Editing Human security (section)

===Relationship with non-governmental organizations===
[[Non-governmental organization|See also: Non-governmental organization]]

The term NGO (Non-Government Organisation) cannot be simply defined due to complexities surrounding its structure, environment and complex relations it shares with its internal factions; being its organisational mission, membership and sources of funding, and external factors such as the relationship it shares with actors; detailing the economic, political and societal constructs they may be bound by. A generic understanding of the term may refer to the actions taken in the interests of independent, voluntary contributors which exist independently from governments and corporations, designed to represent and provide a collective voice to individuals regarding issues. These issues cover contributions to the fields and industries of human development, health and nutrition, human rights and education, and environmental concerns; all of which influence and affect human security.

The traditional roles of NGOs may be classified into three components, in accordance with Lewis:<ref>Lewis Opoku-Mensah, Paul and Lewis, David and Tvedt, Terje, eds (2007) Reconceptualising NGOs and their roles in development: NGOs, civil society and the international aid system Aalborg University Press, Aalborg, Denmark</ref>

-	Implementer: refers to the mobilisation of resources in order to aid the provision of goods and services, such as the act of service delivery.

-	Catalyst: refers to the emotional and psychological aspect of the NGOs ability to inspire, facilitate or contribute to spur action or thinking.

-	Partner: refers to the NGOs relationships shared with external actors such as governments, donors or the private sector players through joint activities, or projects with communities, with the purpose to strengthen the relationship between the NGOs and these partners in a mutually beneficial fashion.

The expansion of these roles have culminated in assisting the creation of a society where NGOs serve as important players in the global arena in regards to maintaining human security. Due to this increasing influence and the emergence of growing natural and man-made disasters, NGOs now are contracted by governments in order to adequately respond to crises, as well as assist individual or collectivised groups of citizens in lobbying their interests; thus culminating in the ability to enact, influence and change government agendas. However, NGOs are still largely dependent on certain levels of government funding, hence critics may argue that NGOs pose the ability to potentially damage issues of human security due to this financial dependence. Despite these critiques, the focus, expertise and infrastructure developed by NGOs through their activities linked with human development and human rights allow them to make unique contributions to human security provision.<ref>Michael, Sarah. 2002. "The Role of NGOs in Human Security", Working Paper #12, The Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations and The Kennedy School of Government Harvard University</ref>