The United Nations Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations is responsible for accrediting
non-governmental organizations
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
with
consultative status
The consultative status is a phrase whose use can be traced to the founding of the United Nations and is used within the UN community to refer to "Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Soc ...
at the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
. Established in 1946, it reports directly to the
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
[NGO Branch
Department of Economic and Social Affairs]
What is the Committee on NGOs?
Accessed 02-21-2016.
Membership
The committee comprises 19 members who are elected based on the principle of
equitable geographic distribution as follows:
*5 members from African States
*4 members from Asian States
*2 members from
Eastern European States
*4 members from
Latin American and Caribbean States
*4 members from
Western European and Other States
Members are elected to serve four year terms.
The current membership of the committee (2019-2022) includes: Bahrain, Brazil, Burundi, China, Cuba, Estonia, Eswatini, Greece, India, Israel, Libya, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Sudan, Turkey and United States of America.
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Application procedure
An NGO that wishes to obtain consultative status at the United Nations must first submit an application online at the NGO Branch of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the UN Secretariat. After the application is screened by the NGO Branch, it is reviewed by the ECOSOC Committee on NGOs. The Committee decides to recommend, or not recommend, granting status to the NGO. The final decision is taken by the ECOSOC at its annual Substantive session.
Criticisms
Although the decision of whether or not to grant consultative status to an NGO is theoretically a technical one, the Committee's decisions are sometimes quite politicized. Human rights groups and a number of governments have expressed concern that some member states—particularly those with poor human rights records—have sought to block or impede the accreditation of legitimate NGOs. In May 2016, for instance, the Committee rejected an application by the Committee to Protect Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journa ...
(CPJ), an NGO that monitors press freedom around the world. China, Russia and South Africa were among the countries that voted to deny the group consultative status.
See also
*
*United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service
The United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS or NGLS) is a programme of the United Nations mandated to promote and develop constructive relations between the United Nations and civil society organizations. UN-NGLS operates autonomo ...
References
{{ECOSOC
United Nations Economic and Social Council