Committee on NGOS

1^st & 2^nd Meetings (AM & PM)

OPENING 2003 SESSION, COMMITTEE ON NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS RECOMMENDS

SIX ORGANIZATIONS FOR CONSULTATIVE STATUS WITH ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

‘Paperless Committee’ Initiative Launched,

First Intergovernmental Initiative of Its Kind

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) launched the “Paperless Committee” initiative this morning as it opened its 2003 session,    and in a separate afternoon meeting recommended consultative standing with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for five national organizations and one international organization.

This afternoon, the Committee recommended special consultative status for the international organization -- Academy for Future Science -- and for the following four national organizations:  All-Russian Social Fund, “The Russian Children’s Foundation”; Association d’Aide aux Enfants Cancereux; Global Action of Aging; and Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation.

Roster status was recommended for the national organization:  Fondation Haïtienne pour l’Habitat et l’Integration des Sans-abris.

The 19-member Committee makes recommendations on an organization’s standing or reclassification to the Economic and Social Council using a variety of criteria, including applicant mandate, governance and financial regime.  Currently, 2,234 NGOs have consultative status with ECOSOC.  Non-governmental organizations with roster status can attend meetings; those with special consultative status can attend meetings and circulate statements, while those with general consultative status can attend meetings, circulate statements and also propose items for the Council’s agenda.

In opening remarks this morning, Committee Chairperson Mihaela Blajan (Romania) said the “Paperless Committee” initiative was a fully electronic mode of operation for the Committee.  It was the first initiative of its kind at the intergovernmental level and would greatly facilitate the work of a Committee dependent on voluminous documentation.

When the initiative was fully operational, she said, delegates would receive continuous document updates from the Chair and Secretariat.  Data transfers would make archiving easier.  Instant messaging and simultaneous submission of questions would be possible.  Individual laptops would eventually replace the 160 binders and 40,000 some pages of documentation Committee members received at each session.

Gert Rosenthal, President of the Economic and Social Council, recalled the Committee’s importance in bringing civil society into the Organization’s work.  He said the initiative had been made possible through the assistance of the private sector and through lateral assistance such as that provided by India in helping to implement the system.

Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, also referred to the opening of the Organization’s political processes to NGOs and civil society.  He said the Committee facilitated that process.  It was among the most important in managing United Nations outreach activities.  Its work was also paper-intensive and its launch of the paperless initiative was meaningful.  It would reduce the Committee’s ecological impact and improve efficiency and would ultimately serve as a model at the United Nations.

Sarbuland Khan, Director for Economic and Social Council Support and Coordination, recalled that the idea of a paperless Organization had been conceived during a meeting with a Senior Vice President of Hewlett Packard on how the company could contribute information technology to development and the United Nations.  Hanifa Mezoui, Chief of the NGO Section, had been present and had immediately embraced the idea for the NGO Committee.

Speaking to the Committee today, Ms. Mezoui emphasized the environmental aspect of using laptops rather than paper and introduced students from the Mombai Educational Trust in Bombay who are helping implement the initiative.

Also this morning, the Committee adopted its agenda and organization of work.  It re-elected Mihaela Blajan (Romania) for a second one-year term as Chairperson.  It also re-elected four Vice-Chairmen.  They are Pedro Augustin Roa (Colombia), Meshack Kithen (Zimbabwe), Hakan Tekin (Turkey) and Ishtiaq Andrabi (Pakistan) who will also serve as Rapporteur.

Summing up the Committee’s forthcoming task, Chairperson Blajan said the Committee’s usually heavy workload consisted of 55 new requests for consultative status and 50 deferred applications from previous sessions.  Approximately

70 quadrennial reports were to be considered in addition to special reports.  Other matters before the Committee included consideration of the improved coordination between the NGO Committee and the Commission on Human Rights, in part because of proactive measures by the Committee to prevent NGO misconduct.  Regular exchanges at the Chair and Bureau levels would continue.  Also, progress had been made on guidelines and a revised format for quadrennial reports.

Consideration of an application by the international organization Alliance Viet Nam Liberté was postponed until Wednesday, and an application for special consultative status by the national organization known as Association Tunisienne des Femmes Démocratiques was deferred for adequate time to study responses to questions. 

Of the 19 Committee members, five are from African States; four each are from Asian States, Western European and Other States, and Latin American and Caribbean States; and two are from Eastern European States.  Current members are Cameroon, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Côte d'Ivoire, China, Pakistan, India, Iran, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Cuba, Russian Federation, Romania, Germany, France, United States and Turkey.

Information about the organizations considered today can be found in document E/C.2/2003/R.2.

The representatives of China, Cuba, Pakistan, Sudan, France, and Germany took part in a procedural discussion on reinstatement of NGO consultative status following a period of suspension by the Economic and Social Council.

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, 6 May, to continue its consideration of applications. 

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