COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS 13 NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS FOR CONSULTATIVE STATUS WITH ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

Committee on NGOs

32^nd Meeting (PM)

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS 13 NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS FOR CONSULTATIVE STATUS

WITH ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) this afternoon began consideration of new applications from organizations requesting consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, as part of its 2001 resumed session.

The Committee decided to recommend general consultative status for one organization, special consultative status for 10, and roster consultative status for two.  All those recommendations were made by consensus.  It also deferred two applications, pending further information requested by delegates, and posed questions to one organization whose representative was present during the time allotted for such direct question and answer.

The 19-member Committee makes recommendations on applications from NGOs for standing with the Economic and Social Council, and on requests for reclassification of that standing.  Non-governmental organizations may be granted either general, special or roster consultative status, according to their work, with different privileges and obligations according to the different categories.

The Committee first acted this afternoon on the request of the Association d’Assistance aux Grands Handicapés à Domicile, of Tunisia, for general consultative status.  Following a statement by the representative of India, it recommended instead granting special consultative status to that organization. 

The Association Marocaine de Solidarité et de Développement was then recommended for special consultative status, as it had requested, following supportive statements by the Sudan, India and Senegal.  Regarding a request for special consultative status by Observatoire national des Droits de l’Enfant of Morocco, that status was recommended, following statements of support by Senegal, Tunisia, Cuba, Pakistan, Sudan and India.

The Public Service Association of India had applied for, and was recommended for, roster consultative status, supported by a statement of Pakistan’s representative.  The Women’s Political Watch of India had requested special status, for which it was recommended.  Having requested general consultative status, the Advisory Committee on Protection of the Sea was instead recommended for special consultative status.

The Association Marocaine de Soutien et d’Aide aux Handicapés Mentaux had also requested general status.  Cuba, Germany and China said they would recommend special status after answers to questions that had been posed to the association had been received.  The representatives of Bolivia, Sudan, Russian Federation and France discussed procedural issues in that regard.  The representative of the

United States said that he was awaiting information about administrative expenses that were, as he put it, rather high, supporting a recommendation for special status pending that information.  Action on the organization’s request was, therefore, deferred until such information was received.

The Guild of Service of India, focusing on the development of women and children, had requested special consultative status.  Following statements of clarification and support by the representatives of Senegal and Bolivia, respectively, that status was recommended.

Concerning the request for special status by the United States Committee for the United Nations Population Fund, that status was recommended after the Committee considered written responses that had been posed to that organization in informal meetings, and a statement was made in its support by the representative of Cuba.

As requested, special status was also recommended for the Association Guinéenne pour la Réinsertion des Toxicomanes, with supporting statements made by Senegal, India, Sudan, Cuba and Tunisia.  The Association Marocaine pour la Promotion de la Femme Rurale was strongly supported for special status by India, Germany, Sudan, Tunisia, Senegal and the Russian Federation.

The general consultative status requested by the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations was strongly supported by the Committee, after the Chairman explained that the request had been submitted on advice from the Committee.

Having requested general consultative status, the Human Resource Development Foundation, an international organization based in Turkey, was recommended for special status. 

Regarding the application for special status by the International Centre for Peace Studies of India, the representative of Pakistan asked the Chairman if certain questions could be submitted before action was taken.  Decision on that organization was deferred pending its responses.

American Mothers, which aimed to strengthen mothers, children and families in general, was recommended for roster consultative status, instead of special status, after clarifications were discussed by the representatives of India, Cuba, Bolivia, Sudan and the United States.

The representative of the Education and Literacy Fund for Africa, an international organization based in New York, appeared this afternoon during the Committee time allotted for direct question and answer with NGOs that had submitted applications.  In response to delegates’ questions about present and future financing and the absence of implemented projects, she explained the causes of delays, including a name change that also had affected the processing of funds.  The World Trade Center attacks and procedural matters, such as board approvals, had exacerbated delays. 

Following her response, representatives offered their views and asked for further clarification.  France’s representative said that the answers were not quite satisfactory and that the organization seemed like one in process, rather

than one that was already established.  The representative of India agreed that most of the activities, and funding, seemed to exist only in the future, and asked what consultative status would do for the organization. 

The NGO’s representative replied that such status would help her organization’s cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and a number of other organizations.  Representative said they were still not satisfied, however.  The representative of Germany said that granting status to an NGO which was still in the planning stage would be unfair to all those established NGOs who had been deferred, even though its ideas seemed very valuable and very useful.  The Committee decided to close the application file without prejudice, inviting the organization to reapply when projects were further developed.

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. Tuesday, 15 January, to consider applications for consultative status and requests for reclassifications deferred from the previous session of the Committee.

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