International Organizations And The Fight For Accountability

This title analyses the challenges citizens face obtaining remedies and reparation for harm suffered as a result of the actions of international organisations. It encourages reflection on additional measures to strengthen accountability.

Establishes a framework for analyzing and assessing the accountability mechanisms of international organizations, and applies it to three case studies.

In December 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the International Law Commission's articles on the responsibility of international organizations, bringing to conclusion not only nearly ten years of reflection by the Commission, governments and organizations on this specific topic, but also decades of study of the wider subject of international responsibility, which had initially focused on State responsibility. Parallel to this reflection by the Commission, diplomats and public officials, the body of international case-law and literature on the many facets of the topic has steadily been growing. Responsibility of International Organizations: Essays in Memory of Sir Ian Brownlie contributes to the body of international literature by collecting a broad spectrum of different and sometimes differing perspectives from well-known experts in the field, ranging from the bench to the Commission, academia, and the world of in-house counsel. The book is also a memorial to the renowned Sir Ian Brownlie, himself a former Chairman of the International Law Commission who, as a leading scholar and practitioner, greatly contributed to the reflection on international responsibility, including the responsibility of international organizations. Edited by Maurizio Ragazzi, a former pupil of Sir Ian, the book is an ideal companion to International Responsibility Today, a collection of essays on international responsibility which the same editor presented in 2005 in memory of Oscar Schachter, and to which Sir Ian Brownlie had contributed. The essays collected in Responsibility of International Organizations: Essays in Memory of Sir Ian Brownlie, conveniently grouped by the editor under broad areas for the reader's benefit, will be relevant not only to all those interested in this specific subject but also, more generally, to all those engaged in the field of international law and the law of international organizations.

Zweifel deftly blends history, theory, and case studies in a thorough assessment of the democratic nature--the accountability--of international organizations.

This work brings together a number of papers written by experts, mostly senior and active international civil servants, but also retired staff, analyzing the measures taken in international organizations in order to obtain greater accountability.

?Zweifel?s persuasive and highly relevant book is a significant contribution to the literature on IO governance.? ?Edward McMahon, University of VermontDo international organizations represent the interests of the global citizenry? Or are they merely vehicles for the agendas of powerful nations and special interests? Thomas Zweifel explores this increasingly contentious issue, deftly blending history, theory, and case studies.Zweifel?s analysis covers both regional organizations (e.g., the EU, NAFTA, NATO, the AU) and such global institutions as the United Nations, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization. With international organizations becoming perhaps the most appropriate?if not the only?forum for tackling myriad transnational challenges, his systematic study of how these organizations function is central to the study of both international relations and democracy in the 21st century.Thomas D. Zweifel, CEO of the Swiss Consulting Group, is also adjunct professor at Columbia University?s School of International and Public Affairs. Previously, he served as director of global operations for the Hunger Project.Contents: The Democratic Deficit of International Organizations. An Approach to Transnational Democracy. A Brief History of International Organization. The United Nations. The World Bank. The International Monetary Fund. The World Trade Organization. The European Union. From OAU to African Union. Other Regional Organizations: NAFTA, NATO, and ASEAN. Global Citizenship?

With the proliferation of international organizations and their ever increasing role in a wide range of policy fields, situations multiply in which human rights are threatened or violated through the actions, operations, or policies of such organizations. This book is the first to explore these problems in a comprehensive manner and to examine the accountability mechanisms that are available. In the first section, the contributions study general concepts, such as the accountability of international organizations as an evolving legal concept, international organizations as independent actors, the logic of sliding scales in the law of international responsibility, and the relations between the international organizations and their Member States in regard to their respective obligations and responsibilities. Subsequent parts of the book focus on the accountability for human rights violations attributable to international organizations in four areas: peace and humanitarian operations, international civil administration, economic governance, and the staff of international organizations.

Was bedeutet "accountability" internationaler Organisationen und transnationaler Unternehmen? Wie konnen diese ausreichend verantwortlich gemacht werden? Dieses Buch analysiert und vergleicht die Ausgestaltung von "accountability" - Begrundungsansatze, Konzeptionierung, Grundstruktur und Mechanismen. Exemplarisch hierfur werden zwei Einrichtungen genau untersucht: die Vereinten Nationen und Siemens. Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede der Konzeptionierungen und Mechanismen werden herausgearbeitet und kritisch hinterfragt. Hierfur bedient sich das Buch auch okonomischer Theorien. Zu Grunde gelegt wird ein prozessuales Verstandnis von "accountability", das ursprunglich in den Politikwissenschaften und internationalen Beziehungen entwickelt wurde und hier weiter verfeinert wird. Schliesslich wird untersucht, inwiefern "accountability" ein rechtliches Konzept ist. Die Arbeit leistet einen Beitrag dazu, "accountability" naher zu bestimmten und weiter zu konzeptualisieren.