NGOs as Loudspeakers: Potential Role of NGOs in Bridging the North-South Gap in International Environmental and Sustainable Development Law Making Process

Abstract

There is a gap in the international law-making forums in how north and south collaborate and contribute to the development of international laws and policies. In the field of environmental law and sustainable development, this affects the potential obligations and the commitments that the states make under international agreements. Therefore, in addition to the states, the non-state actors are increasingly becoming an important voice in balancing the scales of international politics and international law-making. The objective of this research is to bring out the need to incorporate the southern concerns through equality: which encompasses representation of southern concerns at the international law-making forums by the use of NGOs. The research involves qualitative analysis of data and international legal instruments. Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) is used as a lens to analyze the north-south dimensions in international law. The research provides for justification and rationale for legitimizing the NGO participation in international environmental law and sustainable development in order to make it more participatory, equitable and just. The chapter argues that such an approach would reflect the move away from state-centric governance towards a more democratic and inclusive international governance and law-making regime. Therefore it would add to the existing legal literature on north and south dimensions in international environmental law and sustainable development law.