Committee on NGOs

13^th & 14^th Meetings (AM & PM)

NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS COMMITTEE APPROVES SIX CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS

FOR SPECIAL CONSULTATIVE STATUS WITH ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

Also Approves One for Roster Status, Defers 16 Applications

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations today pressed ahead with its busy schedule, as it neared the close of its session Wednesday evening, approving six organizations for special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, one for roster status, and deferring 16 more. 

It also approved requests for the reclassification of two organizations from roster to special consultative status:  the Tokyo-based International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), which aims, among other things, at combating racism, racial discrimination and multiple discrimination (in particular, discrimination based on both race and gender) (document E/C.2/2009/CRP.6); and the Geneva-based Femmes Afrique Solidarite (document E/C.2/2009/CRP.6), whose main objective is to give value to women’s initiatives and promote women’s rights as fully-fledged participants in peacemaking and peacebuilding.

Another request for reclassification, from a United States-based international organization, Nour Foundation (document E/C.2/2009/R.3), which seeks to facilitate a greater spirit of understanding, tolerance and unity among human beings worldwide, was left pending, owing mainly to questions from India’s Committee member regarding the non-governmental organization’s (NGO) sources of income.  Egypt’s members wanted to know how the group’s work had evolved since it had received roster status. 

The International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) (document E/C.2/2009/R.3), headquartered in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, had requested an upgrade from roster to general status, meaning that, in addition to attending meetings (those with special status can also circulate statements), the NGO can speak at meetings and propose items for the Council’s agenda.  Several members commended this NGO’s activities, but did not see sufficient grounds for granting it general status.  They also posed additional questions, including on sources of income.  The question of an upgrade, perhaps to special status, was left pending. 

Among those groups approved for special status today was Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.6), a United States-based international organization advocating on behalf of victims of armed conflict, working to ensure they receive recognition and assistance from warring parties.  Justice for Girls Outreach Society (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.10) was also approved for special status.  This Canadian-based group seeks to promote the health and well-being of low-income and homeless teenage girls. 

After receiving clarification from the observer for Mexico, the Committee also approved Catolicas por el Derecho a Decidir (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.5) for special status.  This Mexico-based national NGO shapes and advances reproductive and sexual ethics that are based on social justice, reflect a commitment to women’s well-being, and affirm the moral capacity of women and men to make responsible decisions about their lives. 

Also approved for special status, following interaction with a representative of the NGO late today, were Human Rights Education Associates (HREA) (CRP.1), a United States-based international organization that supports human rights learning; the training of activists and professionals; the development of educational materials and programming; and community-building through online technologies. 

Approved for roster status -– as proposed by the United Kingdom in light of the NGO’s limited scope and activities –- was the International Game Fish Association (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.4).  This United States-based international organization is committed to promoting responsible, ethical angling practices through science, education, rule-making and record-keeping. 

The application from the Organisation Swuisee des Lesbiennes (LOS) (R.2) was among those deferred.  A Committee member from Qatar asked the NGO to elaborate on several points, including its activities in the field of education and its objectives, given its statement that schools should not limit the discussion of homosexuality to sexual education and HIV/AIDS prevention.  She also asked, among other things, about the stated objective regarding encouraging schools to create a favourable atmosphere to allow youth to freely develop their sexual orientation.

Egypt’s Committee member sought more information from the NGO about its activities in the health-care field.  He also wanted to know the point of having used a school bus in a gay parade.  Referring to the statement in the NGO’s reply that people of all ages, including teenagers, might realize that they are lesbian, gay, or transsexual or transgender, he asked what was meant by “all ages”.  Also, the NGO said its contribution to ECOSOC might be unique, because the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) only worked in European countries.  However, ILGA extended to countries beyond Europe. 

Representatives of this NGO were available for questions during the interactive segment this afternoon, but no request was made for them to come to the podium.  Instead, written replies were requested. 

Also deferred was the application from European Foundation for Democracy (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.8).  Several questions were put to the national Belgium-based NGO, aimed at promoting universal human rights, freedom of conscience, individual liberty and pluralism of peaceful ideas worldwide, despite some remarks in its support by the Belgian Mission.   Egypt’s member, for instance, sought details of its projects in its four general areas of activities and an explanation of how those were implemented when membership consisted of only three individuals.  Given that the NGO was working “in a very sensitive area to many delegations, including my own”, he insisted on having the names of the donors revealed to the Committee, in accordance with its guiding resolution 1996/31.

China’s member said the NGO’s website indicated that the group carried out activities in China, and he asked for a list of those activities and the nature of its cooperation with an organization called Initiative for China.  He had also found that the NGO had some interaction with the Dalai Lama and he asked for a list of its activities in that realm.  Pakistan’s member wanted to know of any specific projects undertaken regarding Islamaphobia, “Christianaphobia” and anti-Semitism.  India’s member asked the NGO to name its 160 supporters from Asia and the Middle East and describe how they contributed to the organization.

The application from Dalit Freedom Network (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.1) was also deferred.  The United States-based international organization intends to contribute to ECOSOC by, among other things, providing data about justice and development issues regarding Dalits and women in India, and providing data about and advocating on human rights and social justice in South Asia. 

