A Comment on the Ethics Statements of Global Non-Governmental Organizations and their Relation to Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

Human endeavors can be understood at the levels of evaluating what is good (values identification) and judging what is right (norms identification). These ethical considerations ideally find expression by becoming embedded in daily activity, with the ideal often buttressed by formal laws and regulations. Commitments to a strategy of sustainable management remain principally an ethical (rather than a regulatory) issue and are addressed primarily by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) rather than states. The United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offer a blueprint for a more sustainable future. Faced with the consequences of climate change, natural disasters, environmental degradation, armed conflicts, and mass migration, NGOs’ commitments to the SDGs may be expressed in their engagement with meeting the immediate basic needs of present generations (e.g., for clean air, clean water, food, clothing, and shelter) and by humanitarian or developmental actions (which are part and parcel of sustainability development strategy and its implementation). In the present paper, I will offer a preliminary exploration of the question, to what extent do NGOs’ ethical commitments encompass strategy-led sustainable development capable of contributing to improving the likelihood of survival of a vulnerable population?