ABSTRACT
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other civil society organizations and coalitions are proliferating and increasing in complexity, in the scope of their programmes, and in their interactions with one another and with governmental and intergovernmental actors. Their ability to fill new or newly opened political space has resulted in their increasing influence on processes, decisions and policies of governments and international governmental institutions. Joanne Lebert notes that information and communications technology (ICT) has greatly increased the speed with which Amnesty International (AI) can collect and circulate data both internally and publicly. Pace and Panganiban conclude that the evolution of the NGO coalition for an International Criminal Court (ICC) has shown that ICT is an increasingly integral aspect of the functioning and effectiveness of civil society in international decisionmaking. The international community must find ways to address such legitimate demands and to remedy inequalities. Responsible civil society groups will continue to push for those goals.
