HomeUnited NationsContinuing Session, Non-governmental Organizations Committee Recommends 22 Entities for Status Defers Action...

Continuing Session, Non-governmental Organizations Committee Recommends 22 Entities for Status Defers Action on 56 Others

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations today recommended that 22 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 56 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 Thursday, 2 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:

Centre for Rights Education and Awareness (Kenya);

Commonwealth Association of Architects (Pakistan);

Cosmos Ndukwe Foundation (Nigeria);

Denis Miki Foundation (Cameroon);

Dimdim Humanitarian Relief Foundation (Iraq);

Feekr Organization for Dialogue and Human Rights Defence (Yemen);

Fonds pour les Femmes Congolaises (Democratic Republic of the Congo);

GIN SSOGIE NPC (South Africa);

Green Mentoring and Solutions Private Limited (India);

International Foundation Witnesses Ashoora (Iran);

Medical Support Association for Underprivileged Iranian Patients (Iran);

Nadam Foundation (India);

National Association of Seadogs (Nigeria);

New Barrackpore Samaj Bandhu Welfare Organization (India);

Onelife Initiative for Human Development (Nigeria);

Pesticide Action Network India (India);

Plant Trust (India);

Protsahan India Foundation (India);

Rawsam Human Development Center (Iraq);

Rwanga Foundation – RF (Iraq);

Safe Care Trust International (Pakistan); and

Shree Maruti Gram Vikash Trust (India).

The Committee postponed action on the applications of the following organizations:

Blue Cross & Blue Crescent Society (India) — as the representative of Pakistan asked for detailed information about activities carried out in the youth and environmental sectors;

Chanan Development Association (Pakistan) — as the representative of Pakistan asked the organization to provide information on its work in youth empowerment and skills training, and its sources of funding;

Charity Organization “International Charity Foundation “Global Ukraine” (Ukraine) — as the representative of the Russian Federation asked the organization to explain why its website does not provide information on leadership, activities or projects without first registering;

Chinese Cultural Promotion Society (China) — as the representative of the United States asked for more information about the organization’s funders, and sought detailed information on projects and partnerships as well as in which countries they are carried out;

Confederation of NGOs of Rural India (India) — as the representative of Pakistan asked for a list of the non-governmental groups that are members of the organization;

Dialogue & Development Forum (Yemen) — as the representative of Bahrain raised questions about the organization’s membership structure and requested a list of its members;

Diplomatic Mission Peace And Prosperity (Albania) — as the representative of Greece asked the organization to provide more information on its lobbying activities and partners;

Direct Focus Community Aid (Pakistan) — as the representative of Pakistan asked the organization to provide details of its work enhancing the capacity-building of health-care providers, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic;

Drug Policy Network South East Europe (Serbia) — as the representative of the Russian Federation raised questions about the organization’s relationship with the Open Society Foundation, and asked how the group maintains its independence from both funders and Governments;

Entrepreneurs Council of India (India) — as the representative of Pakistan asked the organization to provide details on its projects related to the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals;

Environmental and Societal Development Foundation (Pakistan) — as the representative of Pakistan asked for more information about the organization’s activities to prevent drug abuse;

Fondacioni “Yesilay” (Albania) — as the representative of Greece asked the organization to provide more details on its relationship with the main sponsor listed on its application;

Formation Awareness and Community Empowerment Society (FACES) Pakistan (Pakistan) — as the representative of Pakistan asked for more information about a project known as “Peace School”, listed on the organization’s website;

Fundación Género con Clase (Venezuela) — as the representative of the United States asked for a list of educational activities, as well as its partners, topics and other details related to those activities;

Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (China) — as the representative of the United States requested information on the organization’s technical trainings carried out, as well as a list of related countries and participants, and more details on its planned activities for the remainder of 2021 and 2022;

Global Village Forum Chakwal c/o Shaheen Degree College Chappar Bazar Chakwal (Pakistan) — as the representative of Pakistan asked for more information about the organization’s financing from “approved international donors”;

