Author: Kerstin Martens

Civil society has been a vital part of the United Nations (UN) system since its establishment in 1945. More recently existing relations with civil society have been intensified and new links with business circles developed in order to create partnerships with non-state actors. This chapter examines how civil society organisations (CSOs) help to enhance accountability in the UN regime. It applies a policy-cycle model adapted for the analysis of global governance and explores how CSOs are involved in the stages of agenda setting, policy formulation, and policy implementation at the UN. A range of CSO participation in and through the UN system is examined in terms of: (a) the degree of formalised and systematic procedures, including constitutional provisions and liaison operations; and (b) the resources that CSOs have available for interaction with the UN. The conclusion of the chapter evaluates the constituencies that CSO relations with the UN have and have not served.