WUNRN
UN
NGO Branch
Department
of Economic and Social Affairs
HOW TO
APPLY FOR UN NGO ECOSOC 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.
· Add your organizational
profile
· Login here with your
existing profile
· Click here if you are not
sure if your organization already has a profile
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:
· Copy of
constitution/charter and/or statutes/by-laws and amendments to those documents
(pursuant to paragraph 10 of ECOSOC resolution 1996/31).
· Copy of
certificate of registration. According to resolution 1996/31 an organization
"should attest that it has been in existence for at least two years as at
the date of receipt of the application by the Secretariat". Please provide
a copy of the registration paper or, if your country does not require
registration, please provide other proof of existence.
· Copy of
most recent financial statement and annual report.
· Optional:
Copy of examples of your publications and recent articles or statements.
· Optional:
Organization chart (if available).
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 2014 will be
taken up by the Committee on NGOs in the year 2015. Applications received
between 2 June 2014 and 1 June 2015 will be taken up in the year 2016.
Login here to
submit your application online.
· Click on
the Consultative Status tab to start filling out the application form.
· Supporting
documents can be uploaded by using the Documents tab.
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:
· Applying
organization's activities must be relevant to the work of ECOSOC;
· The NGO
must have been in existence (officially registered) for at least 2 years in
order to apply;
· The NGO
must have a democratic decision making mechanism;
· The major
portion of the organization's funds should be derived from contributions from
national affiliates, individual members, or other non-governmental components.
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 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).