India’s Committee member had questions for the NGO, including what he described as a discrepancy between its answers and what it was actually doing.  Could the applicant specify who did advocacy for it in India and where that was done in India and elsewhere, since the application says the NGO has no office in India?  It also indicates that a lot of activities were through its partners, but when requested to provide details about its partners, the NGO says they were independent.  Had the NGO advocated any legislative changes in India?  Another “strange” thing was that, of the organization’s 12 members, only two were from India, but almost all of its activities were in India.  Could the NGO explain that, as well as whether it followed a democratic pattern in its structure? 

Under an item on the Committee’s working methods, Chief of the Non-Governmental Organizations Section, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Hanifa Mezoui, this afternoon introduced the publication entitled “The NGO Committee:  A Ten-Year Review”.  The past 10 years, as Section Chief, had been rewarding and unforgettable, as the work of the Committee was particularly substantive, complex and challenging.  This job was the first entry point for NGOs in their contact with the United Nations, and she had been fortunate to serve at a time when there was a better understanding of the indispensable role of NGOs in achieving the United Nations goals.  The Committee’s work had been marked by a heavy workload and, at times, a polarized environment, but it had also produced unprecedented innovations in terms of its working methods and accomplishments. 

From 1998 to 2008, she said, the Committee had held 870 meetings, accredited 2,200 NGOs and reviewed 1,200 quadrennial reports.  Those were more than figures; they were real people and real organizations covering a large spectrum of interests and presenting a wide range of views in United Nations debates.  The Committee had heard presentations from more than 200 NGO representatives, which had enriched its work.  Members had devised several methods to ensure the smooth functioning of consultative arrangements, the primary purpose of which was to enable ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies to benefit from the expertise of NGOs, an important element of public opinion crucial to intergovernmental processes.  The Committee had made significant progress in that regard and in supporting NGO partnership with the United Nations, as increasing numbers and a more diverse body of NGOs were participating in ECOSOC’s work. 

On the Committee’s working methods, some important, even revolutionary, steps had been made, with an impact that went beyond that of the Committee, she said highlighting the “paperless committee”.  It had been the first initiative of its kind to have been introduced to date to the intergovernmental process. 

Ola Goransson, Assistant to the Chief of the NGO Section, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, showed three websites in a power point presentation:  the Paperless Committee System, which was a robust knowledge management system for record management and archiving that had increased efficiency in the work of the Secretariat and achieved the dual objective of providing higher quality services to Member States and generating substantial savings; the NGO response system, an add-on system to the Paperless System aimed at improving communication between the Secretariat and applying NGO; and the Department-wide UN-DESA Event Management System, launched in August 2008 to coordinate and manage information relating to events and meetings organized by the Department.

Also addressing the Committee during this segment was Deisi Weber-Kuzstra, President, World Family Association, and Latin American Regional Coordinator for United Nations NGO Informal Regional Networks (UN-NGO-IRENE) –- a technology-based system that facilitates interactive exchange at the regional and global levels between the United Nations and NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC.  In July 2002, the Council had adopted resolution E/2002/225 to establish a general trust fund in support of the UN-NGO-IRENE activities to promote networking among NGOs, and capacity-building and training activities for them in the relevant areas of the Millennium Development Goals.  It also advocated promoting partnership initiatives, projects and programmes between the NGOs and the United Nations.  She reported that all regions were striving to strengthen the network, indeed, to bring all of society to the work of the United Nations, from the bottom up.  

Former Committee Chairperson and current Director of European Union affairs in the Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry, Mihaela Blajan ( Romania), also spoke.  She noted that there was now a much more balanced representation of NGOs in consultative status.  Today, after a 10-year cycle, it could also be said that diversity was also reflected by the succession of chairs presiding over the Committee, as they had represented all five regional groups. 

According to the NGO Section’s own 10-year review, of the 69 organizations recommended for consultative status at the resumed session during Ms. Blajan’s “watch”, more than half had been from developing countries and countries with economies in transition, as during her chairmanship, an enormous effort had been made to redress the imbalance between NGOs from the developed countries and those from developing countries and those with economies in transition.

In the course of the discussion, Ms. Mezoui took the floor again, including to thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his recognition of the work of the NGO Section.  She also described the Committee’s consistent strong support to the outreach activities of the Section, updating members on the outreach mission.  In guiding the Committee, she did not believe she had ever betrayed the spirits of the members when taking decisions.  Each member was just as valuable as the other, and each session sought to welcome qualified representatives of civil society, particularly “our social partners”.  The welcome given them was warm and respectful; it rose above our differences.   

Following her closing remarks, many delegations and observers around the room expressed their heartfelt gratitude for her leadership of the Section.  (This would be her last session as NGO Section Chief, as, after 28 years with the United Nations, Ms. Mezoui was retiring). 

