Committee on NGOs

1^st & 2^nd Meetings (AM & PM)

OPENING 2009 SESSION, COMMITTEE ON NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS APPROVES

APPLICATIONS OF SEVEN ORGANIZATIONS FOR SPECIAL CONSULTATIVE STATUS

Two Organizations Approved for Roster Status, 11 Applications Deferred

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) -- a standing committee of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the only intergovernmental body mandated to monitor the evolving relationship between those organizations and the United Nations – was told today that its work was ever more crucial, as the role of civil society broadened in the United Nations effort to reverse today’s grim global economic and political realities.

As the Committee’s 2009 session opened, the Director of the Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination, Nikhil Seth, said that, given the magnitude of the tasks ahead, there was a renewed emphasis on partnership among development stakeholders, which included Governments, non-governmental organizations, civil society and parliaments.  And with increasing focus on an inclusive approach to its efforts, the United Nations had been “making more room” for dialogue with the NGO community.  The Committee’s work today would have a lasting impact on that of the United Nations and on United Nations-NGO relations over the coming years.

Expressing the hope that a sincere effort be made to find meaningful opportunities for dialogue, he said ECOSOC was indebted to the Committee for its rigorous and thorough approach to considering NGO applications for consultative status with ECOSOC, given the Council’s increasingly significant role.  While participation conferred a certain cachet on organizations attaining consultative status, that status also conferred great responsibility on those organizations to consider their role within the larger spectrum of the development community.

The 19-member Committee uses various criteria to recommend general consultative, special consultative or roster status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, including the applicant’s mandate, governance and financial regime.  Organizations that have general and special consultative status can attend meetings of the Council and circulate statements of a certain length.  Those with general status can, in addition, speak at meetings and propose items for the Council’s agenda, while NGOs with roster status can only attend meetings.

Non-governmental organizations with general and special consultative status must submit a report to the Council every four years.  “Taking note” of a quadrennial report implies that the Committee finds the report adequate for fulfilment of that obligation.  In exceptional circumstances, for instance, when there has been a complaint, the Committee can request a “special report”.

In two meetings today, the Committee recommended seven organizations for special consultative status and two for roster status.  It deferred consideration of 11 more.

Seeking a renewed commitment to the heavy workload ahead, Committee Chairman Hassan Hamid Hassan ( Sudan) said that, with each passing year, urgent calls were heard for collective action to meet global targets, particularly the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.  And, every year, the world inched a little closer, without knowing whether they would ultimately be met.  Today, work in the ECOSOC committees took on a more significant meaning because the stakes in meeting the Goals were increasing.  Everyone must be mobilized to take ownership of the future of the development agenda.

In that context, he said, the relationship between the United Nations and NGOs was given new importance.  Consultative status gave NGOs a unique opportunity to play an increasingly active role in the United Nations.  The Committee, for its part, had taken extraordinary measures to make time to conduct extensive and thorough reviews of applications and quadrennial reports.  If nothing else, that was an indication of his willingness and that of Committee members to do justice to the process.

The Committee had a very full agenda, which included several critical issues, he noted.  The issue of quadrennial reports, for example, was of significant concern, since it raised the issue of respect for ECOSOC resolutions.  Without accountability and respect for the process, the credibility of NGOs would remain in question, as would their ability to contribute to and benefit from the Organization.  Persistent non-compliance left no option but suspension and possible withdrawal of status.  Other areas requiring attention was the backlog in reviewing applications, which the Committee would have to address.

Hanifa Mezoui, Chief of the Non-Governmental Organizations Section, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, paid tribute to the outgoing Deputy Chief of the NGO Section, Michele Federoff, and welcomed the new Deputy Chief, Joop Theunissen.  She noted that the technological support provided by the Section for the past seven years was here to stay, but needed to be updated.  On another point, she said that, with the advent of an unprecedented number of NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC, it appeared that coordination between civil society organizations was a prerequisite for high-calibre contributions from NGOs.  The number of NGOs with consultative status had increased this past year to 3,187.  That made it increasingly difficult for the United Nations Secretariat to keep a clear picture of “who does what and where”.  Thus, partners were definitely needed to help organize and formalize the contributions of those organizations to ECOSOC and other meetings.

With a significant aspect of monitoring United Nations-NGO relations being the review of quadrennial reports by the NGO Section, she stressed the need for NGOs with consultative status to keep the United Nations regularly abreast of their activities and achievements.  At the current session, the issue of new and deferred quadrennial reports was being taken up with renewed emphasis on enforcing resolution 2008/4, which had serious implications for non-compliant NGOs.  An additional concern was keeping track of NGOs on the roster -- which now numbered 975 -- since they were not required to submit quadrennial reports.

