Accountable Now is a global platform, founded in 2008 by a group of independent non-profit organisations, which is intended to foster

accountability Accountability, in terms of ethics and governance, is equated with answerability, blameworthiness, liability, and the expectation of account-giving. As in an aspect of governance, it has been central to discussions related to problems in the publ ...

and transparency of

civil society organisations A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

(CSOs), as well as stakeholder communication and performance. It supports CSOs to be transparent, responsive to stakeholders and focused on delivering impact. Accountable Now was founded under the name International NGO Charter of Accountability by eleven leading CSOs, including development, humanitarian, environmental, rights-based and advocacy organisations. As Membership and global collaboration increase, CSOs collective voices are strengthened. Today, 29 Member Organisations are active in more than 150 countries and impact stakeholders all over the world. Legally registered as a Charity in Germany (under the name INGO International NGO Accountability Charter gUG.), Accountable Now's Secretariat is based in Berlin.

Background

CSOs are more important than ever before in framing and influencing social, political and economic environments. On the national level they provide disaster relief and social service, promote self-help and self- governance in developing countries where they are operating. In addition they enhance a strong international

Civil Society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.legitimacy Legitimacy, from the Latin ''legitimare'' meaning "to make lawful", may refer to: * Legitimacy (criminal law) * Legitimacy (family law) * Legitimacy (political) See also * Bastard (law of England and Wales) * Illegitimacy in fiction * Legit (d ...

of CSOs.

Origins

Development

At the International Advocacy Non-Government Organisations (IANGO) Workshop hosted by Transparency International in June 2003, the importance of promoting accountability and legitimacy was discussed by its participants. As they recognised their growing involvement in international issues the need of promoting accountability was highlighted. The Hauser Center for Non-Profit Organisations at the Harvard University was asked for a research paper on the topic to provide a foundation for following discussions. At the following annual meetings in 2004 and 2005 the participants analysed their own concepts of accountability, set up an initial draft and with the help of independent consultant specialists revised the draft until a final version was ready to launch.

Adoption

The INGO Accountability Charter
signed in June 2006 by eleven leading

international NGO An international non-governmental organization (INGO) is an organization which is independent of government involvement and extends the concept of a non-governmental organization (NGO) to an international scope. NGOs are independent of government ...

s active in the area of

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

, environment and social development, set the course for the establishment of Accountable Now (then known as the INGO Accountability Charter) and it has been referred to as “the first ever set of international and cross-sector guidelines for the NGO sector”Lael Brainard, Derek Chollet (editors): ''Global development 2.0: can philanthropists, the public, and the poor make poverty history?'', The Brookings Institution, , 2008
p. 175
/ref> and the “first global accountability charter for the non-profit sector”.

Founding Signatories

The founding signatories were ActionAid International,

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

CIVICUS CIVICUS is an international non-profit organisation, which describes itself as “a global alliance dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society around the world." Founded in 1993, the organisation today counts more than 8500 memb ...

World Alliance for Citizen Participation,

Consumers International Consumers International is the membership organization for consumer groups around the world. Founded on 1 April 1960, it has over 250 member organizations in 120 countries. Its head office is situated in London, England, and has numerous region ...

Greenpeace International Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

Oxfam International Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...

International Save the Children Alliance Save the Children International, formerly known as the International Save The Children Alliance, is a worldwide non-profit organization that aims to improve the living of children. There are 30 Save the Children member organizations around the wo ...

Survival International Survival International is a human rights organisation formed in 1969, a London based charity that campaigns for the rights of indigenous and/or tribal peoples and uncontacted peoples. The organisation's campaigns generally focus on tribal peo ...

, International Federation Terre des Hommes,

Transparency International Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil ...

and

World YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

Articles

The charter is ''based on ten core principles and aimed at enhancing respect for human rights, good governance, accountability and transparency, encouraging stakeholder communication, promoting inclusion and environmental responsibility, and improving organisational performance and effectiveness''. It documents the commitment of

s to these aims.

Organisation

In 2008, the signatory-NGOs decided to found an independent organisation of the same name ''International NGO Accountability Charter Ltd'' in order to organise the reporting and vetting process of the member organisations against the charter commitments and develop them further. Today, the organisation operates under the nam
Accountable Now
and has 29 member organisations.

Related codes of conduct

In 1997, the

One World Trust The One World Trust is a charitable organization that promotes education and research into changes required in global governance to achieve the eradication of poverty, injustice, environmental degradation and war. It develops recommendations o ...

had created an ''NGO Charter'', a

code of conduct A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the norms, rules, and responsibilities or proper practices of an individual party or an organization. Companies' codes of conduct A company code of conduct is a set of rules which is commonly writt ...

comprising commitment to accountability and transparency.Charte des ONG (NGO Charter)
, One World Trust, 1997

References

{{reflist

External links

Accountable Now
Accountability Transparency (behavior) International nongovernmental organizations 2006 works