Religious NGOs at the united nations: polarizers or mediators?

Examining the involvement of religious NGOs (RNGOs) at the UN, this book explores whether they polarize political debates at the UN or facilitate agreement on policy issues. The number of RNGOs engaging with the United Nations (UN) has grown considerably in recent years: RNGOs maintain relations with various UN agencies, member-state missions, and other NGOs, and participate in UN conferences and events. This volume includes both a quantitative overview of RNGOs at the UN and qualitative analyses of specific policy issues such as international development, climate change, business and human rights, sexual and reproductive health and rights, international criminal justice, defamation of religions, and intercultural dialogue and cooperation. The contributions explore the factors that explain the RNGOs' normative positions and actions and scrutinise the assumption that religions introduce non-negotiable principles into political debate and decision-making that inevitably lead to conflict and division. Presenting original research on RNGOs and issues of global public policy, this volume will be relevant to both researchers and policy-makers in the fields of religion and international relations, the United Nations, and non-state actors and global governance.

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- List of illustrations -- List of contributors -- Preface and acknowledgements -- List of abbreviations -- 1 Introduction: religious NGOs at the United Nations: polarizers or mediators? -- 2 Religious NGOs at the UN: a quantitative overview -- 3 Religious NGOs at the UNFCCC: a specific contribution to global climate politics? -- 4 'And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply': religious NGOs and the struggle over sexual and reproductive health and rights at the UN -- 5 Faith-based organizations and international development in a post-liberal world -- 6 Religious NGOs and the quest for a binding treaty on business and human rights -- 7 Reconciliation versus punishment: religious NGOs and the International Criminal Court -- 8 Preventing a global blasphemy law: religious NGOs at the UN and the 'defamation of religions' campaign -- 9 Religious NGOs at the UN: advancing interreligious dialogue and cooperation? -- 10 Conclusions: religious NGOs: mediators between distinctiveness and alignment -- Appendix: List of RNGOs registered at ECOSOC in 2012 -- Index

Introduction : religious NGOs at the UN : polarizers or mediators? / Claudia Baumgart-Ochse -- Religious NGOs at the UN : a quantitative overview / Ann-Kristin Beinlich and Clara Braungart -- Religious NGOs at the UNFCCC : a specific contribution to global climate politics? / Katharina Glaab, Doris Fuchs, and Johannes Friederich -- And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply : religious NGOs and the struggle over sexual and reproductive health and rights at the UN / Ann-Kristin Beinlich -- Faith-based organizations and international development in a post-liberal world / Gerard Clarke -- Religious NGOs and the quest for a binding treaty on business and human rights / Melanie Coni-Zimmer and Olga Perov -- Reconciliation versus punishment : religious NGOs and the International Criminal Court / Clara Braungart -- Preventing a global blasphemy law : religious NGOs and the defamation of religions campaign / Claudia Baumgart-Ochse -- Religious NGOs at the UN : advancing interreligious dialogue and cooperation? / Jeffrey Haynes -- Religious NGOs : mediators between distinctiveness and alignment / Claudia Baumgart-Ochse and Klaus Dieter Wolf -- Appendix: List of RNGOs registered at ECOSOC in 2012.