Graduates find NGOs wanting

The 2009 graduates of a new CSR course at Geneva University have celebrated with a role reversal – holding a seminar for lecturers at their degree ceremony.

Four of the 22 students, who received their diplomas after a six-month course, delivered results of their research into whether NGOs are as responsible as the firms against which they campaign. They concluded that two NGOs studied – Human Rights Watch and Global Witness – ‘fell remarkably short in applying socially responsible principles’.