Are International Non-governmental Organizations really International?

                                                                  - Mohan Banjade

    Almost all the Non- governmental Organizations are registered in a particular country. Such organizations have to follow the laws under which they are registered in their countries. They not only have to report to their government agency but to follow the orders of the concerned authority of the country of registration. They have to be audited, if any, under the same. It cannot go beyond the domestic law. If it tries to fly high outside the interest of the government, the concerned authorities are always there to trim or cut its feathers.  This is the basic norm of the rule of law too. If it is registered under a particular law of a particular country it has to follow the law of the land. Otherwise, it has to face the sanction of the country concerned. The overt and covert agenda and narratives of such organizations are fixed by the government officials and office bearers of the organizations. Then, how can such a NGO of a particular country be an international organization?

      The so- called international Non-governmental organizations are not a product of an international agreement, charter, protocol, covenant or any document of an international character.  Such organizations are not established through an international conference. Nature, mission, vision, process, structure and functions of such organizations are not detailed out by the international representatives through negotiations. Nor the statute of such organization is amended by such representatives. Therefore, how can such organizations be international in nature and character?

     Many of such organizations receive money from the government of that country where they are registered. Therefore, they are financially accountable to the government of that particular country. They carry forward both explicit and hidden agenda of that particular country when they expand themselves in the developing countries. The explicit agenda may be of different types; such as rights, good governance, democratization of army, structural reform, policy reform, poverty alleviation, humanity, environment, medical care, reservation so on and so forth – almost all the good things and catch words.

      The hidden agenda of many of such organizations may be weakening local family and social bonds and cultural fabrics, create distrust and apathy in the minds of local people against the local system, government machineries and historical or contemporary towering personalities, divide people in many fronts (like racial, regional, communal etc.), prepare atrocity and hate literature and submit it to the country of registration, (mis)use of fund for cultural genocide, create  groups of parasite sub-servants to use as a local tool when so requires. There may be many more other activities to be carried out in the dark and disguise.

      In some cases, such organizations serve the hidden agenda of a particular faith based organization or any sect of such a faith. Cultural genocide, attacks on local customs and value systems and divide people in the racial or ethnic line to implant outside value system in the local minds may be some of the activities of the hidden agenda of such organizations. They may also try to inject hate in the minds of indoctrinated locals against the local value systems.  Rescue from poverty, disease, illiteracy etc. may be the front desk activities of such organizations. But in disguise they try to indoctrinate local people some superstations and myths they are carrying from their ancestors. Or they try to create hate against local civilizations.  They also instigate, provoke or incite people of one community against another in the developing countries.  They put all efforts to divide society.  They use colonial tools in the developing nations so that they can use “divide, rule and exploit” agenda in such societies.

     Some of such organizations are sister organizations of some western faith based organizations. These organizations mostly indulge themselves in converting local people from one to another faith. They hide all the superstations of their faith and exaggerate the weaknesses of the local faiths, if any. They show some tricks to the local poor and illiterate people so that they can confuse and lure them towards their faith system. Their aim seems to destroy local faiths, value systems, customs and above all civilizations. If they get any space in the local societies they use all the tools saam, daan, danda and bhed for cultural genocide. They use local tools to transport the holy books, idols and other objects of religious and cultural importance to their countries from the developing nations.  Then how can these organizations be considered as international in nature and character?  

    In the past, many Australian children were forcefully separated from their family. Many kids of particular community were killed in Canada. Thousands of babies were stolen from Cambodia.  Many historical and archeological heritage of developing nations were stolen in the past and now they are in the private, public or government control museums of some nations.

       In the colonial period their ancestors did everything – exploitation, atrocity, gross human right violation so on and so forth. They not only did everything worst in the colonies but tried all the worst in the neighborhood too.  Are some of such foreign organizations working as a long arm of those colonial mind set? Do some of such organizations want to divert the mind of local people from the high crimes committed in the colonial past? Do some of such organizations work as an edited version of East India Company? A cunning colonial mind set can never make an “organization” International. If the people associated with such organization cannot coexist with local civilizations, heritage and value systems how can the others treat them as international organization?

      In some cases, some of such organizations collect money from public or from International agencies. Just collecting money from different sources does not make them international. If it is so many of Nepali agencies are multi- international simply because they receive money from different donors. Or in some cases they may hire few people from more than one country. It does not give them any international character. Nepali people work in British, Indian and other Army but they are not considered as an international Army.

