Committee on NGOs

9^th & 10^th Meetings (AM & PM)

COMMITTEE ON NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS ENDS FIRST WEEK BY APPROVING TWO

APPLICATIONS FOR CONSULTATIVE STATUS, CLOSING ONE, DEFERRING 17 DECISIONS

Wrapping up the first week of its two-week session today, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) continued its review of deferred applications for consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, recommending special status for one of them, roster status for another, closing a third, and leaving 17 other applications pending decisions.

Unable to conclude its consideration of all deferred applications on its agenda, the 19-member Committee agreed on a revised schedule of work, by which it aimed to take decisions on them on Monday morning, before beginning a review of its working methods in the afternoon.

Recommended for roster status was the previously deferred application of the Iranian Society of Engineering Design and Assembly.  Headquartered in Tehran and established in September 2002, the international organization aims to build up technical, scientific, research and training cooperation among engineering companies so as to enhance capabilities in their field of specialty;

The Committee recommended for special consultative status the application of the Social Action Forum for Manaz Adhikar, a national organization based in New Delhi and established on 3 August 1999 with the overriding objective of working for the protection and promotion of human rights, as enshrined in India’s Constitution and guaranteed in various pieces of legislation.

Left pending were the applications of:

-- Ma Qualcuno Pensi ad Abele, an international organization permanently headquartered in Rome and founded in February 1998 with the purpose of defending human and civil rights, as well as establishing the absolute priority of those rights and the tutelage of those whose rights have been violated;

There was a lengthy debate over that application, with several delegations pointing to inconsistencies in the written replies to the Committee’s questions and to identical replies returned to the Committee in response to earlier questions.  The Committee was asked to request the organization to detail its activities clearly and to provide a clear and detailed response to questions the Committee had raised earlier.

It was noted that the organization had failed to answer the questions submitted by the delegates of Cuba, Algeria and Venezuela, and a discussion then ensued as to whether that was an act of defiance or a misunderstanding on the part of the NGO.  In either case, Committee members agreed that it should be asked to clear that up.

-- Africa Action, self-described as the oldest in the United States working on African affairs, the United States-based national organization was founded in April 2001 and supports efforts to identify and solve African problems related to health, economics, social issues and establishing universal respect for human rights;

Among the delegates with additional questions for the NGO, Sudan’s representatives said further clarification was needed on the organization’s work in Darfur.  In particular, it was calling for the redeployment of peacekeeping forces in the conflict-torn region, which was strange, as that was in progress under the auspices of the African Union and the United Nations.  Sudan also had questions about the organization’s financing.

The representative of the United States said there might be a time lag between a report of the NGO and the present time.  The United States looked forward to the organization’s future replies and to the Committee’s action on its application.

-- Coordination internationale pour la decennie, based in Paris and established in July 2003, with the aim of promoting the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010), proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in resolution 53/25 of 10 November 1998;

-- Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights, a national organization founded in April 1993, which seeks to promote and protect human rights globally through legal education, advocacy and law reform;

-- Marijuana Policy Project Foundation, a United States-based national organization founded in May 1996, which works to minimize the harm associated both with the consumption of marijuana and the laws intended to prohibit its use;

Questions arose among delegations about the NGO’s views on the main international drug-control treaties and the work of the United Nations in that area.

-- International Human Rights Observer, a national organization based in Islamabad, Pakistan, and founded in May 2002, which aims to educate the public about their fundamental freedoms and rights, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and to advocate for the effective implementation of the international human rights instruments signed by the Government;

-- National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, a United States-based international organization founded in April 1983, which seeks to strengthen and expand democracy worldwide, by calling on a global network of volunteer experts to provide practical assistance to civic and political leaders advancing democratic values, practices and institutions;

-- American Sports Committee, an international organization founded in September 2002, which seeks to promote many kinds of health and longevity exercises and programmes in order to improve human health standards and reduce national and personal medical expenses;

-- Chinese Society for Corrosion and Protection, headquartered in Beijing and founded in November 1979, the academic and professional technical society unites with scientists, engineers and other corrosion workers countrywide to reduce the economic impact of corrosion, prioritize the conservation of resources and environmental protection, promote academic and information exchanges in the fields of corrosion and protection and spread the scientific knowledge of those fields;

-- Hudson Institute, a United States-based national organization founded in July 1961, it is a non-partisan policy research and educational body dedicated to innovative research and analysis that promote global security, prosperity and freedom, challenging conventional thinking and helping to manage strategic transitions to the future through interdisciplinary and collaborative studies in international relations, economics, culture, science, technology and law;

-- TRIAL, a Geneva-based national organization established in June 2002 with the goal of combating impunity of perpetrators, accomplices or instigators of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and torture, including by defending the interests of victims before the Swiss courts and the International Criminal Court.  It aims to develop, both in Switzerland and internationally, mechanisms to permit the prosecution and judgment of the perpetrators;

