Critical Ties: How NGOs Become Reliable Information Suppliers to International Organizations

Abstract

International organizations (IOs) monitor compliance with international norms but public criticism of member states remains discretionary. We argue that such criticism depends not only on mandates or political incentives, but on whether IOs can access information they deem credible. This credibility is socially produced. Through repeated interaction, IO staff develop trust in specific local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which become reliable conduits of mandate-aligned and verifiable information. These trust-based ties reduce uncertainty and reputational risk, enabling public criticism. We test this argument using original data on press releases and NGO participation in public hearings at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights from 1996 to 2020. Combining statistical analysis, an instrumental variable strategy, text analysis, and interview evidence, we show that the Commission is more likely to issue and to sharpen critical press releases when it has established ties with local NGOs focused on the relevant country and issue.