UN NGO Consultative Status – Basic Facts & Process
Author: Womens UN Report Network
Date: December 12, 2011
WUNRN
NGO
Branch – UN Department of Economic & Social Affairs
UN
ECOSOC NGO CONSULTATIVE STATUS – BASIC FACTS
Basic facts about ECOSOC UN NGO status
- Consultative status provides NGOs with access to not
only ECOSOC, but also to its many subsidiary bodies, to the various human
rights mechanisms of the United Nations, ad-hoc processes on small arms,
as well as special events organized by the President of the General
Assembly. See News and Events for samples.
- Currently 3,536 NGOs enjoy consultative status with
ECOSOC. See
list, PDF.
- ECOSOC accreditation is separate and distinct
from NGOs who are associated the UN Department of Public Information
(DPI). These organizations generally have far fewer privileges to
participate in intergovernmental meetings of the United Nations. See list
of DPI-associated NGOs as of September 2011 here. See
website here.
- You can sort and review all NGOs with ECOSOC
consultative status in an online database. Access
the database here.
- There are three types of consultative status: General,
Special and Roster. Most new accreditations are in the Special category.
- General and special status NGOs are required to submit
a ‘quadrennial report’ every four years. Learn more.
- The Committee on NGOs reviews new applications for
consultative status twice a year, in January (‘regular session’) and in
May (‘resumed session’).
- The Committee does not decide but recommends.
These recommendations, contained in one report each of the January and May
session, are reviewed by ECOSOC in July every year. See past reports here.
- In most cases, ECOSOC decides to approve the
recommendations. In very rare cases, it does not.
- The deadline for applications is 31 May of the year
before the Committee reviews the application.
- Therefore the next deadline for new applications is 31
May 2012. The Committee will review those applications in 2013.
- Annually some 400 organizations apply for consultative
status. On average between 100 and 150 applications are recommended by the
Committee in each of its two sessions per year.
- Roughly one-third of all new recommendations are
recommended by the Committee immediately. Two-thirds are deferred to the
next session of the Committee. Most applications get approved within two
or three sessions of the Committee.
Download our new brochure “Working with ECOSOC – an NGOs Guide to
Consultative Status” here:
(Full PDF, 4.3 MB)
| (Low-Res PDF,
0.9 MB)
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