NGO COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS CONSULTATIVE STATUS WITH ECOSOC FOR 11 ORGANIZATIONS, DEFERS DECISION ON FOUR

Committee on NGOs                                          

3^rd & 4^th Meetings (AM & PM)                                 

NGO COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS CONSULTATIVE STATUS WITH ECOSOC

FOR 11 ORGANIZATIONS, DEFERS DECISION ON FOUR

The 2004 regular session of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) today recommended consultative status with the Economic and Social Council for 11 NGOs and deferred a decision on four.  It considered reclassification of consultative status for two organizations.

The 19-member Committee on NGOs makes recommendations to the Economic and Social Council on a non-governmental organization’s status in relation to the Council using a variety of criteria, including applicant mandate, governance and financial regime.  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.

During a morning and afternoon session, the Committee recommended special consultative status for:

-- Pan European Forest Council (PEFC), an international organization based in Luxembourg, which promotes the independent third party certification of environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of forests;

-- Réseau malien des journalists pour la lutte contre la corruption et la pauvreté, a national organization based in Mali aiming to combat all forms of corruption and poverty;

-- Community and Family Services International, an international organization based in the Philippines, which aims to empower and equip uprooted persons and others to address and prevent social and health problems, and to prevent people from becoming uprooted by promoting peace, respect for human rights, and the equitable distribution of resources;

--Institute for the Development of Education, Arts and Leisure (IDEAL), an international organization based in Canada, seeking to promote a new education system based on the principles of “education through experience” in keeping with spiritual, ecological, economic and human values;

-- NRO-Frauenforum, a national organization based in Germany, aiming to contribute to global gender justice and equality in all areas of social and political life;

-- UNDL Foundation, an international organization based in Switzerland, which wants to help to overcome the language barriers among peoples;

-- AgeingResearchCenter, an international organization based in Italy, aiming at focusing on multidisciplinary research efforts in the study of the human ageing process;

-- Institute for Multicultural Communications Cooperation and Development, an international organization based in the United States, working to facilitate understanding of different cultures, reduce cross-cultural conflict, and eliminate discrimination; and

-- Foundation ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking in Children for Sexual Purpose) International, an international organization based in Thailand

The Committee recommended special consultative status ad referendum, pending issuance of relevant documents, for Helped Handicapped International, a national organization based in India, working in the field of prostheses and distribution of wheelchairs, whose representative answered questions relating to its NGO status in Afghanistan.

Roster status was recommended for World Trade Point Federation, an international organization based in Switzerland, aiming to foster greater participation in international trade, particularly for small- and medium-sized enterprises, giving special attention to least developed countries, after its representative clarified its relationship to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Action on Fondation Bertarelli, an international organization based in Switzerland, aiming to humanize the challenge of infertility, was likewise deferred as old questions had not been answered and new questions were asked about possible future projects in Africa.

A decision on the International School Psychology Association, an international organization based in Denmark, working to promote the contribution of psychology in education, was also postponed because questions were asked regarding a definition of “psychological rights” and projects with the World Health Organization (WHO) in the field of mental health.

A decision on Huairou Commission:  Women, Homes and Communities, an international organization based in the United States, aiming at forging strategic partnerships to advance the capacity of grass-roots women worldwide to strengthen and create sustainable communities was also postponed, as questions previously asked had not been answered.

The Committee decided to defer action on the Federation of American Scientists, a national organization based in the United States, that works to ensure that advances are used to build a secure, rewarding, environmentally sustainable future for all people by conducting research and advocacy on science-related public policy issues, as answers to questions asked had not been received, and delegations asked new questions regarding its scope of work and its relevance to the Economic and Social Council.

The Committee recommended reclassification from special consultative status to general consultative status for:  CIVICUS – World Alliance for Citizen Participation, an international organization based in South Africa, aiming to strengthen citizen action and civil society throughout the world, as it had expanded considerably its geographical distribution and the scope of its activities.

A decision was postponed on reclassification from special to general consultative status for the Foundation for the Social Promotion of Culture, an international organization based in Spain, working for the improvement of human development and the promotion of culture, until the Committee could hear from that NGO’s representative.

Current members of the NGO Committee are Cameroon, Chile, China, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, France, Germany, India, Iran, Peru, Pakistan, Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal, Sudan, Turkey, United States and Zimbabwe.

The Committee will meet again tomorrow, Wednesday, 12 May, at 10 a.m. to continue its consideration of new applications.

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