International non-governmental organizations in the field of civil society development: current state and development prospects

Goncharov Vitalii Viktorovich PhD in Law Associate Professor; Department of Civil Procedure and International Law; Kuban State University 350040, Russia, Krasnodar Territory, Krasnodar, Stavropol str., 149 niipgergo2009@mail.ru Other publications by this author     Blinnikova Anna Valer'evna ORCID: 0000-0001-8553-2679 PhD in Philosophy Associate Professor of the Department of Applied Informatics and Documentation of Irkutsk State University 664003, Russia, Irkutsk region, Irkutsk, Karl Marx str., 1 niipgergo2026@mail.ru Other publications by this author     Malinovskii Oleg Nikolaevich ORCID: 0000-0001-6541-9046 PhD in Law Associate Professor; Department of Civil Procedure and International Law; Kuban State University Head of the Department; Kuban State University 350040, Russia, Krasnodar Territory, Krasnodar, Stavropol str., 149 niipgergo2009@mail.ru Other publications by this author     Cheshin Andrei Vladimirovich ORCID: 0009-0000-7572-3076 PhD in Economics Associate Professor; Faculty of Secondary Vocational Education; Orsk Institute of Humanities and Technology (branch), Orenburg State University 462419, Russia, Orenburg region, Orsk, Mira, 15A niipgergo2009@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Petrenko Elena Gennad'evna PhD in Law Associate Professor; Department of State and International Law, Kuban State Agrarian University named after I. T. Trubilin 350044, Russia, Krasnodar Territory, Krasnodar, Kalinina str., 13 niipgergo2009@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction.

The issues of the organization and activities of international non-governmental organizations are widely studied in the works of A. V., Avdalyan, ^{[1, pp. 25-29]} H. M. Dzhantaev, ^{[7, pp. 149-152]} A. N. Domrin, ^{[8, pp. 24-50]} D. B. Kazarinova, ^{[9, pp. 116-132]} N. R. Konshaova, ^{[10, pp. 178-182]} O. M. Kokoreva, ^{[11, pp. 52-59]} V. A. Konovalova, ^{[12, pp. 26-29]} A.V. Nefedieva, ^{[14, pp. 174-175]} V. V. Sutyrina, ^{[16, pp. 39-61]} A.V. Tikhovodova, ^{[17, pp. 63-69]} A.V. Shitova, ^{[18, pp. 749-759]} as well as a number of other authors. In turn, the problems of international cooperation of international non-governmental organizations whose activities are aimed at the development of civil society, as well as public control over them, are analyzed in detail in the works of A. A. Markov, ^{[2, pp. 3454-3463]} V. V. Goncharov, ^{[3, pp. 94-99; 4, pp. 80-91]} A. A. Borisova, ^{[6, pp. 78-91]} O. V. Nezhenets, ^{[13, pp. 230-235]} E. D. Kuleshova, ^{[15, pp. 86-89]} as well as some other scientists. At the same time, the proportion of works devoted to the analysis of the current state and prospects for the development of international non-governmental organizations in the field of civil society development, problems hindering their optimal organization and functioning, seems insufficient, which is why the choice of the topic of this scientific work is determined. The purpose of scientific research is not only to identify and analyze the above-mentioned problems, but also to develop and justify a system of measures to resolve them. The main objectives of the study include, in particular: a) substantiation of civil society as a key condition for the preservation and development of the state; b) analysis of the role and place of international non-governmental organizations in the field of civil society development in their total number; c) identification and analysis of the main problems hindering the optimal organization and functioning of international non-governmental organizations in areas of civil society development; d) development and justification of a system of measures to resolve these problems.

Research methods and methodology. The empirical base of the study.

In this scientific work, a number of research methods were used, in particular: formal-logical; historical-legal; comparative-legal; statistical; sociological; method of analyzing specific legal situations.

The empirical basis of this scientific research is: a) The UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 12/16/1966, other international legal documents regulating the legal status of international non-governmental organizations; b) national legislation consolidating the legal status and powers of international non-governmental organizations; c) constituent documents of international non-governmental organizations in the field of civil society development; d) materials of the scientific legal doctrine of civil society and public control; e) materials related to the practical activities of international non-governmental organizations in the field of civil society development.

