NGO COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS CONSULTATIVE STATUS WITH ECOSOC FOR 18 ORGANIZATIONS, DEFERS REQUESTS OF THREE OTHERS
| Press Release NGO/510 |
Committee on NGOs
22nd & 23rd Meetings (AM & PM)
NGO COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS CONSULTATIVE STATUS WITH ECOSOC FOR 18 ORGANIZATIONS,
DEFERS REQUESTS OF THREE OTHERS
Continuing its 2003 regular session, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations today recommended consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for 18 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), deferred the requests of three others, and took note of six quadrennial reports submitted by organizations.
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 application for consultative status of the International Centre for Peace Studies, which had been previously deferred, was once again deferred today following a request by the representative of Pakistan. Also deferred today, pending further clarifications, were the applications of the Spain-based International Association of Science Parks, following a request by China; and the United States-based Lawyers without Borders, following a request by Cuba.
Special consultative status was recommended by the Committee for: Association for Solidarity with Freedom-deprived Juveniles, a Macedonia based-international organization; Instituto Qualivida, a Brazil-based national organization for worker-welfare; Mumbai Educational Trust, an India-based national professional organization; and World Job and Food Bank, a Canada-based international organization aimed at poverty alleviation.
The same was done for Association of Support for HIV Infected and Affected Children and Their Families, a Portuguese national organization; Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action, an Australian national group; Green Earth Foundation, a Ghana-based national environmental group; International Committee for the Indians of the Americas, an international group based in Switzerland and working with indigenous partners; Oasis Open City Foundation, a Brazil-based international organization to improve quality of life; Rigoberta Menchu Tum Foundation, an international organization for indigenous peoples’ rights based in Mexico, Guatemala and Spain; and Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation, a Nigerian national organization.
The Committee also recommended special consultative status for: Association for Democratic Initiatives, a Macedonia-based international organization aimed at building civic society in the Balkans; Mandat International, a Switzerland-based international organization promoting NGO networking; and Southern Diaspora Research and Development Center, an international organization for assisting developing country NGOs.
Roster status was recommended for: Professional Institute for Advanced Wound Recovery, a United States based national organization; the Denmark-based International Solid Waste Association; Sustainable Cities Foundation, a Canada-based international group for urban assistance; and the Netherlands-based Hague International Model United Nations.
Organizations with special and general consultative status are required to submit quadrennial reports on activities of relevance to the Council’s work. Today, the Committee took note of the reports submitted by: Association européenne contre les violences faites aux femmes au travail, a feminist organization combating violence against women; Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der Senioren-Organisationen, a seniors advocacy group; Japanese Association of International Women’s Rights; Asociación Interamericana e Iberica de Presupuesto Público, a feminist organization advancing women’s rights; Society for Comparative Legislation; and Union de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba, an artists society.
Information about the organizations considered today can be found in documents E/C.2/2003/CRP.1, E/C.2/2003/R.2/Adds.2-5, and E/C.2/2003/2/Add.10. They are also available in electronic form on laptop computers and overhead projection as part of the “Paperless Committee” initiative the Committee is launching during its current session. (See Press Release NGO/497 of 5 May.)
Current Committee 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.
The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 22 May, to continue considering applications for consultative status or reclassification and to review quadrennial and special reports, as well as complaints.
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