NGO COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS FOUR APPLICANTS RECEIVE ECOSOC CONULTATIVE STATUS

Committee on NGOs

778^th Meeting (AM)

NGO COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS FOUR APPLICANTS RECEIVE ECOSOC CONULTATIVE STATUS

This morning the Committee on Non-governmental Organizations recommended the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) grant special consultative status to MIRA Resource Centre for Black, Immigrant and Refugee Women; the Federation Europeenne d’Associations Nationales Travaillant avec les Sans-Abri; and the Fishworkers’ Forum.  Roster status was recommended for Fayette Companies, and the Committee deferred action on the application of another non-governmental organization (NGO).

The 19-member Committee makes recommendations on applications from NGOs for standing with ECOSOC, and on requests for reclassification of that standing.  NGOs may be granted either general, special or roster consultative status, according to their work, and have different privileges and obligations according to their category.

The International Society for Human Rights, an international organization based in Germany, had applied for roster status.  It was asked by India’s representative about its use of the term “persecution”. Cuba’s representative asked about the role of a vice-president of the organization, who was hostile to her Government, and for sources of information in its published material.  Following additional questions from the representatives of China, Sudan (on its stance on religious conversion), Algeria, Pakistan, and the Russian Federation, and comments from Germany’s representative, a decision on the application was deferred.

A Norwegian NGO, MIRA Resource Centre for Black, Immigrant and Refugee Women, was recommended for special consultative status, as was the Federation Europeenne d’Associations Nationales Travaillant avec les Sans-Abri, an umbrella organization for national organizations working with the homeless, and the Fishworkers’ Forum, an NGO fostering unity, solidarity and mutual concern among the fishworkers of India.

Fayette Companies, an organization that provides management, supervisory and consultation services to drug, alcohol and mental health treatment and prevention services, was recommended for roster status, after Committee members questions about whether it was a true NGO were addressed by the United States’ representative.

The representatives of France, Ethiopia and Chile also spoke on applications

The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. to consider applications.

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