NGO COMMITTEE CONCLUDES 2002 RESUMED SESSION, WITH FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS ON ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL CONSULTATIVE STATUS

Committee on NGOS

49^th & 50^th Meetings (AM & PM)

NGO COMMITTEE CONCLUDES 2002 RESUMED SESSION, WITH FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS

ON ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL CONSULTATIVE STATUS

During Two Week Session, 89 Organizations

Recommended for Such Status, 3 for Reclassification

As it completed its resumed 2002 session today, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) recommended ProChoix, an international organization promoting choice in social issues, for special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council.  The International Council on Mining and Metals was also recommended for reclassification from roster to special status.

After consideration of those and other pending cases this morning, the Committee took up organizational business in the afternoon, adopting its 2003 agenda and presenting its draft report to delegates.

Over the full session, from 8 to 24 January, the Committee recommended

89 NGOs for consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, decided that three applicants did not meet the criteria for such status, and closed the files on three applications.  It recommended three other organizations for upward reclassification of their current status.

Ending its substantive work this morning, the Committee decided to accredit three indigenous people’s organizations to attend the open-ended intersessional working group of the Committee on Human Rights.  Those were the Indigenous Peoples and National Coalition and the Chickaloon Village Traditional Council of Alaska, as well as United Native Nations Society from Canada.

Also this morning, the application files on Vishva Hindu Parishad, Alliance Musulmane d’Angola and Africa for Christ International were closed, as those organizations failed to respond to Committee queries over an extended period of time.

The reclassification of Movement for a Better World from roster to special consultative status was deferred this morning to the next session.  Applications for consultative status of the European Industrial Gases Association, the Asian-Eurasian Human Rights Forum, based in New Delhi, India and the Indian Social Institute, were left pending, the latter two due to Pakistan’s request for more information.

The upward reclassification of the International Council on Mining and Metals was achieved despite concern among many speakers that the organization had

too narrow a scope.  The representative of Chile, and the observer representative of Nigeria, however, pointed out that sustainable mining was an important issue on the Council’s agenda.  The recommendation of ProChoix also, at first, faced opposition over what seemed to some delegations as promotion of homosexuality, but Members were reminded that there had been an acceptance last week of the organization’s explanation that it instead merely protected minority rights. 

This afternoon, in her closing statement, Chairperson Mihaela Blajan (Romania) thanked Committee members for their hard work.  The Committee considered, she said, a total of 155 applications for consultative status and

14 reclassifications.  It had also taken note of 11 quadrennial reports.  Four cases of complaints against NGOs had been closed due to the good spirit in which the Committee worked.

There had been fruitful debate on a number of issues in the informal working group, she said, which would have to continue on a number of issues, including new guidelines for the submission of quadrennial reports.  NGO accreditation and participation in the work of the Commission on Human rights remained priority issues.  She thanked Hanifa Mazoui, Chief of the Secretariat’s NGO Section, and her team for their committed work, including the new NGO network initiative.

With more than 2,250 NGOs currently in consultative status and the application process becoming clearer, she said it was time to bring the Committee’s work to the next level, which was a careful review of NGO activities.  In general, she said that the Committee was making significant progress in facilitating and enhancing the NGO consultative relationship with the Council and the partnership with the United Nations as a whole.

The Committee’s draft report (document E.C.2/2002/L.2) was introduced by the Committee Rapporteur, Ishtiag Andrabi (Pakistan), who requested members submit their comments before 7 February to allow its quickest possible approval.

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

General consultative status is intended for NGOs concerned with most of the activities of the Council that are broadly representative of society in different regions of the world.  Once accorded general status, NGOs can propose items for the Council agenda, attend and speak at its meetings and circulate statements.  Organizations concerned with only a few of the fields of the Council’s activity may be considered for special consultative status, which would allow them to attend meetings and circulate statements.  Roster status is accorded to those NGOs that can make occasional and useful contributions to the Council or to other United Nations bodies.  NGOs with roster status can attend meetings and are available for consultation at the request of the Economic and Social Council.

Mihaela Blajan (Romania) is the Committee Chairman.  The Vice-Chairmen are Pedro Roa-Arboleda (Colombia), Martin Thummel (Germany), and Meshack Kitchen (Zimbabwe).  The Committee Rapporteur is Ishtiag Andrabi (Pakistan).  Hakan Tekin (Turkey) heads the Committee’s working group. Otto Gustafik is the Committee Secretary.

Members of the Committee are:  Cameroon, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, China, Pakistan, India, Iran, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Cuba, Russian Federation, Romania, Germany, France, United States and Turkey.

Applications for reclassification considered today can be found in document E/C.2/2002/R.3; those for consultative status, in E/C.2/2002/CRP.5, E/C.2/2002/R.2/Add.7, 8, 12 and 14.

The Committee’s next session is scheduled to be held from 5 to 23 May 2003.

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