Also deferred or left pending during two meetings today were:

Centre national d’information sur les droits des femmes et des families CNIDFF (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.14), a national organization based in Paris that seeks to advance the position of women in society, promote their autonomy, and, among other things, contribute to the development of equality between women and men;

(Among the questions posed to this NGO were some by Egypt’s member about how it sustains its activities in light of a budget deficit of almost $250,000, and how it defines the term sexual orientation, since that is not defined in any international human rights instrument.  He also asked the organization to indicate its position on same sex marriage and adoption by same sex couples and whether it promotes those ideas and any specific lifestyle.) 

Centre des Droits des Gens (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.5), a national NGO headquartered in Fez, Morocco, that seeks to promote human rights education by focusing on, among other things, human rights and gender awareness and on legal literacy training for women and training for law-enforcement personnel;

(Consultations on this NGO were pending with Morocco.)

Centres d’accueil et de l’espoir (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.11), a national organization based in Yaounde, Cameroon, which provides AIDS orphans and vulnerable children with a mentoring structure and support for their social reintegration and socio-occupational integration; 

(There was an 11-page response, and Egypt’s member needed more time, as well as an English translation.)

Confederation of Organisations in Road Transport Enforcement (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.7), a Belgium-based international organization, is aimed at bringing together national bodies from various European Union member States in the field of road transport, by gathering and coordinating expertise on issues connected to road transport improvement at European and international levels; 

( Egypt’s member says he still had some doubt about the nature of the organization, and he requested a list of all its members, especially those with voting power in the organization’s decision-making.)

Erevna International Peace Center (E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.13), an international organization headquartered in Limassol, Cyprus, states as its aims and purposes conflict resolution, the training of mediators and research in conflict resolution methodology;

( Turkey’s member said that, in the application form, two NGOs had been named, and he wished to clarify which one was applying for consultative status.  He also asked for official proof that the Fund for Erevna was an NGO registered in the United States because the information submitted to the Committee was dated April 2006.  A third issue concerned two signatures on the application, one from a director and one from an executive director.  Only one should sign the form.) 

Ethiopian Human Rights Council (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.14), based in Addis Ababa, is a national organization, striving for the establishment of a democratic system in Ethiopia, promoting the rule of law and due process, and encouraging and monitoring respect and protection of human rights in the country.

(The Committee would come back to this application later today, as it was awaiting notes from a statement made by the Ethiopian Mission.)

Centre Internacional Escarre per a les Minories Etniques I les Nacions (CIEMEN) (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.3), based in Barcelona, Spain, is a national organization, which has as its first objective to enhance and disseminate knowledge and information on the situation of oppressed peoples;

( Turkey’s member said the organization had refrained from answering the questions posed by the Committee, and he asked it, once again, to do so and that it provide the requested documentation.)

FATIMA Women’s Network (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.12) a national organization based in the United Kingdom, which uses dynamic interventions for gender equity, social, economic and environmental justice to support the empowerment of women and their families, particularly from diverse and disadvantaged communities; 

Institute of Hazrat Mohammad (document E/C.2/2009/R.2/Add.2), a national organization based in Bangladesh, aimed at disseminating the basic principles of Islam and teachings of Prophet Mohammad that emphasize peace and love for all Allah’s creations and education through implementation of different programmes that focus on literacy, poverty alleviation, research, basic rights and development of the individual and the community, regardless of religious denominations; 

(The Government concerned had asked for more time.) 

International Center for Transitional Justice (document E/C.2/2009/CRP.1) a United States-based international organization assisting countries pursuing accountability for past mass atrocity or human rights abuse.  The Center works in societies emerging from repressive rule or armed conflict, as well as in established democracies where historical injustices or systemic abuse remain unresolved.

(During an exchange with a representative of the NGO, Cuba’s member posed several questions regarding the organization’s website, which indicated involvement in Cuba, and the representative’s answers, which indicated no involvement in his country.  Among the many questions posed by Egypt were several concerning whether the NGO had a “blanket” position on amnesty and impunity, including when a peace agreement took the position that it was best for the previously-warring parties that there be no trials.  The representative said that, while her NGO had no official position on amnesty, it recognized targeted amnesties as a critical peacekeeping tool.  The NGO stood behind the United Nations position on the question, as put forth in a report of the Secretary-General on the subject in 2004.  The delegations requested the replies in writing.)

Associacao Brasileira de Gays, Lesbicas e Transgeneros (document E/C.2/2009/CRP.1) a national organization based in Brazil aimed at strengthening and organizing gay, lesbian and transsexual groups in order to contribute towards the building of a free and egalitarian society; 

(After several questions to the NGO representative, mainly from Egypt’s member, concerning, among other topics, the organization’s position regarding pedophilia, the United Kingdom’s member formally proposed granting the NGO status, given that rounds of questions had been asked and answered since 2007, including in writing, and the answers were satisfactory.  When some members requested that the new set of replies be put in writing for the Committee, Romania’s member proposed that the question of whether or not to grant status to this NGO should be put to a vote, saying that the request for written replies was another way of denying status to organizations concerned with gay and lesbian rights.) 

Owing to the fact that there was no longer interpretation, or even audio support, in the conference room, the matter was deferred until tomorrow morning.

The Committee will meet again a 10 a.m. Wednesday, 28 January, to conclude its work for the first part of its 2009 session.

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For information media • not an official record