Nongovernmental organization

In broad principle, a non-governmental organization (NGO) is any organization that is not part of government. The term arose in the context of the civil society eruption of the late 1980s and refers in particular to the class of organizations that in the United States are generally termed nonprofits. Such organizations are sometimes also labeled voluntary or service, or mission-oriented organization that pursue common goods independently of governments. In practice, there is a spectrum of relationships between purely independent NGOs, NGOs that are recognized as having some level of investigatory authority over governments, and quasi-nongovernmental organizations QUANGOs, which have some autonomy but also were created by a government and have some continuing relationship.

A given NGO might operate completely outside of government; one of the questions is whether governments pay attention to it. The reports of NGOs such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International will gain substantial press attention, especially when critical of governments. Others, such as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, are widely recognized as competent yet fiercely independent humanitarian organizations. In humanitarian operations, MSF may cooperate with national or international organizations that are coordinating relief in that operation.

Yet another category covers NGOs such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, an NGO but also recognized as having operational oversight over the Geneva Conventions.

International organizations, under the authority of the United Nations or other recognized bodies, are nongovernmental in the sense of not being under a national government.