Committee on NGOs

15^th & 16^th Meetings (AM & PM)

COMMITTEE ON NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS RECOMMENDS SIX CIVIL-SOCIETY GROUPS

FOR CONSULTATIVE STATUS AS IT CONCLUDES TWO-WEEK SESSION

 

Members also Adopt Resolution, Two Oral Decisions on Its Working Methods

Concluding its 2008 regular session today, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) decided to recommend six civil-society groups for consultative status with the Economic and Social Council.  It also adopted a resolution and two oral decisions on its working methods in addition to its report.

Recommended for special consultative status were:  Grupo Ecologico Sierra Gorda, a national organization based in Mexico which aims to conserve the natural resources and promote sustainable development of the Sierra Gorda region; Hunter College Center for Community and Urban Health, a New York City-based international organization that addresses urban health issues in a holistic manner; Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology, an international society of all marine professionals with headquarters in the United Kingdom; Sante de la reproduction pour une maternite sans risque, a Niger-based national organization focusing on reproductive health; Africa Humanitarian Action, an international humanitarian assistance organization based in Ethiopia; and Fundacion para la Libertad, a national organization in Spain that promotes human rights within Basque society.

The 19-member Committee recommends general, special or roster status with the Council according to such criteria as the applicant’s mandate, governance and financial regime.  Organizations enjoying general and special consultative status can attend meetings of the Council and circulate statements.  Those with general status can, in addition, speak at meetings and propose items for the Council’s agenda, while NGOs that have roster status can only attend meetings.

Also today, the Committee deferred the following applications until its resumed session in May because delegations requested further clarifications or additional time for consideration:  Global Hand, an international organization that provides an online platform to facilitate public-private partnerships in response to disasters and development challenges; Fund for Women in Asia, an international organization based in the United States; International Center for Transitional Justice, a group based in the United States; Environment Action Association, a national environmental-preservation organization in the Republic of Korea; International Reading Association, a national literacy organization in the United States; Armenia Fund USA, an United States-based international organization that provides development support; and People’s Life Center, an international organization based in India that conducts awareness-raising among the downtrodden.

Other applications deferred to the May session were those of:  Coordination internationale pour la decennie, an international organization based in France that promotes the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010); International Human Rights Observer, based in Pakistan; Agape International Spiritual Centre, an international spiritual organization based in the United States; Trance Research Foundation, an international psychology education and research organization based in the United States; TRIAL:  Track Impunity Always, a national organization based in Switzerland that fights impunity from war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Following that last deferral, the observer delegate of Switzerland strongly supported the organization, maintaining that it had answered all questions put to it in a satisfactory manner.

The Committee also deferred until May applications submitted by the Federatie van Nederlandse Verenigingen tot Integratie van Homoseksualiteit, a national human rights organization in the Netherlands, which was the object of further questions posed by the representatives of Burundi and Egypt, among other Member States, who sought information concerning its interest in State-connected homophobia, its funding sources, its attitude towards the age of sexual consent and other matters.  A decision on the application of the New Zealand Council of Licensed Firearms Owners, a national organization promoting the rights of licensed gun owners, was deferred after Egypt requested further clarification about its views on United Nations efforts against illicit weapons, among other queries.

Further questions posed by the representatives of Egypt, Qatar, Sudan and Cuba precipitated the deferral of a decision on the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), a United States-based national organization providing assistance to migrants.  Qatar’s representative wanted to know whether it offered assistance to settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories and if it backed the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland, among other queries.  Cuba’s representative expressed concern about Government ties to the board of trustees of the Hudson Institute, a national organization in the United States that promotes global security, prosperity and freedom, which also resulted in a deferral.

Following a lengthy procedural debate, the Committee voted against recommending consultative status for FELGT:  Federacion Estatal de Lesbianas, Gays, Transexuales y Bisexuales, a Spanish national organization supporting the rights and social acceptance of people of alternate sexuality.  The representatives of Colombia, Dominica, Israel, Peru, Romania, United Kingdom and the United States voted for the granting of its application while those of Burundi, China, Egypt, Pakistan, Qatar, Russian Federation and Sudan voted against.  The representatives of India, Turkey, Angola and Guinea abstained, while Cuba’s representative was not present.

Before that vote, Egypt’s representative voiced his concerns about the organization’s views on paedophilia, expressing regret that a vote had been taken before all delegations were able to get answers to outstanding questions.  The representatives of Qatar and Pakistan also protested that all their questions had not yet been answered.

In general comments after the vote, the representatives of the United Kingdom and Romania said the rejection was due to discrimination, while Romania noted that in the last ten cases no homosexual-rights organization had received a positive response from the Committee.

The Committee also decided against recommending consultative status for the American Sports Committee, an international organization that promotes exercise for health, after the representatives of China and Egypt said the range of its activities relating to the Council was much too narrow.  It also decided to defer until May consideration of all quadrennial reports that had been submitted but not yet reviewed.

As part of its effort to improving its working methods, the Committee adopted a draft resolution setting out guidelines to ensure timely reporting on the part of organizations enjoying special and general status.  In a separate oral decision, it decided to have a letter sent to the 169 NGOs that had failed to submit their quadrennial reports for more than two reporting periods, warning of possible suspension or withdrawal of consultative status if they failed to submit their reports before the May resumed session.

A second oral decision committed the Committee’s working group to discuss ways to ensure that NGOs under consideration for consultative status or being reviewed for any other matter were not involved in any internationally recognized criminal activity, including terrorism.  Speaking in favour of the decision, the representative of Cuba stressed the wider view of terrorism and international crime conveyed by its consensus wording.

The Committee then adopted its report, introduced by its Rapporteur, Bilal Hayee of Pakistan.  That document will contain the above decisions, and authorized its Rapporteur to finalize the report in consultation with Committee members and the Secretariat, with a view to its submission to the Economic and Social Council for appropriate action.

Prior to those decisions, the Chairperson of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CONGO) said that body was developing regional mechanisms to better assure participation by grass-roots organizations from all Member States.  Last year alone, CONGO had organized the African Civil Society Forum and the Civil Society Development Forum.

Praising the 2007 substantive session of the Economic and Social Council, he said it had opened new doors for a constructive and collaborative approach to tackling the urgent development tasks ahead on the part of Governments, the United Nations system and civil society.  Meaningful results required adequate resources and diverse, inclusive and democratic participation.

In a closing statement, Committee Chairman Hassan Hamid Hassan of Sudan said that, despite its very heavy work programme, the Committee had accomplished much in its short session.  Fifteen NGO representatives had taken the floor to respond to questions and comments posed by Committee members.  The Committee had recommended 70 organizations for consultative status and deferred consideration of 68 applications to a later date.  It had also decided to upgrade the status of two organizations requesting reclassification.  Thirty-two applications deferred from previous sessions had not been recommended and two had been closed.  The Committee had taken note of 53 of the 135 quadrennial reports before it and deferred decisions on six new reports.

He also expressed his pleasure at the ongoing reforms that were ensuring participation of the widest possible geographical representation of civil society and the new mechanisms that were building NGO networks and greater interaction with the United Nations system.

In response, the representatives of China, Turkey, Cuba, Russian Federation, Burundi, Qatar and Egypt praised the Chairman’s leadership of the Committee.

Members of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations are Angola, Burundi, China, Colombia, Cuba, Dominica, Egypt, Guinea, India, Israel, Pakistan, Peru, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Sudan, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States.

The Committee’s 2008 regular session began on 21 January and it will meet again in resumed session from 29 May to 6 June, at a time and place to be announced.

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For information media • not an official record