Walter Young 
The term “non-governmental” or “non-profit” is usually used to refer to a category of organizations that form part of civil society. Such organizations are usually characterized by the fact that the purpose of their existence is something other than financial gain. However, this “something” can include a myriad of purposes and a wide variety of initiatives and activities.
The range of non-governmental organizations ranges from small action groups arising, for example, from environmental issues or specific human rights violations, to educational charities, women’s shelters, cultural associations, religious organizations, legal foundations, humanitarian aid programs (the list goes on), and finally to huge international organizations with hundreds of chapters and thousands of members in various parts of the world.
At virtually any level where attempts are made to protect the dignity of individual citizens from the encroachments of state power, NGOs play a crucial role:
- By fighting individual human rights violations, either directly or by taking “landmark” cases to the appropriate judicial bodies;
- providing direct assistance to those whose rights have been violated;
- seeking changes in national, regional and international law;
- by helping to improve the content of these laws
- disseminating knowledge of and respect for human rights among the population.
The contribution of NGOs is important not only in terms of the results they have achieved and the optimism they inspire about the protection of human rights in our world, but also because NGOs are, in a very real sense, a means of protection available to individuals and groups around the world. They are – like many other organizations – run and coordinated by individuals, but beyond that their strength is due in no small part to the voluntary support of their cause by other members of society. This fact gives them a special significance in the eyes of those people who wish to contribute to improving the human rights situation in the world.
