WUNRN
UN CONSULTATIVE STATUS FOR NGO'S -
INFORMATION & APPLICATION
____________________________________________________________________
*Link to Introduction to UN ECOSOC Consultative
Status for NGO's
*Organization Profile - Required to
proceed with Application
*Link for UN ECOSOC NGO
Consultative Status Application
____________________________________________________________________
How
to Apply for Consultative Status
Please
follow the steps below to complete your application for consultative status
online.
1.
Profile registration
Your
organization must have a registered profile before starting the application for
consultative status. Before registering your organization, please check first,
if your organization has not already been included. Many organizations that
have participated in United Nations sponsored conferences have been added to
this database.
The
profile registration will take about 10 minutes. Once completed, your profile
will be reviewed by a substantive officer of our Branch. You will be informed
by email when your registration has been accepted. It might take a few days for
your profile to be approved. Please ensure that you do not submit your profile
more than once.
2.
Online application: Questionnaire + Summary + Supporting Documents
As
the next step, after you are notified that your profile registration was
accepted, your organization has to submit the application, containing the
online questionnaire and summary, and the supporting documents.
The
online application form can only be accepted in the two UN Secretariat working
languages: English and French. All required documents submitted excluding
publications should also be translated in English or French. If a document is
too long, a translated summary may be accepted.
Components
of supporting documents are:
Completed
applications must be received by June 1st of the year before the NGO wishes to
be considered for recommendation by the Committee. For example, complete
applications (which include a completed questionnaire and all the required
supporting documentation) submitted to the NGO Branch by 1 June 2011 will be
taken up by the Committee on NGOs in the year 2012. Applications received
between 2 June 2011 and 1 June 2012 will be taken up in the year 2013.
Login
here to submit your application online.
3.
NGO Branch screening of applications
The
period between 1st June and the date the Committee meets is dedicated by the
NGO Branch to review the applications. During this time the NGO may be
contacted and asked for more information or clarifications. Only after reviewed
by an officer and considered complete, an application is submitted to the NGO
Committee.
When
an application becomes part of the agenda of the NGO Committee a letter is sent
to the NGO informing them of the upcoming session and inviting to send no more
than two representatives to be present during the session. The presence of NGO
representatives in the room is in no way mandatory and it does not imply any
advantages. NGOs simply have the right to be present when their applications
are being considered. Considering the cost involved in traveling to New York
most NGOs do not attend the first time they are being considered. If the
application raises many questions from member countries and gets deferred to
another session, NGOs might consider useful to be present at the following
session in order to be able to reply in person and avoid being deferred again.
Among
other requirements for obtaining consultative status are the following:
4.
The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations
The
Committee meets twice a year to decide which NGOs applying for consultative
status it will recommend to the ECOSOC Council. During its Session, the
Committee may ask questions to the NGO. Such questions are immediately sent to
the NGO by the Secretariat and should be replied by the NGO as fast as possible
in order to help the Committee make a decision and avoid getting deferred to
future sessions.
The
Committee Recommends
The
Committee recommendations are published in a report and submitted to the next
ECOSOC meeting for final approval. Official notification is sent to all
reviewed NGOs, informing them about the Committee's recommendation.
The
Committee may decide to defer an application review until the next session,
pending clarifications and answers to questions asked to the NGO.
5.
ECOSOC Final Decision
When
the Council finally approves the Committee recommendation to grant consultative
status to an NGO, official notification is sent by the Secretariat. NGOs
granted General or Special consultative status must submit to the Committee on
Non-Governmental Organizations, every fourth year, a brief report of their
activities, in particular regarding their contribution to the work of the
United Nations (Quadrennial Report).