Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations Grants Consultative Status to 10 More Candidates
The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations today recommended 10 organizations for special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council and deferred action on 17 others, as it began week two of a resumed session set to conclude formally on Tuesday, followed by adoption of its report on 6 June.
Action on many applications was postponed as Committee members requested additional information about, among other things, details of their respective organizations’ projects, expenditures and funding sources.
Tasked with vetting applications submitted by non-governmental organizations, the 19-member Committee recommends general, special or roster status on the basis of such criteria as the applicant’s mandate, governance and financial regime. Non-governmental organizations enjoying general and special status can attend meetings of the Economic and Social Council and issue statements, while those with general status can also speak during meetings and propose agenda items. Organizations with roster status can only attend meetings.
The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 28 May, to conclude the formal portion of its session.
Special Consultative Status
The Committee recommended that the Economic and Social Council grant special consultative status to the following organizations:
Center for Women and Development (Viet Nam)
Fundación Cooperadora de la Nutrición Infantil (Argentina)
Fundacion Pro Humanae Vitae (Argentina)
Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Torino (Italy)
Blue Planet Project, Inc. (Canada)
Reseau Ocean Mondial (Belgium)
Sihtasutus Eesti Inimoiguste Keskus (Estonia)
The World Justice Project (United States)
Kulterverein (Austria)
Criminologists Without Borders Inc. (United States)
Action Postponed
The Committee postponed consideration of the following organizations:
Hokok Coalición Internacional Contra la Impunidad (Spain) — as Israel’s delegate asked the organization to explain why it had organizations as members, given its rule of allowing only individual members;
Dalit Foundation – Ahmedabad (India) — as India’s delegate sought explanation of a gap between income and expenditure and requested details on sources of donations it received;
National Development Youth Club, Jaran Wali Gali Poonch (India) — as that delegate sought details on sources of income;
Zimbabwe Women Resources Centre and Network (Zimbabwe) — as Morocco’s delegate asked if the organization was national or regional as its answer to a query stated that it implemented projects in other African countries;
Centre catholique international de Genève (Switzerland) — as Cuba’s delegation sought more information on the two non-governmental organizations contributing to its funding;
Centre Zagros pour les Droits de l’Homme (Switzerland) — as Nicaragua’s delegate requested clarification as to whether it was a regional or international entity and sought details on projects and plans;
Good Helpers (Republic of Korea) — as Cuba’s representative asked for more details about its activities in Latin American countries;
National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. (United States) — as India’s representative asked to which functional commission of the Economic and Social Council it would contribute and about hunting projects outside the United States;
Sikh Human Rights Group (United Kingdom) — as India’s representative sought details of its projects in the last three years and clarification on its budget;
Tripura Foundation, Inc. (United States) — as India’s representative noted that the sole purpose of the organization was to raise money, and asked for clarification over the nature of its relationship with its sister organization in India;
Fundacion Centroamericano de Derechos Humanos (Argentina) — as Nicaragua’s representative asked for more details on and clarification of its human rights activities;
Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain Inc. (United States) — as Morocco’s representative noted that the organization had not answered the Committee’s previous question concerning its membership, and asked how an organization could function without members. The United States representative said numerous organizations with accreditation were run by boards of directors and did not have members;
Droits de l’homme sans frontieres – Human Rights Without Frontiers (Belgium) — as the Russian Federation’s representative asked it to clearly indicate on its website its work concerning human rights monitoring of minorities in the Baltics and for details on its fact-finding work and whether it joined with Government partners in that regard;
Nobel Women’s Initiative (Canada) — as China’s representative asked for clarification of its activities in China;
Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays, Inc. (United States) — as Belgium’s representative asked for details on its activities in Europe, Canada and the United States, and Israel’s representative sought clarification on the organization’s position on reparative therapy;
The Lawfare Project Inc. (United States) — as China’s representative asked the organization to provide the correct United Nations terminology concerning Taiwan;
The Women’s Freedom Forum, Inc. (United States) — as Cuba’s representative sought details about its projects and partners in Mexico and Nicaragua and its plans to carry out activities in other Latin American countries.
