Non-Governmental Human Rights Organizations in International Relations

International and national non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a role of great importance in the field of human rights. A number of binding treaties in that field and implementation procedures would not have come about, were it not for the activities of these NGOs. They are single-minded in their pursuit of the promotion and protection of human rights and continuously remind governments of the obligations these have voluntarily taken upon themselves. They watch the actions of governments and report on the violations of human rights standards. Why do national governments pay attention at all to what HRNGOs have to say? The only answer to this question is the often cited "mobilization of shame". This builds on the fact that all governments want a reputation of fostering a civilized society and observing the international human rights standards that they themselves have helped to devise. Yet, most governments in the world at some time or other violate them. This discrepancy between norm and practice creates the space in which HRNGOs can operate.