NGOs AND THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL: BETWEEN INFORMAL REALITY AND POSSIBILITIES OF FORMAL INTERACTION

GORDANIĆ Jelica (Research Fellow, Institute of International Politics and Economics, Belgrade), jelica@diplomacy.bg.ac.rs

Following the end of the Cold War, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) took the initiative in their interactions with the UN Security Council. Since then, mechanisms for informal consultations between NGOs and the Security Council have been established. Through informal consultations, NGOs have successfully influenced the decisions of the Security Council in the area of soft policy. It is critical to take appropriate measures in a timely manner when it comes to international peace and security. Mechanisms of informal access are not able to provide this request because they depend on the goodwill of the permanent members of the Security Council. The author examines possibilities for the establishment of formal interaction between the Security Council and NGOs. The author considers the UN Charter revision or granting international legal personality to NGOs as solutions for the establishment of formal interaction. Until one of these options happens, the paper considers that the Security Council and its permanent members must be more open towards NGOs and use NGOs’ resources to improve their own reputation and increase transparency.

Keywords: NGOs, the Security Council, UN Charter revision, international legal personality, informal consultations, transparency, formal interaction, permanent members of the Security Council