Committee on NGOs

34^th Meeting (PM)

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS CONSULTATIVE STATUS WITH ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

FOR FOUR NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS, ROSTER STATUS FOR TWO

The Committee on Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) this afternoon continued its consideration of applications for consultative status that had previously been deferred, as part of its resumed 2001 session of recommending action on such applications to the Economic and Social Council.

The Committee decided to recommend special consultative status for four organizations and roster status for two.  Decision was deferred on recommendations for three other organizations.

Organizations recommended for special consultative status were: the International Energy Foundation, based in Libya; Leadership for Environment and Development, an international organization based in New York; the Marmara Group Strategic and Social Research Foundation of Turkey; and the International Society of Doctors for the Environment, based in Switzerland.

Those recommended for roster consultative status were:  the Vaestoliitto Family Federation of Finland and the Pioneer People Trust, an international organization based in the United Kingdom.

Each consultative status denotes different privileges and obligations within the United Nations system.  Organizations with general status can propose items for the Council’s agenda, attend and speak at meetings and circulate statements of a certain length.  Those with special status can attend meetings and circulate statements of a certain length, while those on the roster can attend meetings. Organizations with general and special status must submit reports every four years on their activities in support of the United Nations.

Organizations whose status recommendations were deferred this afternoon included the Wales Assembly of Women.  The decision was deferred until the Committee was able to clarify the group’s position on the decriminalization of child prostitution, as requested by the representative of Pakistan.

Recommendation on the Alliance Musulmane d’Angola was also deferred, due to the lack of response to previous Secretariat queries, after a procedural discussion involving representatives of India, Sudan, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Turkey, China, Cuba and the United States, along with the observer from Egypt.  In that discussion, closing the file was also considered.

Recommendation on the Federation of Ijaw Communities, in support of people of the Niger River Delta, was deferred after a discussion by Senegal, Pakistan, Sudan, Russian Federation, India, Tunisia and Turkey.  Observers from Egypt and the United Kingdom also spoke in that discussion, which concerned whether or not the Nigerian Mission should be contacted about the organization, among other issues.  The representative of Senegal, in addition, expressed reluctance to support organizations that encouraged “micro-ethnicity” in that subregion.

In accordance with the Committee’s practice of allotting time each evening for representatives from NGOs to appear directly before the Committee, a representative of the Pioneer People Trust answered delegates’ questions concerning its application for special consultative status. 

In response to initial questions, the representative of Pioneer People Trust said that its projects included children’s homes in Romania, assistance to people in northern Mozambique, educational work supported by the United Kingdom, and wheelchair distribution to Berbers in Jordan.  The organization was autonomous, but did network with other NGOs who had similar interests.

Sparked by a question posed by the representative of India, the discussion turned to whether or not the primary objective of the group was conversion or the aforementioned development projects.  The representative of the United States said he had no problem with NGOs based on religion convictions, but if the organization, which was Christian, only helped Christians to the exclusion of others, that might be problematic.

The representative of the organization clarified that no distinction was made between people of different religions in giving assistance, even though their work was inspired by the Christian beliefs of its members.  Representatives, however, expressed unease about proselytizing, which the group had indicated was a charter aim on its initial application forms.

After further discussion, the Committee decided to recommend roster status instead of the special status requested by the group, after a suggestion by the representative of Germany.  The representative of India said that he would go along with that suggestion, though the concerns of the Committee should be reflected in the final report.  In agreeing with the consensus, the representative of the Sudan, among others, stipulated that the Secretariat should provide clarification of the differences between the first and second applications. 

Further information about the individual NGOs whose applications were considered this afternoon can be found in document E/C.2/2001/CRP.5.

The Committee on NGOs will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 16 January, to continue its consideration of deferred applications for consultative status with the Economic and Social Council.

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