Ethical Questions and International NGOs: An exchange between Philosophers and NGOs (Library of Ethics and Applied Philosophy Book 23)

In recent decades there has been a great expansion in the number, size and influence of International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs) involved in international relief and development. These changes have led to increased scrutiny of such organisations, and this scrutiny, together with increasing reflection by INGOs themselves and their staff on their own practice, has helped to highlight a number of pressing ethical questions such organisations face, such as: should INGOs attempt to provide emergency assistance even when doing so risks helping to fuel further conflict? How should INGOs manage any differences between their values and those of the people they seek to benefit? How open and honest should INGOs be about their own uncertainties and failures? This book consists of sustained reflections on such questions. It derives from a workshop held at Melbourne University in July 2007 that brought together a group of people – for the most part, reflective practitioners and moral and political philosophers – to discuss such questions. It explores honestly some of the current challenges and dilemmas that INGOs face, and also suggests some new ideas for meeting these challenges. Our hope is that the kind of explicit reflection on the ethical issues INGOs face exemplified in this publication will help to promote a wider debate about these issues, a debate that in turn will help INGO managers and others to make better, wiser, more ethically informed decisions. Front Matter....Pages i-xi Introduction....Pages 1-12 Ethical Obligations to the Poor in a World of Nation States....Pages 13-37 Human Rights, Development INGOs and Priorities for Action....Pages 39-63 The Ethics of Taking Sides....Pages 65-85 The Epistemic Problem: Potential Solutions....Pages 87-118 The Seeming Simplicity of Measurement * ....Pages 119-146 Whose Impact, and Is It All About Impact?....Pages 147-156 Compromised Humanitarianism....Pages 157-173 Aid Agencies, States, and Collective Harm....Pages 175-191 To Respect or Not to Respect . . . Ethical Dilemmas of INGO Development Practitioners....Pages 193-205 Ethical Behaviour in Non-government Organisations....Pages 207-216 Afterword....Pages 217-229 Back Matter....Pages 231-241 In Recent Decades There Has Been An Expansion In The Number, Size & Influence Of International Non-governmental Organisations (ingos) Involved In International Relief. These Changes Have Led To Increased Scrutiny Of Such Organisations, & This Scrutiny Has Helped To Highlight A Number Of Pressing Ethical Questions Such Organisations Face. In 2007, Melbourne University hosted a workshop to discuss many ethical questions that International NGOs face. This book is borne of that workshop. It fully considers current challenges and dilemmas INGOs confront and offers new ideas for meeting them.