THREE NGOS RECOMMENDED FOR CONSULTATIVE STATUS WITH ECOSOC, THREE APPLICATIONS DEFERRED, ONE DECISION PENDING

Committee on NGOs

2001 Session

25^th Meeting (AM)

THREE NGOS RECOMMENDED FOR CONSULTATIVE STATUS WITH ECOSOC,

THREE APPLICATIONS DEFERRED, ONE DECISION PENDING

Wellesley Centers for Women, Concerned Women

For America, Fundacion Intervida Recommended by NGO Committee

The Committee on Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) this morning recommended three organizations for consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, deferred the applications of three others and left one decision pending, as it continued its consideration of new applications.

Special consultative status was recommended for Wellesley Centers for Women, Concerned Women for America and Fundacion Intervida.

Pending further clarifications, the applications of National Association of Non-Governmental Organizations, Association of Expelled Persons, and Canada Family Action Coalition were deferred.

The application of National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty was left pending until the Committee received further information.  The Committee would continue its consideration of Medico International this afternoon.

Although she had no basic problem with the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, Sudan’s representative noted that while the organization stated that it was a national coalition, it mentioned that if it were to attain status it would internationalize the debate on the issue.  She wondered how the NGO intended to do that.  Also, where did its contributions come from?  India’s representative wanted to know whether any of the NGO’s affiliates had consultative status with the Council.

The representative of Cuba pointed out the useful work the NGO was doing and that it worked essentially within its own territory.  As its work could contribute to the upcoming World Conference on Racism, it would be useful for the Committee to recommend consultative status during the current session. 

The decision to recommend special status to Wellesley Centers for Women was taken ad referendum, as the representative of China requested the name of the organization in China which was a member of the NGO.

Regarding Association of Expelled Persons, the representatives of Russian Federation and Sudan requested clarifications on the term “expelled”.  In addition, they noted that practically the entire budget was financed by governments.  Cuba’s representative requested a list of the NGO’s 42 member organizations.  Further, the representative of China wanted to know if the NGO intended to become international in scope once it was granted status. 

Offering some clarifications, the representative of Germany stated that the NGO was a national organization dealing with a phenomenon that occurred in his country following World War II, when it was flooded with people expelled from other countries.  It was the voice for the expelled, who constituted about 20 per cent of the German population.  It was doing good work in the countries of Eastern and Central Europe from which the expelled came, particularly in rebuilding cities and local infrastructure.  His Government, which fully supported the NGO, did provide a large part of the organization’s finances in order to enable it to fulfil its work.

Asked what her organization’s input to the Economic and Social Council would be, the representative of Concerned Women for America said that the NGO hoped to be a resource for Member States on the concerns of women from all over the world.  In response to a question from Tunisia’s representative on the NGO’s links with organizations in Africa, she said the NGO had recently worked with an organization in Nairobi and disseminated information on lessons learned and best practices.

While commending the NGO for the useful work it was doing, Cuba’s representative asked what criteria were used by the NGO to determine what was the most beneficial environment for a child to learn in, a point mentioned in the organization’s application.  Also, had the NGO done any work on the situation of women in prisons in the United States?  Questions about specific projects, finances and work done in the area of trafficking in women and children were posed by Germany and India.  

The representative of the NGO said that it could contribute information, which could be useful when Member States were considering policies that affected families.  The NGO believed that the best educational environment for a child was determined by looking at what best worked for the child.  Its job was to present various options for education and allow individuals to choose the one best suited for them.  The situation of women in prisons was not an area the NGO had yet taken up. 

While the NGO did not have a set amount for membership dues, she said, if someone donated to the organization or volunteered with it, that person was considered a member.  The NGO’s work went beyond that which it was doing at the United Nations, and it was involved in a variety of areas.  The $7 million in expenditures mentioned in the application related to the overall work of the NGO, including costs for producing radio and video programmes.  The organization had worked to educate people on the issue of trafficking, as many people were still not aware of the problem.  Other work done globally included providing information on health issues.

During the discussion, several members of the Committee noted that many of the discrepancies and confusion arising from some applications could be avoided through the elaboration of a more focused questionnaire sent out to organizations.  The situation only highlighted the importance of revising the present questionnaire, which the Committee was in the process of doing within its working group.

The representative of Cuba requested further information on the specific projects conducted by Medico International, as well as the names of countries in Latin America where the NGO worked.

The 19-member Committee considers, among other things, applications submitted by NGOs for consultative status and their requests for reclassification.  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 which include the organization’s activities, decision-making processes and resources.

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 representatives of Algeria, Chile and Colombia also spoke this morning.

The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue consideration of new applications for consultative status.

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