian Authority). "
• Program on International Policy Attitudes(PIPA). "The Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) carries out research on public opinion on foreign policy and international issues by conducting nationwide polls, focus groups and comprehensive reviews of polling conducted by other organizations."
• Americans and the World "website, a source of comprehensive information on US public opinion on international issues. The site includes The Digest, which provides comprehensive analyses of polling on various international topics. Over the coming months we will periodically release analyses of US public opinion on other international topics."

Refugees, see Migration and also Refugee Law.

"Center for SOCIAL Science Computation and Research (CSSCR), U of Washington.
The Center for Social Science Computation and Research is a Multicollege computer support organization. We were formed in 1972 as an alternative to the existing central computing organization. CSSCR is a discipline specific computing center serving eleven member departments in four Colleges. We serve all students, faculty and staff of the UW. Our member departments are: Anthropology/Archeology, Communications, Economics, Education, Geography, The Jackson School of International Studies, Political Science, Psychology, Daniel J. Evans of Public Affairs, Social Work, and Sociology."

State of the World Forum"A decade after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the world community continues to struggle in its efforts to define and establish a more compassionate, just, non-violent, and ecologically sustainable world order. With this challenge in mind, the State of the World Forum was founded with the explicit purpose of gathering together the creative genius of the human family, its elders and innovators, in a search for solutions to the critical challenges facing humanity in the 21st century....."

TIME ZONES and DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME:

• The World Clock - Time Zones "Current local times around the world."
• See Time within the "Calculators...." page, a part of "Research Tools" provided by the UW Libraries.

• DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME

"Transparency International [the Coalition Against Corruption] the only international non-governmental organisation devoted to combating corruption, brings civil society, business, and governments together in a powerful global coalition."
SEE ALSO under The World Bank, "Governance & Anti-Corruption" webpage link.

World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) "is a coalition of 170 international companies united by a shared commitment to sustainable development via the three pillars of economic growth, ecological balance and social progress."

"The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world. The Forum provides a collaborative framework for the world's leaders to address global issues, engaging particularly its corporate members in global citizenship."

World Policy Institute. "Since joining New School University in 1991, the World Policy Institute has sought to adapt its traditional mission of policy research and advocacy on critical world problems to the New School's tradition of creative adult education. It has done so at a time when the traditional subject of international diplomacy and world politics itself is being transformed by dramatic world changes from the end of the Cold War to the increasing blurring of the line between domestic and international concerns." The UW Libraries subcribes to the WPI's, World Policy Journal.

World Resources Institute A great web and print publisher of broadly defined world environmental and resource data and information. WRI's best known publication is the annual, World Resources (HC59. W667 found in many units of the UW Libraries) and current electronic version is found at World Resources 2000/01. For worldwide ENVIRONMENTAL DATA see WRI's EarthTrends, The Environmental Information Portal.

World Social Forum "is an open meeting place where groups and movements of civil society opposed to neo-liberalism and a world dominated by capital or by any form of imperialism, but engaged in building a planetary society centred on the human person, come together to pursue their thinking, to debate ideas democratically, for formulate proposals, share their experiences freely and network for effective action (see the Charter of Principles). The WSF proposed to debate alternative means to building a globalization in solidarity, which respects universal human rights and those of all men and women of all nations and the environment, and is grounded in democratic international systems and institutions at the service of social justice, equality and the sovereignty of peoples."

The WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources
A World-Wide Web Virtual Library of international intergovernmental as well as non-governmental academic and private resources, including think tanks.