The main text.

The existence and development of any modern democratic state is impossible without the presence of an extensive civil society in the country.

Firstly, without the institutions of civil society, as well as the active involvement of the broad masses of the population in them, it is impossible to maintain a high level of legality in the country. The people should be aware of their role and importance in maintaining the rule of law in the state, that is, have a high level of legal culture and legal awareness. At the same time, various institutions of civil society (human rights organizations, subjects of public control, the media, etc.) act as structures that, on the one hand, develop the level of legal culture and legal awareness of the masses, and on the other hand, involve them in various civil society activities related to interaction with public authorities.

Secondly, the effectiveness of the organization and activity of the apparatus of public power in the country largely depends on the level of its support by the population. Repression, the power apparatus of public power in the face of the army, law enforcement agencies, as well as various institutions of execution of punishment, can maintain the appearance of law and order in the country for a long time, but without the support of the population, such political regimes degenerate into totalitarian dictatorships, which are characterized by cruelty, disregard for the system of rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of most individuals, judicial and administrative arbitrariness. A developed civil society acts as a means of preventing this, which, through a network of its institutions (primarily public control), prevents violations of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of individuals and legal entities, ignoring the constitutional principles of democracy and the participation of citizens in the management of state affairs.

Thirdly, the progressive development of the system of civil society institutions leads to the fact that the majority of the country's population realizes the value and importance, on the one hand, of the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of their state, and on the other hand, of their role as the bearer of sovereignty and the only source of power in the country.

With this realization, citizens of the country, on their own initiative, are increasingly involved in the activities of non-governmental non-profit organizations, subjects of public control, and other institutions of civil society, actively defending the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of individuals and legal entities.

Fourthly, it is thanks to participation in the organization and work of civil society institutions in the country that the people receive a legal guarantee of the implementation, on the one hand, of a system of constitutional principles, first of all, democracy and participation of citizens of the state in the management of its affairs, and on the other hand, of the entire system of rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of individuals and legal entities (in particular, as a result of the organization and conduct by civil society entities of control measures regarding the activities, acts and decisions of public authorities, as well as other bodies and organizations endowed by law with the right to exercise certain public powers).

Any modern state is connected with other states, and also participates in the activities of the United Nations, as well as numerous international governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Even such relatively "closed" countries as the DPRK actively participate in the work of these organizations, including by making contributions to their functioning.

International non-governmental organizations play an important role in the development of civil society at the level of national States.

What is the reason for this?

First, international non-governmental organizations, as a rule, are created by organizations from various countries of the world through the cooperation of their efforts. The purpose of such cooperation is, on the one hand, to protect their interests in the international arena, and on the other hand, most events require a large amount of funds and resources, which can only be collected by uniting into larger structures.

Secondly, international non-governmental organizations in the field of civil society development, cooperating with the efforts of member organizations, can analyze the experience of the organization and functioning of civil society in these countries. The positive and negative experiences, causes and conditions of these positive and negative trends in the development of various institutions of civil society are revealed. The positive experience can be studied and its consequences for the further development of civil society in a given country can be calculated.

Thirdly, the above-mentioned positive experience, thanks to international non-governmental organizations in the field of civil society development, can be scaled throughout the planet.

Positive forms and methods of work of civil society institutions are adapted to the conditions and peculiarities of other states, and then implemented, which reduces the cost of organizing and functioning civil society institutions.

Fourth, in a number of States with undemocratic political regimes, the activities of certain civil society institutions may be harassed by public authorities (for example, in Ukraine). In such a situation, international non-governmental organizations in the field of civil society development can identify cases of violations of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of individuals and legal entities, bringing information about these violations to the UN and other international governmental organizations.

The UN recognizes the value of civil society. International legislation establishes a complex mechanism of partnership between the United Nations (and other international governmental organizations derived from it) and civil society, recognizing the need to support civil society institutions (both at the national and international levels).

Civil society has the opportunity to cooperate with the United Nations either through consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), or with other UN subsidiary bodies and structures dealing with human rights issues, as well as numerous special groups.

