Committee on NGOs

11^th & 12^th Meetings (AM & PM)

NGO COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS ONE ORGANIZATION FOR CONSULTATIVE STATUS

WITH ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) today recommended one organization for special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and deferred decisions on the applications of six others.  The Committee also heard a briefing on the Panel of Eminent Persons on United Nations—Civil Society Relations from a representative of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

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

The Committee recommended special status for Rencontre Africaine pour la défence des droits de l’homme (RADO), an international organization based in Senegal.  That country’s representative introduced the NGO, saying the organization intended to promote the provisions of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights throughout the world and denounce any violations of human rights.  The NGO was in the process of establishing a partnership with the African Union, and worked with a number of countries from the European Union, as well as with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Based on the NGO’s track record in Africa, he urged the Committee to grant it the requested status.  The application was also supported by Cameroon, Germany, China, France, Pakistan, Côte d’Ivoire, Sudan, Iran, Cuba and India.

Following action on the application, the representative of that NGO said the Committee’s decision would help to amplify the voices of NGOs from the south.  The organization was working on peace-building and human rights in countries in Africa, including Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and Burkina Faso.  It saw its role as pressing the alarm button at the first signs of emerging conflict.

Decisions on the following international organizations were deferred pending clarifications and answers to questions posed by Committee members:  Relief International; Le Foyer Musulman; Association internationale pour les droits de l’homme; Asian-Eurasian Human Rights Forum; and International Society for Human Rights.

Also left pending was a decision on the request for special status for the Mountain Women Development Organization, a national organization based in Pakistan, due to questions raised by the representative of India about its connections with the Pakistani Government.  Pakistan’s representative, while recognizing the right of States to ask questions, said the NGO had adequately addressed the concerns raised.

A decision was also deferred on the application of the Federation of Ijaw Communities, a United Kingdom-based international NGO aimed at drawing attention to the degradation of both human and environmental conditions in the oil- and gas-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria.  The observer delegation of Nigeria was not entirely satisfied with the responses provided to numerous questions raised.  Nigeria’s appeal to defer a decision on the application was supported by Pakistan, China, Cuba, Côte d’Ivoire, Germany, and France.

Information about the organizations considered today can be found in documents E/C.2/2003/2/Adds.2, 6 and 7, as well as E/C.2/2003/CRP.1.  It is also available to the Committee in electronic form on laptop computers, as part of the “Paperless Committee” initiative being launched during this session of the Committee.  (See Press Release NGO/497 of 5 May.)

The Committee’s morning session was devoted to a briefing by John D. Clark, Project Director for the Panel of Eminent Persons on United Nations-Civil Society Relations in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.  (For more background information on the Panel, see Press Release NGO/495 of 13 February).

Participants in that Panel are:  Chairman and former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso; Bagher Asadi (Iran), Birgitta Dahl (Sweden), Peggy Dulany (United States), André Erdös (Hungary), Asma Khader (Jordan), Juan Mayr (Colombia), Malini Mehra (India), Kumi Naidoo (South Africa), Mary Racelis (Philippines), Prakash Ratilal (Mozambique) and Aminata Traore (Mali).  During the meeting, it was announced that the Spanish philosopher Manuel Castells had agreed to join the Panel, as well.

Mr. Clark said there was a need to review the relationship between the United Nations and civil society even though all the different stakeholders recognized the many values of engaging with civil society.  There was also a sense of an uneven playing field between NGOs from the developed north and from the developing south.  Further, there was often a concern of the political motivation of some NGOs by some governments, and also about whether the increasing power of civil society in some sectors did not reflect more regional than global interests.

He believed it would be useful to take stock of the Organization’s experience thus far in interacting with civil society.  As a first step, he would assemble a group of eminent persons representing a variety of perspectives and experiences, to review past and current practices, and to recommend ways to make the interaction between civil society and the United Nations more meaningful.

In the ensuing discussion, speakers asked, among other things, how the exceptional contributions of civil society could be channelled into the work of the Organization, how participation of NGOs from developing countries could be enhanced, and how the interests of the NGOs and the private sector would be balanced in the Panel.  They also sought information and clarification regarding the Panel’s present and future relationship with the NGOs and whether the Panel would revisit existing resolutions guiding the work of the Committee.  Responding, Mr. Clark emphasized it was not the objective of the Panel to subscribe to NGOs’ interests, but rather to function as a “map-maker”, finding out where one stood, what route had been taken, explore the “topography” and possible destinations.  The Panel did not intend to launch new ideas, but rather would try to understand States’ and NGOs’ concerns.

Current members of the NGO Committee 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.

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 14 May, to continue its consideration of applications for consultative status.

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