Committee on NGOS

16^th Meeting (AM)

‘PAPERLESS COMMITTEE’ PILOT PROJECT PRAISED IN NGO COMMITTEE -- CITED AS FIRST

TO FULLY EMPLOY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN OFFICIAL WORK

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations could take considerable pride in the fact that it was the first United Nations Committee to fully employ information technology in its official work, Hanifa Mezoui, Chief, Non-Governmental Organizations Section of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, told the Committee this morning.

As the Committee considered strengthening of the Non-Governmental Organizations Section of the Secretariat, Ms. Mezoui said that the “Paperless Committee” pilot project [see Press Release NGO/497 of 5 May] had been made possible by the Hewlett Packard Corporation, which provided hardware, and the Mumbai Educational Trust of Mumbai, India, which provided technical support.

The Committee’s backlog in non-governmental organization (NGO) applications for status with the Economic and Social Council had increased 318 per cent over four years, and the number of applications had increased 40 per cent per annum, she said.  The implementation of the “Paperless Committee -– An Electronic Meeting System”, would make it possible to process applications more efficiently and archive all documents related to the Committee’s sessions.  The electronic database took the place of some 650 documents, eliminating the need to photocopy up to 80,000 pages per year.

The benefits of a paperless committee included:  increased speed and efficiency of the Committee’s work; virtual elimination of paper and volume of photocopying; ease in searching documents; convenience for delegates; ease in generating reports; and the availability of the full history of an NGO’s application in one place, she stated.

Continuation of the project would require an Information Technology Officer at the P-3 level and an Information Technology Assistant at the G-3 level at an approximate cost of $230,000 per annum, as well as an initial fixed cost of $122,770 for equipment, she added.

The implementation of an electronic meeting system using wireless technology would be a significant contribution towards the technological and process reform as proposed by the Secretary-General and would greatly facilitate the work of the Committee.  “Your leadership and support for this potentially revolutionary way of conducting the business of the Committee will be crucial in making this initiative a success that could be emulated in other parts of the Organization”, she concluded.

Speakers in the ensuing debate, including those from observer States Algeria, Lebanon and Ghana, applauded the increased efficiency of the Committee because of the pilot project, as well as the contributions made by Hewlett Packard and the Mumbai Educational Trust, which they characterized as a good example of cooperation between the public, private and academic sector.

They stressed, however, that, as electronic information was only available during the session in the conference room, access to the information from their respective missions was of the utmost importance in order to study the material and save time during meetings.  It was also noted that some countries had not acquired the necessary capacity to deal with matters electronically and that, therefore, some paper would remain necessary.

In order to sustain the project, they said, additional resources would be necessary, an issue that should be addressed by the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) and the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ). Time and paper saved should, therefore, be quantified as far as possible.  They also pointed out that the project went beyond the work of the Committee, as other Committees might follow suit.  Pooling of Secretariat staff in that regard might be possible.

The 19-member Committee makes recommendations on an NGO’s standing or reclassification with the Economic and Social Council using a variety of criteria, including applicant mandate, governance and financial regime.  Currently, 2,234 NGOs have such status.

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 3 p.m. to consider review of the methods of work of the Committee.

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