Gracia Raina Foundation (India) — as the representative of Pakistan requested the organization to provide its financial statements for 2019 and subsequent years;  

Gulshan-e-John (Pakistan) — as the representative of Pakistan asked the organization to clarify the countries where it works and provide details on its funding;

Habilian Association (Iran) — as the representative of the United States asked the organization to provide information on its planned conferences in and outside of Iran, as well as related details;

Human Welfare Charitable Trust (India) — as the representative of Pakistan requested the organization to provide a breakdown of its funding from international organizations and other sources;

Humanitarian Aid International (India) — as the representative of Pakistan asked for more information on the projects undertaken by the organization in response to COVID-19;

Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation (Iran) — as the representative of the United States asked the organization to provide details of its work with women-headed households, especially its stated purpose of “advising them to remarry”, and asked whether it also provides support and assistance to women who do not wish to marry;

Incentive Care Foundation (Pakistan) — as the representative of Pakistan asked the organization to provide information on how many students it has awarded scholarships or financial assistance to support their education;

Individual Land Trust (Pakistan) – as the representative of Pakistan requested details on the organization’s projects undertaken with the stated aim of countering radicalization;

Instance démocratique pour la citoyenneté et les droits de l’homme (Morocco) — as the representative of China asked the organization to provide information about its partnerships with local, regional, national and international organizations;

Institute for Integrated Rural Development (India) — as the representative of Pakistan raised concerns about the functionality of the organization’s website — prompting an extensive discussion among Committee members about the legitimacy of posing technical questions to an organization — and requested more information about the group’s initiatives in the environmental sector over the past year;

Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies (Pakistan) — as the representative of Pakistan asked the organization to provide details of its work in the field of conflict resolution;

International Anti-Terrorism Movement (India) — as the representative of Pakistan asked the organization to share details about a 2019 event described on its website;

International Foundation for Sustainable Development (India) — as the representative of Pakistan asked the organization to provide more information about its operation in Afghanistan and the United States;

International Human Right Organization (Pakistan) — as the representative of Pakistan asked the organization to provide more details on projects about child protection;

International Non-Olympic Committee (India) — as the representative of India requested details of all activities of the organization in other countries;

International Non-Olympic University (India) — as the representative of India asked the organization to provide legal documents that support its registration and status as an educational entity;

International Union for Sustainable Development (Egypt) — as the representative of India asked about how the organization managed to fill the gap between its income and expenditure, and required financial documents for the past two years;

Janmitra Nyas (India) — as the representative of Pakistan asked the organization to share details about the organization relating to its financial statement for the current year;

Kafka Welfare Organization (Pakistan) — as the representative of Pakistan asked the organization to provide details regarding its activities in the fields of HIV and AIDS;

Le conseil promotionnel pour l’action des jeunes en Afrique (Congo) — as the representative of India requested the organization to provide more information about projects on the empowerment of young mothers;

Mukti (India) — as the representative of Pakistan asked for more details regarding the organization’s work planting trees;

Mulabi Association Latin American Work Group for Sexual Rights Civil Association (Costa Rica) — as the representative of the Russian Federation asked the organization to provide a full list of countries where its work has been carried out;

Nikan Mammut Charity Foundation (Iran) — as the representative of the United States requested a list of all funding sources in 2020 and 2021 and its projected budget in 2022;

Non-Governmental Organization «Association of Wives and Mothers of Soldiers Participating in Ato» (Ukraine) — as the representative of the Russian Federation asked the organization to show proof that its operations are independent;

Organisation Tamaynut (Morocco) — as the representative of India asked the organization to provide detailed information about its current and future projects in fields including humanitarian aid;

Organization of female conscience renewal (Morocco) — as the representative of Bahrain requested more information about its source of funding;

Pak Special Persons Welfare Society (Pakistan) — as the representative of Pakistan asked for more information about the initiatives taken by the organization to support persons with disabilities in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic;

Pakistan International Human Rights Organization (Pakistan) — as the representative of Pakistan asked for more information about past or future projects in the field of water and sanitation;

