COMMITTEE ON NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS ELECTS CHAIRMAN, VICE-CHAIRMAN, PRIOR TO CONSIDERATION OF METHODS OF WORK

Press Release
NGO/339

COMMITTEE ON NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS ELECTS CHAIRMAN, VICE-CHAIRMAN, PRIOR TO CONSIDERATION OF METHODS OF WORK

Chairman Stresses Committee’s 'Obligation' to NGO Community

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) elected its new Chairman and four Vice-Chairmen this morning, as it began the first part of its session for the year 2000. It also adopted its agenda and programme of work, as orally revised.

After his election, Levent Bilman (Turkey), the new Chairman, asked delegates involved in other United Nations work to understand that the Committee's work was as important as any other, and that the Committee had an obligation to the NGO community. Many NGOs had waited patiently over several years for the Committee to review their cases and give serious consideration to their applications. Delegates were requested to be present during the Committee's deliberations.

Elected as Vice-Chairmen were Mihaela Blajan (Romania), Munawar Saeed Bhatti (Pakistan), Mercedes de Armas Garcia (Cuba), and Ilham Ibrahim Mohamed Ahmed (Sudan). Election of the Committee's Rapporteur was postponed.

The Committee, a standing body of the Economic and Social Council, considers applications submitted by NGOs for consultative status and their requests for reclassification; considers quadrennial reports submitted by those organizations; implements the provisions of Council resolutions 1996/31 and the monitoring of consultative relationships; and considers other issues as requested by the Council. Non-governmental, non-profit voluntary organizations can be admitted into consultative status with the Council if they meet the requirements detailed in Council resolution 1996/31, regarding matters, including the organization’s activities, decision-making processes and resources.

Sarbuland Khan, Director of the Economic and Social Council’s Support and Coordination Division, said that the Committee was one of the most important of the bodies set up by the Council to foster a relationship with the "world out there". Over the years, it had functioned as a gatekeeper for the NGOs’ entry into the United Nations in the economic and social sphere.

He said that this year would be a particularly difficult one for the Committee, with the Millennium Assembly and the Council’s substantive session. It

Committee on NGOs - 2 - Press Release NGO/339 736th Meeting (AM) 15 May 2000

was hoped that the Committee would achieve the synergy needed to make governments and civil society work together towards the goals of the United Nations.

Regarding the organization of work, Hanifa Mezoui, Chief of the NGOs Section, outlined the documents before the Committee and said that its report would soon be submitted to the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary). Noting that her Section was always overwhelmed with work, she expressed the hope that the outcome of the Committee's discussions would give it the support and staff necessary to fulfil its responsibilities.

Non-governmental organizations with consultative status are classified under the "general", "special" or "roster" categories. Those in the general category must be "concerned with most of the activities of the Economic and Social Council and its subsidiary bodies". The special category concerns those "which have a special competence in, and are concerned specifically with, only a few of the fields of activity covered by the Council". The roster category relates to NGOs which "can make occasional and useful contributions to the work of the Council or its subsidiary bodies".

Different privileges and obligations are accorded to each category. Non- governmental organizations with general status can propose items for the Council agenda, attend and speak at meetings and circulate statements. Those with special status can attend meetings and circulate statements, while those on the roster can only attend meetings. Organizations with general and special status must report every four years on their activities in support of the United Nations.

The Committee’s current members are Algeria, Bolivia, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, Lebanon, Pakistan, Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal, Sudan, Tunisia, Turkey and the United States.

Other speakers this morning were the representatives of Pakistan, Cuba, Sudan, United States, Algeria, Romania, China, Colombia, Russian Federation, Tunisia, India, Chile, Turkey, France and Ethiopia.

The Committee on NGOs will meet again at 3 p.m. today to consider its methods of work.

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