Continuing Session, Non-Governmental Organizations Committee Recommends 16 Groups for Consultative Status, Defers Action on 83 Others
The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations today recommended that 16 organizations whose applications were deferred from previous sessions be granted special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, and further deferred action on the status of 83 others, as it continued its resumed 2021 session.
The 19-member Committee considers applications for consultative status and requests for reclassification submitted by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Once an application has been reviewed and approved by the Committee it is considered recommended for consultative status. Organizations which were granted general and special status can attend meetings of the 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.
Action on some applications was postponed pending responses to Committee members’ questions on matters related to the organizations’ activities, partners, expenditures and sources of funding, among other matters.
The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations will meet again at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 7 September, to continue its resumed session.
Special Consultative Status
The Committee recommended that the Economic and Social Council grant special consultative status to the following organizations:
Jeju Olle Foundation (Republic of Korea);
Male Champions of Change Limited (Australia);
MenEngage Global Alliance (United States);
National Peace Corps Association (United States);
Organisation européenne non gouvernementale des sports (ENGSO) (Sweden);
Pastoralist Child Foundation Inc. (United States);
Population Matters(United Kingdom);
RET Germany e.V. (Germany);
Regis Jesuit High School Corporation (United States);
Asociación Latinoamericana para los Derechos Humanos (Chile); and
Centro Studi ed Iniziative Culturali Pio La Torre (Italy).
The Committee postponed action on the applications of the following organizations:
Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation (United States) — as the representative of India sought more details on activities and sources of funding in the seven countries the organization operates;
Kvinnors Nätverk (Sweden) — as the representative of Israel asked the NGO to explain inconsistencies in the application regarding its projects;
Mangfoldhuset (Norway) — as the representative of Turkey sought details about the organization’s partnerships, including on joint projects in Europe and North America, and whether these partnerships are short-term or long-term;
Montagnard Indigenous People Christian Organization (MIPCO) (United States) — as the representative of India sought a membership list, as well as detail about activities and sources of funding;
Muslim Hands (United Kingdom) — as the representative of Israel asked the entity to submit more recent financial statements;
NAUH (Now Action & Unity for Human rights) (Republic of Korea) — as the representative of China asked the NGO to provide more information about income it received from the private sector and its expenditure;
National Committee on BRICS Research (Russian Federation) — as the representative of the United States asked the organization to explain how it funds the BRICS Academic Forum and what are the future plans for the Forum;
Nobel Women’s Initiative (Canada) — as the representative of Bahrain asked the NGO to specify the amount of grants received both from the Government and the foundation and explain if these grants are tied to specific projects;
Organisation Suisse d'aide aux réfugiés (Switzerland) — as the representative of Nicaragua asked the entity to confirm its reports are precise and accurate;
Organisation mondiale pour les femmes et les enfants (Switzerland) — as the representative of Nicaragua asked whether its tutoring and language arts projects are conducted in conjunction with schools;
Peace Without Limits (PWL) International Organization, Inc. (Switzerland) — as the representative of Turkey asked about the nature of relationship between Earth Peace Center and its parent body Peace Without Limits;
PeaceCorea (Republic of Korea) — as the representative of Cuba pointed out that the organization does not devote resources to projects according to its application, asking the NGO to clarify how it finance its activities;
People for Equality and Relief in Lanka Inc (United States) — as the representative of China asked the organization to provide a detailed breakdown of its funding;
Razom Inc. (United States) — as the representative of the Russian Federation pointed out that the NGO indicated it does not work with Governments, but listed events jointly conducted with the permanent mission of Ukraine, asking the entity to provide information about possible joint projects with Government;
Rise International Inc. (United States) — as the representative of India requested details of the NGO’s participation in United Nations events and their contribution to them;
RüstungsInformationsBüro e.V. (Germany) — as the representative of the Russian Federation asked about the entity’s plans in Syria, in particular how these plans are progressing and in what regions of Syria they will be implemented;
Secours Islamique France (France) — as the representative of Cuba asked the NGO to explain how it will use the income surplus;
Sheikh Abdullah Al Nouri Charity Society (Kuwait) — as the representative of Israel asked how the NGO maintains its impartiality as it receives donations approved by the foreign ministry;
Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea (Republic of Korea) — as the representative of the Russian Federation asked whether the organization has recently participated in United Nations events;
"Mission Armenia" Charitable Non-governmental Organization (Armenia) — as the representative of Turkey asked the organization to provide more information on the various international, regional and local networks of which it is a member;
Action contre les Violations des Droits des Personnes Vulnerables (Democratic Republic of the Congo) — as the representative of Cuba asked for more information about the organization’s income and its expenditure on programmes;
Asociación CAREF (Comisión Argentina Para Los Refugiados) (Argentina) — as the representative of Turkey requested more information about the organization’s “structured and long-term partnership” with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), including its scope, duration, terms and previous and planned projects;
Asociación Campaña Colombiana contra Minas (Colombia) — as the representative of Cuba pointed out that the organization listed expenditures that are $300,000 above its stated income, and requested more information;
Association Tous pour l’integration des migrants au Maroc (Morocco) — as the representative of Nicaragua asked for more details about contributions received by the group from national and international organizations;
Association des marocains victimes d'expulsion arbitraire de l'Algérie (Morocco) — as the representative of Bahrain asked the organization to provide updated financial statements for the years 2019 and 2020, preferably audited;
Associação Nacional de Juristas Evangélicos (Brazil) — as the representative of Cuba asked the organization to clarify how it seeks to contribute to the work of the Commission for Social Development in the area of “civil liberties in Latin America”, which that commission does not address;