This partnership is also possible through participation in special events organized by the President of the UN General Assembly.

Civil society actors can register with the Civil Society Group of the UN Department of Global Communications, which currently works with almost 1,600 international non-governmental organizations!

The system of cooperation has been simplified in recent years (there is even online registration of international non-governmental civil society organizations and their structures in individual national states). This facilitates the submission of applications by these structures (for support, for participation in the above-mentioned events, etc.).

International non-governmental civil society organizations receive accreditation, which makes it possible to receive assistance if they do not shy away from providing quadrennial reports on their activities.

The Civil Society Group of the Department of Global Communications focuses on supporting the above-mentioned organizations active in the field of supporting democracy and combating poverty, crime and other global problems of humanity.

The United Nations Democracy Fund plays an important role in the structure of support for international non-governmental organizations in the field of civil society, which focuses on enhancing the role of civil society, promoting human rights and ensuring the participation of all groups in democratic processes, allocating real funds for the above-mentioned events.

Programs. Which the Foundation supports in various ways (including media projects, technology development in the work of civil society institutions, etc.).

International non-governmental organizations whose activities are aimed at the development of civil society institutions can be classified into several types:

Firstly, there are numerous interdisciplinary projects that cover various spheres of public life in various countries and groups of countries (for example, the Chamber of the Eastern Caribbean and Southeast Asia; the Danish Refugee Council).

Secondly, these are research projects (in particular, ResearchX).

Thirdly, these are economic projects that can stimulate the economic development of countries and regions (for example, the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA); the International Air Transport Association (IATA)).

Fourthly, international non-governmental organizations in the field of health play an important role (in particular, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Doctors Without Borders).

Fifthly, in a number of regions of the world, the role of organizations protecting the rights and freedoms of children or ensuring their free development is great (for example, the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS); the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM)).

Sixth, international non-governmental organizations in the field of education play an important role (in particular, the European Association of History Teachers; Achievements among Juniors).

Seventh, in a number of regions of the planet, the role of organizations in the field of water supply, sanitation and hygiene is great (for example, WaterAid; Water for people; Water.org ).

Eighth, international non-governmental organizations in the field of human rights also play an important role (for example, the International Rescue Committee; the Human Rights Foundation; Amnesty International; the Commonwealth Initiative for Human Rights; the International Commission against the Death Penalty; the International Federation for Human Rights; International Protection; Survival International).

Ninth, the importance of international environmental non-governmental organizations (in particular, Greenpeace; the International Union for Conservation of Nature; the World Wide Fund for Nature Conservation) is growing.

Tenth, international religious or quasi-religious organizations (in particular, the International Federation of Catholic Parish Youth Movements (FIMCAP); Lutheran World Aid) continue to play a prominent role.

Eleventh, as technology develops, new industry-specific international non-governmental organizations are emerging (for example, RIPE NCC in the field of space research).

Twelfth, the role of associations and unions of international non-governmental organizations (in particular, the World Federation of United Nations Associations) is growing.

The organization and activities of international non-governmental organizations in the field of civil society development are associated with a number of problems caused by: a) the weak economic base of these organizations, in connection with which many of them become dependent on the national governments of certain states, as well as transnational corporations financing their creation and activities; b) the political one-sidedness of many international non-governmental organizations in this field, which often promote a dubious human rights agenda (for example, protecting the mythical rights of sexual minorities and other perverts); c) the lack of an adequate system of civil society control (public control) over these organizations at the international level (as well as at the level of national states) (in order to their activities really met the aspirations of the majority of citizens, and were not biased by the interests of narrow groups of the population); d) the presence in a number of countries of a system of restrictions (or prohibitions) on the activities of these organizations (although in some cases these restrictions are justified, for example, if international non-governmental organizations invade the sphere of activity of public authorities, interfere with their activities conflict with law enforcement agencies, etc.); e) the extreme fragmentation of these organizations (of which there are more than 75,000, of which several thousand (up to 30,000 or more) do not even conduct real activities).

