NGO COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS CONSULTATIVE STATUS WITH ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL FOR THREE BODIES -- ONE IN SPECIAL, TWO IN ROSTER CATEGORY

Committee on NGOs

15^th & 16^th Meetings (AM & PM)

NGO COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS CONSULTATIVE STATUS WITH ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

FOR THREE BODIES -- ONE IN SPECIAL, TWO IN ROSTER CATEGORY

Committee Closes File on Three Groups,

One Following Roll-Call Vote; Five Applications Left Pending

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations today considered applications of organizations whose defining characteristics were not in strict conformity with the principles guiding the establishment of consultative status with the Economic and Social Council.  It recommended roster status for one of them -- the Confederation of German Forest Owners Associations, a national organization.

Following its consideration of an application described by one member as testing the consistency and methods of the Committee's work, the Committee closed the file on the Syrian Orthodox Church in America on the grounds that it was a church and not a non-governmental organization (NGO).  The Secretariat would send a letter to the church making clear its decision and offering suggestions regarding other modalities for interaction with the United Nations.  The file was also closed on the German Advisory Council on Global Society Change.

The basis for those decisions were Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31, which outlines the principles for granting consultative relations with NGOs, and Council decision 1995/304 to prolong the consultative status, on the roster, of those NGOs accredited under decision 1993/329 of 30 July 1993.

Later today, a roll-call vote was taken to close the file on a deferred application from a Geneva-based organization, Felege Guihon International.  The representative of Ethiopia called for closing the file, saying the organization was political in nature and had no relevance to the work of the Economic and Social Council.  Speaking before the vote, delegates of Senegal, Bolivia and the United States said they would abstain since they had had no prior instructions.

The proposal to close the file was adopted by a vote of 10 in favour, to none against, with eight abstentions (France, Germany, Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal, United States, Bolivia, and Chile).

Speaking after the vote, the representative of Chile said she had abstained because she too, had not had prior instructions.

Under new applications for which the Committee had received replies to questions posed during the session, Jesuit Refugee Service, a Rome-based international organization requesting general status, was recommended for special status.  Left pending were decisions on the Human Relief Foundation, an international NGO based in the United Kingdom, and American Family Association of New York, Inc., a national NGO.

A new applicant considered for the first time today, Guinea Development Foundation, Inc., was recommended for roster status.  The international NGO, which has 50 individual members on three continents, has as one of its aims the promotion of knowledge in the arts, culture, and public health care in Guinea.  Left pending was a deferred application from the national NGO, Japan Civil Liberties Union.

In accordance with implementation of Council decision 2001/295, by which the Council decided that the NGOs on the roster of the Commission on Sustainable Development should apply for consultative status with the Council as would any other organization, but would be considered by the Committee as expeditiously as possible, the Committee reviewed applications from two organizations seeking status.

Left pending was a decision on Environmental Protection Society, a national organization of Pakistan requesting special status, as well as on Communications Coordination Committee for the United Nations, a United States-based international organization requesting general status.

The Committee this morning accepted the withdrawal of the application of the German Advisory Council on Global Change. 

This afternoon, it announced the withdrawal by their own choosing of six organizations with consultative status in each category:  Soroptimist Union of Greece (general); International Senior Citizens Association; Canadian Chemical Producers' Association; and Childhope (special); and the International Society for Community Development (roster).

Turning to a review of the Committee's methods of work, chief of the NGO Section Hanifa Mezoui highlighted the priority issues for the Committee's working group:  coordination with Commission on Human Rights; deferred applications; and revised guidelines for quadrennial reports.  She proposed convening a meeting of the working group in June.

The former facilitator of the working group Philippe Ackermann (Germany) emphasized the importance of streamlining the review of applications deferred for more than two years.  NGOs that were part of umbrella organizations should be encouraged to apply as such to the Committee and not as individual organizations.  Those were among the items worth discussing in the informal working group. 

During the discussion, one member suggested increasing to five or more years the required age of an organization for consultative status to offset the backlog

of applications.  At the same time, the Committee was reminded of the need to carefully evaluate the degree to which an applicant could enrich consultations within the Economic and Social Council.

Speakers also drew attention to complaints of Member States regarding the activities of certain NGOs.  Again, the Committee was reminded of its obligation to ensure strict NGO compliance with Council resolution 1996/31.  The quadrennial reports by NGOs were cited as a sound basis for assessing performance. 

One speaker expressed concern about the imbalance between the number of NGOs admitted from the North and South, which, he said, should be addressed on a priority basis.  Another affirmed the importance of evaluating NGOs with roster status.  Introducing greater discipline in the Committee's work methods and finding a proper balance between the provisions of 1996/31 and the "behaviour" of NGOs was key.

The Chairperson announced the appointment of Guillermo Reyes (Colombia) as the new facilitator of the informal working group.

      In other business, Ms. Mezoui presented a follow-up to the tasks previously requested by the Committee (document E/2000/210).  She also reviewed the Report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services on the in-depth evaluation of the General Assembly and Economic and Social Council Support and Coordination (document E/AC.51/2002/4).

Of particular interest had been the issue of geographical distribution of NGOs with status, she said.  The Office of Internal Oversight had suggested that one way to avoid repeated review of deferred applications was to limit the discussions to previously asked questions, and to refrain from revisiting aspects of the original debate. 

The Committee will meet again tomorrow at 10 a.m. to consider special reports.

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