Palestinian Association for Human Rights (Witness) (Lebanon) — as the representative of Israel asked the organization to elaborate on the partners it works with human rights;

Piramal Swasthya Management and Research Institute (India) — as the representative of Pakistan asked the organization to provide a list of international donors and funds received from international organizations;

Pouya Institute for Communications and Social Development (Iran) — as the representative of the United States asked the organization to list all its research projects, publications and online activities in 2021 as well as its online activities for 2022;

Public Organization “Institute for the Study of Dependencies, Drug Policy Issues and Monitoring the Drug Situation” (Ukraine) — as the representative of the Russian Federation asked whether the organization has operations abroad, and requested a list of countries where it operates and partners with organizations abroad;

Relief Human Rights Organization (Pakistan) — as the representative of Pakistan pointed out that, according to its application, the organization’s budget is spent on “other expenditures” rather than projects, and requested clarification on that matter;

Réveil communautaire d’assistance aux victimes (Burundi) — as the representative of China asked the organization to provide updates on its plan during 2021-2022, including detailed background information of its programmes planned for this period;

Sargakshetra Charitable Trust (India) — as the representative of Pakistan asked the organization to provide a list of international organizations from whom it receives funding;

Shenzhen Foundation for International Exchange and Cooperation (China) — as the representative of the United States asked the organization to provide a list of plans, projects and activities for the remainder of 2021 and for 2022;

Silk Road Chamber of International Commerce (China) — as the representative of the United States asked the organization to provide a list of conferences hosted, both online and in person, in 2020 and in 2021, including information about attendees and outcomes;

Social Services Trust (India) — as the representative of Pakistan asked the organization to provide information regarding health projects after the onset of COVID-19.

Interactive Discussion

During a question-and-answer session in the afternoon, two NGO representatives faced questions from Committee members.

The representative of the organization Ilankai Thamil Sangam, Inc. (United States), briefly introducing her group, said its aims include providing a meeting ground for Tamil-speaking people from Sri Lanka living in the United States, promoting Tamil culture among that community; and publicizing facts about the lives and livelihoods of Tamil-speaking people.  Noting that its funds come overwhelmingly from the group’s members, with extremely little overhead, she said its implementing partners are fully vetted and registered, and described a range of its projects and initiatives.

The representative of Pakistan asked whether the organization is still hosting gatherings in-person in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, to which the organization’s representative responded that its recent and upcoming events have all been fully virtual.

The representative of Pakistan then asked which specific Sustainable Development Goals the organization hopes to support as an accredited organization with the Economic and Social Council.  The organization’s representative replied that its focus is on human well-being and economic development, as well as on the human rights of women and children.

The representative of China asked if all the organization’s members are in the United States, or across North America more broadly, to which the group’s representative responded that all her members hail from the United States.  The representative of China then asked a follow-up question about the organization’s membership structure and fees, requesting further clarification.  She also asked the representative to share the exact number of the organization’s “members” and “supporters” and explain how they differ. 

To that question, the organization’s representative noted that fee-paying members and donors are distinct from each other, but both provide financial support.  She added that the organization has about 1,000 members, while the number of supporters varies.

The representative of China then requested the group to provide the Committee with its projected budget for the year 2022, while the representative of Pakistan requested a list of its activities and implementing partners.  As those questions remained outstanding, the organization’s application was deferred until responses are received.

A representative of the organization International We Love You Foundation (United States) said her group promotes the love between mothers and their children, among other core values, and has previously responded to a range of questions posed by the Committee.

The representative of the Russian Federation, pointing out that 100 per cent of the organization’s monthly contributions come from its members, asked the representative whether those contributions are voluntary and how their amount is determined.  

To that, the representative of the organization responded that the monthly contributions are indeed voluntary, including in their amount.

The Russian Federation’s representative then asked why the organization’s administrative expenses are not included in its financial statement, to which the group’s representative responded that while administrative costs are funded by voluntary donations, she can forward more details on that matter to the Committee in writing.

As that question remained outstanding, the organization’s application was deferred until the response is received.

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