Committee on NGOs

5^th & 6^th Meetings (AM & PM)

committee on non-governmental organizations recommends 7 applications

for special consultative status, defers 22, sees 1 withdrawn

 

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) pressed ahead with its work today, approving seven applications for special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, while deferring decisions on 22 others, and seeing the withdrawal of an application from the Kurdish Human Rights Project.

Following the withdrawal, the representative of Turkey said that, while his country supported the involvement of civil society in the work of the United Nations, it was concerned that the non-governmental organization did not respect the Organization’s Charter, or the principle of territorial integrity.  It had defined certain regions of Turkey along ethnic rather than geographical lines and, in doing so, disregarded that country’s territorial integrity.  Moreover, the organization was trying to have removed from the United Nations list of terrorist organizations an entity that also appeared on the terror lists of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Recommended today for special consultative status were:

-- Federation of Environmental and Ecological Diversity for Agricultural Revampment and Human Rights, an international organization based in Cameroon and founded in 2000, which works to alleviate rural poverty and bring about sustainable rural development;

-- Geneva Social Observatory, an international organization established in Switzerland in 2004, which initiates dialogue on social issues among leaders and promotes debate and action in the context of corporate governance and corporate social responsibility;

-- Women in Development and Environment, a Nigeria-based national organization established in 1992, which promotes grass-roots participation by women in environmental conservation, women’s empowerment and gender equity;

-- People to People, an international organization based in the United States and established in 1999, which works to improve the health of Ethiopians through technical, health, educational and material support in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic;

-- Okedongmu Children in Korea, a national organization headquartered in the Republic of Korea, which fosters dialogue between children in that country and in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea;

-- Children International, an international organization established in 1936 and based in the United States whose mission is to improve the well-being of impoverished children around the world; and

-- Ordre des avocats de Paris, a national organization based in France, which defends the common interests of lawyers and works to promote legal access, particularly for the most vulnerable.

Decisions were left pending on:

-- Fund for Women in Asia, a United States-based international organization founded in 2004, which promotes women’s funds in Asia by assisting them in capacity-building and access to international resources;

-- Roma Centre for Social Intervention and Studies, a national organization based in Romania and founded in 1993 with the aim of protecting the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Roma community, and promoting public policies that generate social inclusion;

-- New Zealand Council of Licensed Firearms Owners, a national organization founded in 1996, with the goal of preserving the rights of licensed firearms users and collectors;

-- Assyrian Academic Society, a United States-based international organization established in 1985, with the aim of ensuring understanding and awareness of Assyrian people in various forums;

-- Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, a national organization established in 1911 and based in the United States which provides migration assistance to refugees and migrants, and reunites separated families;

-- Kosmos Associates, an international organization established in 2003 and based in the United States, whose goal is to build a sustainable world community through dialogue, to reform the United Nations and to enhance the participation of civil society organizations;

-- International Reading Association, a United States-based international organization established in 1953 and dedicated to promoting high levels of literacy by improving reading instruction, disseminating research and encouraging lifetime reading habits;

-- Democracy Coalition Project, a United States-based international organization established in 2002, which conducts research and advocacy related to democracy promotion policies at the national, regional and global levels;

-- Armenia Fund USA, an international organization established in 1992 to provide support to Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh region, focusing on grass-roots development and humanitarian programmes;

-- National Association of Home Builders, a United States-based national organization established in 1941, which expands opportunities for consumers to have safe and affordable housing;

-- International Center for Transitional Justice, an international organization based in the United States and established in 2001 to help countries pursue accountability for past mass atrocities or human rights abuse;

-- Women’s Health and Education Center, an international organization based in the United States, which supports educational opportunities for, and the health of, women, particularly in developing countries;

-- Ambassadors for Children, a United States-based international organization, established in 1999 and dedicated to serving children through short-term humanitarian service trips, and to fostering world peace through face-to-face cultural exchanges;

-- Environment Action Association, a national organization established in 2002 and based in the Republic of Korea, which promotes environmental preservation, educates the public and provides policy strategies and alternatives;

-- International Dalit Solidarity Network, a Denmark-based international organization founded in 2003, which contributes to the elimination of caste-based discrimination worldwide;

-- Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development, an international organization headquartered in Kenya and established in 1981, which works with the poor and those denied their right to social justice and development;

-- Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine, a national organization established in 2000 to represent the interests and protect the rights of its affiliated organizations while promoting unity within the trade union movement;

-- Human Rights Education Associates, an international organization based in the United States and established in 1999, which supports human rights learning, activist training, development of educational materials and community-building through online technologies;

-- Play Soccer, an international United States-based organization established in 2000 and recognized by FIFA (International Federation of Football Associations) as an implementing partner in the “Football for Hope” movement, which focuses on peacebuilding, anti-discrimination and social integration, among other issues;

-- National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, a national United States-based organization established in 1919, which extends opportunities to business and professional women through education along the lines of industrial, scientific and vocational actions;

-- Partnership for Global Justice, an international organization based in the United States, which promotes earth literacy and ecological sustainability; and

-- Fondation Ostad Elahi:   é thique et solidarit é humaine, a France-based national organization established in 2000, which works to achieve an understanding of ethics and ethical practice with a view to promoting solidarity and closer relations among peoples and cultures.

In the lengthy debate that followed the Committee’s decisions, representatives posed a flurry of questions to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society on issues ranging from whether it had absorbed Palestinian refugees into the United States; whether it was in full conformity with the United Nations Charter; and how it worked with Chad or Darfur, particularly in the camps.

The representative of Romania asked whether the non-governmental organization dealt with political refugees from Eastern European countries.

In response, the group’s representative said it was willing to assist Palestinian refugees and hoped it would be able to do so when the situation arose.  The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society provided resettlement services only in the United States but not in Israel, the West Bank or the Gaza Strip.  It was indeed committed to the principles of the United Nations Charter and the work of Economic and Social Council.

On its work with refugees from Darfur, he clarified that the organization worked solely in Chad and focused on offering psychosocial services, art therapy and journalism programmes in order to equip refugees for survival in their current conditions.  As for Eastern European refugees, the organization worked in the United States to assist asylum-seekers, many of whom were from the former Soviet Union and the Eastern bloc.

The representative of the Partnership for Global Justice responded to questions about her organization’s projects in China by saying it worked in schools, social service programmes and with physically and mentally challenged persons.

To a question from the representative of Israel about its efforts in 2005 for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, she said that, during a 12-day visit to Israel, members of the organization had visited social service groups and students with the goal of understanding the needs of both Palestinians and Israelis.

Finally, the representative of the Yugoslav Association against AIDS responded to questions about his organization’s target population by explaining that, while the group focused on youth, it also served the general population.  Its activities focused on vulnerable populations (those recognized in the national AIDS strategy of Serbia) selected by using epidemiological data from the Department of Public Health.

The Committee will continue its work when it reconvenes at 10 a.m. Thursday, 24 January.

More information on the Committee and the non-governmental organizations can be found at the website www.un.org/esa/coordination/ngo/.

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For information media • not an official record