Quadrennial Reports
The Committee took note of the new quadrennial reports of the following non-governmental organizations.
six organizations listed in document E/C.2/2014/2/Add.22: Afro-Asian Peoples’ Solidarity Organization; Agency for International Development; Cultural Association for Aid to Educational and Social Advancement; Health and Environment Association; Action Committee for the Rights of the Child and Woman; and Equitas International Centre for Human Rights Education.
fifteen organizations listed in document E/C.2/2014/2/Add.23: Asia Pacific Network Information Centre; Asian Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Asia (AsiaDHRRA); Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID); Child Foundation; Children of a Better Time; Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative; Council of International Programs; D.A.R.E. America (Drug Abuse Resistance Education); European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages (EBLUL); Federation of Cuban Women; Forum of Women’s NGOs of Kyrgyzstan; Foundation for International Training; Foundation for the American Indian; Foundation for the Rights of Future Generations; and Fridtjof Nansen Institute.
another 15 listed in document E/C.2/2014/2/Add.24: Fundación de Ayuda contra la Drogadicción; Grameena Vikas Samiti (Conserve Nature for a Better Future); Humanitarian Foundation of Canada; Indigenous Peoples’ International Centre for Policy Research and Education; International Association for Impact Assessment; International Association of Judges; International Association of Women in Radio and Television; International Center Innovations in Civic Participation (ICP); International Critical Incident Stress Foundation; International Planned Parenthood Federation; Islamic Relief; Korean Women’s Associations United (KWAU); Korean Council for Local Agenda 21; Korean Foundation for World Aid; and Law Association for Asia and the Pacific.
fourteen organizations listed in document E/C.2/2014/2/Add.25: Maharashtra Foundation; Migrants Rights International (MRI); National Tropical Botanical Garden; National Youth Council of Russia; Partnership Africa Canada; Pax Romana (International Catholic Movement for Intellectual and Cultural Affairs and International Movement of Catholic Students); Public Services International; Save the Children International; Social Accountability International; Society for International Development; Trauma Foundation; Verein Sudwind Entwicklungspolitik; Vrienden van Congo; and Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW).
fourteen more listed in document E/C.2/2014/2/Add.26: European AIDS Treatment Group; Generations United; Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society; Innu Council of Nitassinan (Innu Nation); Institute for War and Peace Reporting; International Federation of Women in Legal Careers; Kuwait Information Technology Society; Mediterranean Council for Burns and Fire Disasters; National Association of Cuban Economists; Widows’ Rights International; Women and Memory Forum; World Russian People’s Council; World Trade Centers Association; and Zonta International.
eleven organizations listed in document E/C.2/2014/2/Add.27: Alulbayt Foundation; European Federation of Older Students at Universities; Human Rights Information and Training Center; Links Incorporated; Mahila Dakshata Samiti; Mountain Institute; Nigeria-Togo Association; Non-Governmental Organisations’ Coordinating Committee; One World Trust; Planetary Association for Clean Energy, Inc.; and World Organization of Former Students of Catholic Education.
sixteen organizations listed in document E/C.2/2014/2/Add.28: Airline Ambassadors International, Inc.; Association Jeunesse Action Developpement; Christian Conference of Asia; Droit à l’Energie SOS Futur; Environmental Development Action in the Third World (ENDA); Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS; Institute for Interreligious Dialogue; Mountain Women Development Organization (MWDO); National Council of Women of Thailand; New Zealand Family Planning Association, Inc.; Peace Child International; Service for Peace, Inc.; SERVITAS Cameroon; Unión de Asociaciones Familiares; WebForce International; and Women’s International Democratic Federation.
The Committee also took note of the quadrennial reports of two non-governmental organizations deferred from previous sessions, listed in document E/C.2/2014/CRP.15: Global Environmental Action (GEA) and Eurasian Harm Reduction Network.
Name Change
The 19-member body also took note of the following name changes:
Geneva Social Observatory to Global Social Observatory;
International Committee for Arab-Israeli Reconciliation to International Committee for Peace and Reconciliation;
Alliance Defense Fund to Alliance Defending Freedom;
The Committee postponed action on a name-change request for Suzanne Mubarek Women’s International Peace Movement (Special 2007) to End Human Trafficking Now — as Morocco’s representative questioned whether the organization was not just requesting a name change but also had changed its objectives, while India’s representative requested additional supporting documents concerning its request. Belgium’s representative suggested contacting the Swiss Mission, as Switzerland was the organization’s host country, to see whether previous concerns remained.
Other Issues
The Committee also took note of the suspension of 109 organizations contained in document E/C.2/2014/CRP.12, with the exception of Asociacion de Antiguas Alumnas del Colegio Madres Irlandesas, Associacao Brasileira de Gays, Lesbicas e Transgeneros, and International Press Institute, as those had now submitted their reports.
Note was also taken of the following papers: Quadrennial reports for the 2009-2012 reporting period received too late for formal processing but before the deadline of 1 May 2014, pursuant to ECOSOC resolution 2008/4 (document E/C.2/2014/CRP.11); List of organizations to be reinstated, pursuant to Council Resolution 2008/4 (document E/C.2/2014/CRP.13); and List of organizations whose consultative status is to be withdrawn, pursuant to Council Resolution 2008/4 (document E/C.2/2014/CRP.14).