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First Plenary Meeting of ECOSOC Committee on NGOs
Opening its regular session for 2019, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations today recommended 70 organizations for special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and deferred action on the status of 40 others.
The 19-member Committee vets applications submitted by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), recommending general, special or roster status on the basis of such criteria as the applicant’s mandate, governance and financial regime. Organizations enjoying general and special status can attend Council meetings and issue statements, while those with general status can also speak during meetings and propose agenda items. Those with roster status can only attend meetings.
At the meeting’s outset, the Committee adopted its agenda (document E/C.2/2019/1) and programme of work. It elected Nadav Yesod (Israel), on behalf of the Group of Western European and Other States Group, as Vice-Chair, postponing the election of its Chair and remaining Vice-Chairs.
Marion Barthelemy, Director, Office for Intergovernmental Support and Coordination for Sustainable Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said in opening remarks that civil society — having played a significant role in the elaboration of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — is now at the forefront of practical action for its implementation. Citing strengthened engagement by non-governmental organizations in the United Nations work, she said in 2019, 820 groups applied for consultative status, compared with 440 groups five years ago. Recalling that last session the Committee was not able to review its entire work programme — leaving unfinished business, including 233 deferred applications for consultative status — she noted that several General Assembly resolutions called for more active civil society participation in the United Nations. It also specifically invited the Committee to examine how it can accommodate the growing number of applications.
“The strong interest shown by [non-governmental organizations] in consultative status also raises serious concerns as to the capacity of the Office for Intergovernmental Support and Coordination, and its NGO Branch, to keep up to the task,” she said. For the third consecutive year, the Committee will consider at its regular session applications for status submitted two years ago, but which could not be reviewed last year as they should have been. That backlog — including 99 applications before the Committee at its current session — is a source of serious concern and is likely to grow even larger, she said. In that context, she stressed the need to ensure an appropriate level of resources, both human and technical, to allow the NGO Branch to support its much-increased workload in a sustainable manner. For example, its technological platforms have aged and must now be replaced by a unique system tailored to the branch’s specific needs, covering applications, submissions for quadrennial reports, review by the Committee and other elements.
Marc-André Dorel, Acting Chief of the Non-Governmental Organizations Branch of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, associated himself with the Director’s remarks.
Mr. Yesod described this year’s session as “extremely packed”, with 288 new applications for consultative status and 233 applications deferred from previous sessions. Also before the Committee are 438 new quadrennial reports plus 90 reports deferred from previous sessions. In addition, the Committee will address three new and three deferred requests for reclassification, two deferred requests for a merger and several new requests for a change of name. “Based on the scope of the agenda before us, the Committee will have to move expeditiously and rationalize the time spent on each agenda item so we can successfully conclude our programme within the allotted time,” he said.
The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations will meet again at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 22 January, to continue its session, which runs from 21 to 30 January and 8 February.
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