Committee on NGOs

2001 Session

16^th Meeting (PM) 

NGO COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS CONSULTATIVE STATUS FOR FOUR ORGANIZATIONS

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) this afternoon recommended four organizations for consultative status with the Economic and Social Council and deferred the applications of five others.

Special consultative status was recommended for Femme-Jeunesse-Environnement-Santé, Centre for Practice-Oriented Feminist Science and Cooperation Ireland.

Roster consultative status was recommended for Gun Control Australia, a national organization aiming to, among other things, promote adequate controls on the ownership and usage of firearms with the objective of minimizing gun misuse.

Pending further clarifications, the application of Centre Féminin pour la Promotion du Developpement was deferred, as were those of Motorcycle Riders Foundation, International Religious Liberty Association, A Centre for the World Religions, and In Honor of Mandela Fund.

Several delegations posed questions to In Honor of Mandela Fund, an organization based in the United States.  Its representative stated that the NGO had filed a name change with the registration authorities in New York to reflect its new name, Education and Literacy Fund for Africa.  The Committee would consult further with the Permanent Mission of South Africa regarding its reservations on the application before taking a decision.

The International Religious Liberty Association was requested to provide further information on, among other things, their specific aims and activities, finances, membership and in what capacity it was able to maintain a presence at the United Nations offices in New York and Geneva.

Also this afternoon, the Committee decided to take note of the quadrennial report of World Muslim Congress, an organization with general consultative status.  Prior to the decision, India’s representative noted that the NGO had not given complete answers to questions asked.  Most of the organization’s statements had been, and continued to be, directed against his country.  Despite changes in the organization, his reservations regarding the NGO's nature and aims remained.

By "taking note", the Committee does not endorse a report's contents, but merely notes an organization’s compliance with reporting requirements.

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 resolution 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 such as the organization’s activities, decision-making processes and resources.

Non-governmental organizations with consultative status are classified under "general", "special" or "roster" categories.  Organizations with general and special status must report every four years on their activities in support of the United Nations, specifically regarding their support to the work of the Organization.  The Committee had around 200 new and 30 deferred or pending quadrennial reports before it.

Statements were also made this afternoon by the representatives of Turkey, Germany, Algeria, United States, Sudan, Ethiopia, Russian Federation, China and Cuba. 

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 17 May to continue its consideration of requests for consultative status.

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