These problems need to be resolved through the development and implementation of a series of measures, including, for example,: a) the need to formalize the concept of an international non-governmental organization in the field of civil society development in international legislation; b) intensification of the processes of creating international associations and unions of international non-governmental organizations in the field of civil society development in international legislation; c) consolidation of a system of prohibitions and restrictions for unions of international non-governmental organizations in the field of civil society development in international legislation (as conditions for receiving support from the United Nations and other international governmental organizations); d) consolidating the system of measures to support the above-mentioned organizations; e) consolidating the need for people to control their activities (for example, through the functioning of the institute of public control).

Conclusion.

In the course of our scientific research, we have made a number of conclusions, among which the following can be distinguished:

1. Civil society is a key condition for the preservation and development of a modern state, since: a) the degree to which citizens of the state are aware of themselves in such a capacity and are ready to cooperate in defending their rights, freedoms and legitimate interests directly depends, on the one hand, the level of legality in the country, and on the other hand, the level of and the dynamics of the development of legal culture and self-awareness; b) the level of conscious and active support by the people for the activities of the apparatus of public power in the country depends on the degree of development of civil society in the state; c) as civil society institutions develop (quantitative and qualitative), the level of awareness by the people of the country of their importance as a bearer of sovereignty and the only source of power in the country also increases d) a developed civil society has an extensive mechanism for monitoring the activities, acts and decisions of public authorities, other bodies and organizations endowed with separate public powers (represented by the institute of public control), which acts as the most important legal guarantee of both the system of legal principles and the entire system of rights, freedoms and legitimate interests individuals and legal entities in the country.

2. International non-governmental organizations play an important role in the development of civil society in the countries of the world, as: a) they are created in most cases by civil society actors from different countries by cooperating their efforts in the international arena; b) they analyze the experience of the creation and activities of civil society actors in individual national states in order to identify negative and positive factors affecting their development; c) thanks to these organizations, it is possible to scale up positive experiences in the creation, support and development of civil society institutions throughout the world; d) international non-governmental organizations can convey information about the oppression of civil society institutions in individual national states to the UN and other international governmental organizations, calling on the international community to put pressure on the public authorities of these States if, for example, their actions contain signs of crimes of international significance (for example, genocide, ecocide, international terrorism, etc.).

3. The organization and activities of international non-governmental organizations in the field of civil society development are associated with numerous problems, among which the following can be distinguished: a) the dependence of most international non-governmental organizations on national governments or on transnational corporations; b) the politicization of the activities of a significant part of them; c) a huge number of them, which makes it difficult, with on the one hand, the processes of regulating their activities, and on the other hand, complicates the mechanism of their organizational, technical, legal and financial support from the international community; d) the presence in a number of countries of regulatory restrictions on the activities of their branches and representative offices; e) the lack of proper public control over their activities, acts and decisions at the national level and internationally.

4. The resolution of these problems will require the development and implementation of a system of measures, among which are the following: a) the consolidation of the UN Charter, the universal Declaration of human rights, the International Covenant on civil and political rights from 16.12.1966 concepts and features of international non-governmental organizations in the field of civil society development; b) the stipulation in international law system damaging measures against international non-governmental organizations that are dependent on transnational corporations and haunting as the real purpose of its activities, the interests of the data transnational corporations under the guise of humanitarian purposes (for example, the ban on their support from the UN and other international governmental organizations that are derived from the UN); C) enshrined in international law as a condition for the support of the international non-governmental organizations at the expense of the UN and derived from the United Nations international governmental organizations inadmissibility of their interference in the sphere of activities of political parties; d) the initiation of the UN processes on the creation of international unions and associations of civil society actors with the aim of systematizing and consolidating with international non-governmental organizations in the field of civil society development; d) the extension of the UN and other international governmental organizations on the list of measures to support international non-governmental organizations in the field of civil society development (for example, by making their programs organizational, technical, financial, legal, etc. development); e) enshrined in international law as grounds to ban the assistance of the international community individual nation-States (including humanitarian aid) if law prohibits the establishment and activity of civil society institutions (public control) at the national level and branches (representative offices) of international non-governmental organization in the field of civil society development; g) enshrined in international law of the Institute of control of civil society (social control) over the activities, acts and decisions of national and international bureaucracy (including any bodies and organizations that implement a separate public authority).