Ms. Mezoui updated the Committee on civil society’s participation in such meetings as ECOSOC’s high-level segment on implementing the health-related development goals, which had been facilitated by the NGO Section.  She also updated members on the activities of the informal NGO network, IRENE.  In partnership with the United Nations Department of Public Information, the NGO Section had contributed to the conference entitled “The 60^th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, in September 2008.  The views expressed at that conference would feed the discussion of the NGO forum to be held during ECOSOC’s high-level segment in July in Geneva.

Before adoption of the agenda, the Committee took up a complaint received by the Permanent Mission of Algeria regarding the Arab Commission on Human Rights, a non-governmental organization with special consultative status.  The Mission alleged that, during a 10 June 2008 meeting of the Human Rights Council, a representative associated with an armed terrorist group operating abroad and cited on the list of the Security Council sanctions committee created by its resolution 1267 (1999) and against whom an international warrant had been issued, had addressed the Council’s session on behalf of the NGO. 

The Algerian complaint, which was before the Committee and was described today by the observer, deemed it unacceptable that the consultative status given to that NGO had been “diverted to allow individuals prosecuted on counts of criminal charges to take the floor in a respected arena to attack the prosecuting State”, and that such action is a “clear transgression” of ECOSOC resolution 1996/31.  The speaker requested the secretariats of the Human Rights Council and the United Nations Office in Geneva to investigate the matter and report on it.

Following a lengthy discussion, during the first and latter part of the morning meeting, in which several delegations participated, it was agreed that both secretariats would receive a written request today for such a report, and that the NGO would be notified today that a case had been launched in the Committee.  The three letters would request answers by Friday.  That action would be taken in accordance with the procedure outlined in resolution 1996/31.

The Committee adopted its agenda and programme of work.  It also elected its Bureau by acclamation, as follows:  Ramis Sen of Turkey, Alexandru Ciorobea of Romania and Luis Amoros Nunez of Cuba, as Vice-Chairmen.  Suljuk Mustansar Tarar of Pakistan would replace Bilal Hayee of Pakistan, also as Vice-Chairman.  Mr. Tarar would also serve as Rapporteur.

In the course of the day, the Committee recommended special consultative status with ECOSOC for:

-- All-China Environment Federation, a national organization based in Beijing, intended to serve as a bridge between the Government and the public in implementing the sustainable development strategy, achieving national objectives on environment and development, and protecting the environmental rights of the public (document E/C.2/2009/R.2);

-- Corporate Accountability International, a United States-based international organization seeking to protect people and their communities from “irresponsible and dangerous corporate actions” (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.2);

-- Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) America, a United States-based international organization whose primary mission is to teach students good decision-making skills, to help them lead safe and healthy lives, free from drug abuse and other high-risk behaviours (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.9);

-- Doha International Institute for Family Studies and Development, an international organization seeking to, among other things, promote family policies and programmes at national, regional and international levels and develop regional and international networks of experts dealing with family issues (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.15);

-- Foundation for Preventing Youth Violence, a national organization based in Seoul, Republic of Korea, seeking to protect teenagers from being victimized by violence and create a safer school environment and society (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.19);

-- Fundacion Red Deporte y Cooperaction, an international organization based in Madrid, Spain, which promotes sport and physical education as an instrument of development and social integration (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.19); and

-- Nigeria-based African Citizens Development Foundation, a national organization seeking to build a cultured society in Africa and, among other things, to sensitize African citizens to the importance of virtues and integrity in development (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.5).

It recommended the following organizations for roster status:

-- Danish 92 Group a national organization based in Copenhagen with the aim of contributing to a sustainable development in Denmark and at the global level (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.14); and

-- Fundacion Mi Casa (Mi Casa Foundation), a national organization based in Santiago, Chile, which aims to promote and protect the rights of children and their families and improve the quality and coverage of specialized professional attention to children in homes and projects with high impact on the community (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.17).

Consideration of the following organizations was deferred:

-- African Wildlife Foundation, an international organization headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.4);

-- American Society of the Italian Legions of Merit, a national organization headquartered in the United States (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.8);

-- Corporacion Colombia Unida por el Respeto al Adulto Mayor, a national organization based in Bogota, Colombia (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.4);

-- Ensemble Allons Dans La Paix, a national organization headquartered in Cotonou, Benin (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.3);

-- Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.14);

-- Femmes Autochtones du Québec , Inc./Quebec Native Women, Inc. (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.18);

-- Congregation of our Lady of Mount Carmel (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.3);

-- Erevna International Peace Center Inc. (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.13);

-- Associazione Amici dei Bambini (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.19);

-- Centre Internacional Escarre per a les Minories Etniques i les Nacions (CIEMEN) (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.3); and

-- Fairleigh Dickinson University (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.9).

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 20 January, to continue its work.

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For information media • not an official record