Aurosikha Welfare Centre for Rural & Social Development (India) — as the representative of Pakistan requested more details on how its funds are being used on various projects;
Caritas India (India) — as the representative of Pakistan asked for more information about its consultative relationship with the local and national Government;
China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (China) — as the representative of the Russian Federation asked the organization to provide more information on the results of its partnership memorandum signed with the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, aiming to protect species along the path of China’s Belt and Road Initiative;
ERA — LGBTI Equal Rights Association (Serbia) — as the representative of the Russian Federation pointed to discrepancies in the organization’s application regarding its relationship with foreign Governments, and asked that it explain them;
Engineering Association for Development and Environment (Iraq) — as the representative of Turkey asked the organization to resubmit its financial statement for the year 2016 in either English or French;
Generations for Peace (Jordan) — as the representative of Nigeria asked the organization to provide details on its partners and 2020 projects, and the representative of Cuba asked whether its membership is open to nationals of countries other than those in which it is registered;
Gramin Vikas Vigyan Samiti (India) — as the representative of Pakistan requested the organization to provide details of projects where it provided technical support in Africa;
Justice Centre Hong Kong Limited (China) — as the representative of Cuba asked for information on the organization’s selection process for its board, which he noted is exclusively made up of foreign nationals according to its application;
Lahore Educational and Welfare Society (Pakistan) — as the representative of India asked the organization to provide information about its projects undertaken with the aim of promoting awareness against terrorism, drugs and fundamentalism in the last five years, along with their sources of funding;
National Human Rights Civic Association “Belarusian Helsinki Committee” (Belarus) — as the representative of Cuba asked the organization to clarify responses to the Committee’s previous questions regarding its income and expenditures;
Research Society of International Law (Pakistan) — as the representative of India asked the organization to explain a discrepancy in the location its physical address, as listed on its website, in its application and in the supporting documents provided;
The Union of Non-governmental Associations "The International Non‑governmental Organization "The World Union of Cossack Atamans" (Kazakhstan) — as the representative of the Russian Federation asked for a clarification regarding the organization’s salary expenditures;
Young League Pakistan (Pakistan) — as the representative of Pakistan cited a discrepancy between the organization’s application and its responses to the Committee’s questions, related to its number of offices;
ALQST Human Rights (United Kingdom) — as the representative of Bahrain asked for more information about how the organization maintained its sustainability while operating with a deficit in the years 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, and asked what is included under “other expenses”;
ASOCIACION ENRAIZADOS EN CRISTO Y EN LA SOCIEDAD (Spain) — as the representative of Cuba requested a list of countries in which the organization works as part of its efforts to support Christian communities, along with the related expenditures;
Allianz für Demokratie in Laos (ADL) e.V. (Germany) — as the representative of Cuba asked the organization to clarify an inconsistency in its membership contributions list and its total number of members, and the representative of China requested details about its participation in United Nations conferences;
American Center for International Labor Solidarity (United States) — as the representative of Bahrain asked for an updated list of the organization’s activities in 2020 and 2021;
Association Sphere (Switzerland) — as the representative of Cuba asked for more detailed information about the income received by the organization from Government sources, and how it is able to maintain is independence;
Associazione European Federation for Freedom of Belief (Italy) — as the representative of China asked the organization to further explain its views on the facilitation of religious freedom;
Associazione Luca Coscioni per la libertà di ricerca scientifica (Italy) — as the representative of the Russian Federation asked how the organization is able to carry out its work, given that it states in its application that it spends only 7 per cent of its income on projects;
Assyrian Documentation Centre (United States) — as the representative of Turkey asked the organization to provide information about its role in the preparation, content and outcome of an initiative to put forward a Parliamentary resolution at the State level;
Avaaz Foundation (United States) — as the representative of Bahrain asked the organization to provide a breakdown of the resources dedicated to each of its campaigns;
Bahrain Center for Human Rights (Denmark) — as the representative of Bahrain asked the organization to clarify the number and locations of all its offices;
Ceasefire Centre for Civilian Rights (United Kingdom) — as the representative of the Russian Federation asked for a list of all projects carried out in Syria along with their locations and associated costs;
Christian Solidarity International (Switzerland) — as the representative of Cuba asked the organization to clarify the composition of its management structure;
Eurazijos žalos mažinimo asociacija (Lithuania) — as the representative of the Russian Federation requested a list of projects carried out jointly with the Open Society Foundation;
European Foundation for South Asian Studies (Netherlands) — as the representative of China asked the organization to provide details of several side events it has co-sponsored at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on the topic of terrorism in South Asia;
European Interreligious Forum for Religious Freedom (France) — as the representative of China asked the organization to provide updates on its planned activities related to United Nations Human Rights Council’s sessions;
European Network on Cultural Management and Policy (Belgium) — as the representative of China asked the organization to provide an update on its current board membership;
Global Action for Trans* Equality Inc. (United States) — as the representative of Nicaragua asked the organization whether it has a website showing its activities on the ground;
Global Detention Project (Switzerland) — as the representative of China asked the organization to provide more information on information it has submitted to treaty bodies, and whether it has any related communications with Governments, and the representative of Libya requested a list of its activities in his country; and
Global Rights for Women (United States) — as the representative of Cuba raised questions about the organization’s staff and board members, asking it to clarify the numbers of each, while the representative of the Russian Federation asked for more information on its membership structure.