-- Drug Policy Alliance, a United States-based national organization founded in April 1987, which envisions a just society in which the use and regulation of drugs are grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights; in which people are no longer punished for what they put into their own bodies, but only for crimes committed against others; and in which the fears, prejudices and punitive prohibitions of today are no more;

-- Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre, based in Jammu and Kashmir, India, and established on 30 April 1993, it has formed an integrated community to provide desperately needed humanitarian services to impoverished people in the remote land of Ladakh, and to provide a meditation service to persons from international communities seeking spiritual development, including free education, health care and housing for the poor or homeless children, sick, handicapped and aged people and underprivileged women;

-- Agape International Spiritual Centre, headquartered in the United States and founded in May 2003, it is a global community dedicated to recognizing, honouring and nurturing the dignity and uniqueness of all people, and through devoted practice of the universal spiritual principles embodied in the New Thought-Ancient Wisdom teachings;

The representative of China sought additional clarification regarding its possible support for any policies or practices of the Dalai Lama.

-- PeaceJam Foundation, an international organization based in the United States and founded in February 1996.  It was built around leading Nobel Peace Laureates who work personally with youth to pass on the spirit, skills and wisdom they embody, with the goal of inspiring a new generation of peacemakers who will transform their local communities, themselves and the world;

The delegate of China questioned the organization’s reply to a previous question, reiterating once again his desire to know whether or not the NGO or any of its board members were associated with Tibet in any way.

-- Human Rights House Foundation, an international organization based in Oslo, Norway, and founded in February 1996.  It works to strengthen human rights organizations worldwide through the establishment of Human Rights Houses and serves as the secretariat of the International Human Rights House Network, whose purpose includes strengthening the organizational capacity and effectiveness of human rights non-governmental organizations.

There was insufficient time for the Committee to take a decision on granting consultative status to the Associacao Brasileira de Gays, Lesbicas e Transgeneros, a national organization based in Brazil and founded in 1995.  Its mission is to strengthen and organize gay, lesbian and transgender groups, in order to contribute to the building of a free and egalitarian society.  Its main purposes include defending the equal rights of those persons and contributing to the control of AIDS among gay and other men having sex with men.

Several observer delegations spoke briefly in support of the NGO.  The observer of Argentina, speaking on behalf of the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), stressed the need to support initiatives to eliminate prejudice based on gender and sex.  Accrediting that organization would enable a constructive point of view and a diversity of opinions, which was very useful to the United Nations.

As per its usual practice, the Committee held an interactive discussion with NGO representatives from 5 to 6 p.m., beginning with the Federacion Estatal de Lesbianas, Gays, Transexuales y Bisexuales.  Based in Madrid and founded in April 1992, the organization seeks to make social acceptance a reality; provide support to gays, lesbians, transgender people and bisexuals; defend human rights worldwide; and intervene to eradicate discriminatory or intolerant policies and societal attitudes.

Delegations’ questions centred on how the organization maintained independence from the Spanish Government, given that most of its income was derived from Government sources.  Delegates also asked about the nature of the intervention with young people, women and the elderly, and the programme of tolerance in the context of youth.  They also sought to know why the NGO had applied for consultative status and what it had to offer to the work of the United Nations and its subsidiary bodies.

Representatives of the organization reiterated that it had enough experience and support from the Spanish Government, as well as international experience in Europe and cooperation with Latin America.  Its vision of human rights and respect for human rights, and of lesbians, gays, transsexuals and bisexuals would enrich the work of the Economic and Social Council. 

As for the meaning that the NGO gave to homosexuality, specifically whether it was permanent or a transitional stage in people’s lives, the representative said it was the individual right of every man or woman to have their own orientation and to be respected for that; that was an individual decision which should be respected and not subjected to discrimination.

The International Real Estate Federation, based in Hamburg, Germany, and founded in January 1996, sought reclassification from special to general consultative status.  Its aims and activities include global reconciliation and peace, implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, the promotion of cultural and spiritual dialogue and the fostering of environmental protection. 

Providing responses to delegations, its representatives outlined some of the organization’s contributions thus far to the work of the Economic and Social Council in the areas of energy and sustainable development, among others.  However, the Committee was unable to pronounce itself on the NGO’s reclassification as time was short.

Earlier, the Committee closed, without prejudice, the application of the Foundation for Research and Support of the Indigenous Peoples of Crimea until 2009 or whenever the NGO chose to reapply, owing to insufficient proof of the organization’s establishment for at least two years.  The Committee would remind the NGO of the need to supply it with such documentation.

The Ukraine-based national organization seeks to revive, defend and promote the cultures, traditions and customs of the indigenous peoples of the Crimea and Crimean ethnic groups, as well as their full economic, political, social and spiritual life.

In other business today, the Committee elected, by acclamation, Bilal Hayee of Pakistan, already a Committee Vice-Chairperson, as Rapporteur.

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

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. on Monday, 28 January, to continue its work.

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For information media • not an official record