    An international organization is an organization which includes representatives from many more countries. Structures, functions, processes and objectives of an international organization are negotiated by the international representatives. International Organizations do not work on the hidden agenda of a particular country. Such organizations must not be accountable to the authority of a particular nation or faith based organization. It must not carry forward colonial hangover and mind set. Such organization must not be biased or prejudiced to the other civilizations, faiths and value systems. They must not divide local people to use some of them as their sub-servant. They must not prepare atrocity literature to submit to their government.  The organization formed by the citizens of a specific nation state can never be an international organization by its very definition.

    International organization must have a provision to include other nation states or their representatives in their structure. Otherwise, they are simply NGOs expanded in the foreign soil to fulfill few explicit and many more hidden agenda according to the nature and objective of such organization. If they are financed and directed by the value loaded financers they are simply the brokers of those financers. The duty of an international organization is to value add in developing societies not to load outside values to throw out local values and destroy other civilizations.

     Are such organizations inclusive in nature? Do they include Asian, African and South American communities in their decision making positions?  Do they include people of different faith systems in their top structure?  Why the people of particular race, color or faith system get lucrative jobs in such organizations? Not only so, why they do give priority to some people and ignore, if not hate, other communities in the local employments mostly in the developing countries?

      Such organizations pretend them, as if, they are international. It is just to expand their influence in the minds of local people and authorities in the developing countries.

    Local people and authorities must note that such organizations are not at all international in nature and character. Nor they are the organizations formed by the citizens of their own country. And employees working in such organizations are not the elected representatives of the local people.  They are registered in a foreign country, accountable to the foreign authority or agency and implement the agenda of a foreign country or a faith organization. So, how can they claim themselves “International”.

Article 51(j) (14) of the Constitution of Nepal reads as following:

“to adopt a single door system for the establishment, approval, operation,  regulation and management of community-based and national or international non-governmental organizations and to involve such organizations only in the sectors of national need and priority, while making investment and role of such organizations transparent and accountable.”

   Few questions arise in this context. Firstly, this provision puts community based organizations and foreign organizations on the same footing. While community based organizations are local and they are run by the local people. They have a choice to not to carry any hidden agenda of a foreign country or organization. But almost all the foreign organizations are the guided missiles of foreign hidden agenda. Secondly, none of these foreign organizations are investors at all.  They do not, mostly put money on infrastructures, industry, technology and even social development. Putting money on destroying family bonds and social harmony, attacking local value systems and cultures, dividing people in racial, ethnic and regional lines  to implement “divide, rule and exploit policy” and creating frustration and apathy against state system and historical personalities in the minds of local people for their own hegemony is not an investment constitution seeking for. Thirdly, a policy decision or a statutory provision was sufficient to prohibit, control, regulate, operate and manage those foreign organizations but why framers of the constitution gave place in the constitution?

    Let us take third question in a positive note.   Most probably many of the framers of the constitution were tired of with their hidden agenda, influence and interference.

   Now on, it is the duty of the government to prepare a Bill in this regard. It is the duty of the legislature to pass Bill to meet the spirit of the constitution. It is the duty of the media to raise this issue so that executive and legislature do not show any delay and apathy to it. And it is the duty of the general public to put pressure on their representatives so that these foreign organizations do not act here as an unruly horse.

   Nepal has just expressed its reluctance to renew the agreement made with India under which Indian Embassy used to run small projects directly.  It is a high time for Nepal to check the foreign NGOs from running projects directly in the field. Article 51 (d) (11) of the Constitution restricts to receive any foreign assistance without incorporating it in the National Budget. Therefore, to abide by this constitutional provision and for diplomatic balance, Government of Nepal has to take necessary steps to stop other embassies and Foreign NGOs from running projects in the field.

   Let not provide any room to the foreign organizations to destroy us by injecting conflicts amongst us. Let not them rule us by creating parallel and alternative government under any disguise. We all know what East India Company did in India. We also know our ancestors had to fight in Sindhuligari, Butawal and Nalapani in the past. If they are not controlled, regulated, managed and some of them not prohibited, many of them will try to overrun us. Let understand- Madhu tisthate Jiwha …Halahalam.   Let us work hard and begin with immediately. Otherwise be ready for bigger, deeper and sharper conflicts in the days to come.