COMMITTEE ON NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS CONTINUES CONSIDERATION OF APPLICATIONS FOR CONSULTATIVE STATUS

Press Release
NGO/333

COMMITTEE ON NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS CONTINUES CONSIDERATION OF APPLICATIONS FOR CONSULTATIVE STATUS

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations -- a 19-member standing body of the Economic and Social Council -- directed questions this afternoon to the representatives of two groups applying for consultative status with the Council, and left its decisions on both applications pending.

In addition to reviewing the applications from Hadassah, Women’s Zionist Organization of America, and from Admiral Family Circle Islamic Community, the Committee heard a report from the President of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations (CONGO).

Committee members posed questions to Hadassah, Women’s Zionist Organization of America, this morning and this afternoon, and heard from its representative. Although the observer for Syria said questions had not been answered and the application should be rejected, the Committee decided to leave its decision pending until it received further information.

The observer for Palestine said Zionism was a political doctrine based on exclusiveness and the gathering of all Jews to go to Palestine. She had never before heard of non-political and humanitarian Zionism. The organization had said it was not political, and that it promoted mutual understanding and peace -- but peace was a political issue, she said. She then asked where and in what capacity the organization was involved in the Middle East, and what its relationship was with the World Zionist Organization, the World Jewish Agency and the Palestinian Authority.

Lebanon’s representative said that, while Jewish ideals were to be respected and venerated, they could not be equated with Zionism. For decades, the United Nations had established a parallel between Zionism and racism through a resolution that had been rejected by the General Assembly for political –- not conceptual -- reasons. He asked a series of questions, including whether the organization had centres in Israel, and what the nationalities of its board members were. Further clarification was needed on its relation with the World Jewish Agency, which was displacing inhabitants and bringing more Jews to Palestinian territories.

The representative of the United States said Assembly resolution 46/86 rescinded resolution 33/79, which had previously equated Zionism with racism. The United Nations now recognized that Zionism was not equivalent with racism. It was important to stress this, he said, particularly in view of the delicate talks going on in the Middle East.

Committee on NGOs - 2 - Press Release NGO/333 730th Meeting (PM) 26 January 2000

Syria’s observer said the Committee's discussion had nothing to do with the peace talks. It was surprising that the Committee was considering an organization that espoused Zionist ideas. Zionism was based on the concept of ethnic superiority, occupation and exclusion of others. Zionism upheld the occupation of Palestine by Israel, and that occupation was the result of the support given by the Zionist movement. If the organization did not discriminate, what had it done in favour of the inhabitants of the Syrian Golan Heights who continued to live under occupation? There was no point in continuing the discussion, he said. The Committee should reject the application.

The representative of the Hadassah, Women's Zionist Organization of America, said her group espoused a special form of Zionism focusing on being of service to people of the world. It was a voluntary, non-profit organization dedicated to ideals of Judaism, democracy, health, education, and human rights. It had a record of 88 years of service in education and health worldwide. It combated racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination. It had a close relationship with the Palestinian Authority. Palestinian doctors came to Hadassah to be trained in specializations and services, while Hadassah doctors also went to Palestinian hospitals. Based on service, people were brought together on a scientific level; in her view, sharing knowledge was a means to peace.

Hadassah’s medical outreach also included programmes free of charge in countries including Liberia, United Republic of Tanzania, Malawi, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Zambia and Côte d’Ivoire –- all with emphasis on local participation and training. In Cuba, Hadassah International Medical Relief Association was involved in distributing pharmaceuticals that were sent there by manufacturers, hospitals, individuals.

Her group was a member organization of the World Zionist Organization and was represented on the World Jewish Agency, she said. Her group, which in no way supported the foreign policy of any government, had been involved in the work of the United Nations through the Department of Public Information for a long time. Now, it wanted to be more involved and to contribute more. "We are faithful to the United Nations", she said. The group wanted to bring better health and technology and peace to the world.

When the Committee turned to the Admiral Family Circle Islamic Community, several delegations expressed support for granting it special consultative status, rather than roster status as it had requested. Special status carries with it a broader set of privileges and responsibilities.

Questions were posed to the organization's representative by Committee members from India and the Russian Federation. India's representative asked for clarification on the group's membership, finances, affiliations and projects.

The representative of the Community said his group was an Islamic community, and most of its members were Muslim. To broaden its net to encompass more people from different communities, it had decided to create the Malik Shabazz Human Rights Institute. It also participated in an Islamic leadership

Committee on NGOs - 3 - Press Release NGO/333 730th Meeting (PM) 26 January 2000

council, but was not paid by it. In addition to monthly contributions from members, the organization benefited tremendously from volunteers. In an effort to reflect that, it had presented volunteer hours in a dollar amount in the application.

Regarding the group's work for self-affirmation, he said that, because of their history, some African-Americans had been forced to take the names of former slave owners. But since many Muslims had been brought to the United States before the revolution, many in the African-American community were reclaiming their Islamic heritage. Self-development did not imply developing a separate nation or separate sovereignty; rather, for the Islamic community, it meant working on issues such as developing hospitals run by Muslims. Projects included attempts to reclaim people coming out of the criminal justice system and providing opportunities so they did not become repeat offenders.

The Malik Shabazz centre held seminars and participated in conferences, he explained. There was a large African community in the United States, but most of the groups that dealt with those immigrants were Christian. While that was not a problem, some issues must be addressed from an Islamic perspective.

Also this afternoon, the President of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations, Afaf Mahfouz, briefed the Committee on consultations that had been held regarding the relations between non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the United Nations. Financial and logistical constraints often impeded the participation of groups from the South, while groups from the North were more often able to attend meetings. A special fund could be created to underwrite NGO participation from the South. Another idea was the formation of small groups with the Committee to discuss issues. Minutes from the meeting were on the Web site: www/conferenceofngos.com.

The representatives of Lebanon, United States, Cuba, Ireland, Chile, Algeria, France, Russian Federation, Tunisia, Pakistan and Turkey also spoke this afternoon, as did the observer for Iran.

At the outset of the meeting, the Chief of the Non-Governmental Organizations Section, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Hanifa Mezoui, responded to questions posed this morning regarding the procedure for notifying NGOs of the Committee’s decisions.

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow to continue its review of requests for consultative status.

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