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[Excerpt:]

While a critical eye upon U.N. proceedings is not undue, the organisation NGO Monitor added a new layer to an already complex situation when on Wednesday it presented the results of its research into NGO conduct in the MENA region.

NGO Monitor concluded that organisations including Amnesty and Human Rights Watch had neglected to expose human rights violations in the decade leading up to the uprisings.

Syria again stood out as a case in point. U.N.-accredited organisations had been operating on a policy of “file and forget”, said Gerald M. Steinberg, president of NGO Monitor.

“Amnesty is the most influential NGO in the framework of the human rights council. Where was it on the issue of Syrian violation of human rights for the last decade? Criticism should begin at home, before blaming outside powers,” Steinberg told IPS.