ABSTRACT
Negotiations proceeded at their normal pace though resistance to the project began to gather when the first draft for such an investment treaty was leaked to the public in 1997. This resistance was organized by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) such as the Friends of the Earth, or the Public Citizen's Global Earth Watch. The campaign of various international non-governmental organizations against the draft of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment was successful. In 1998, first France and then other states withdrew from the negotiations. The growth in the number of INGOs and their greater prominence is also due to the fact that issues addressed by INGOs have become more numerous and more pressing. INGOs have their social base mostly in the upper ranks of wealthy societies. The World Bank divides between INGOs that are operational and those that act as advocacy groups.
