WUNRN
ISHR – International Service for Human Rights
http://www.ishr.ch/news/getting-past-gatekeeper-practical-guide-un-committee-ngos
Direct Link to Full 96-Page 2015 Publication:
http://www.ishr.ch/sites/default/files/article/files/ishr_ngo_handbook_eng_web.pdf
UN ECOSOC Committee – Practical Guide for NGO’s
“GETTING BEYOND THE GATEKEEPER” – TO OBTAIN UN ECOSOC NGO CONSULTATIVE STATUS
22.04.2015
- ISHR
is pleased to launch today its Practical Guide to the UN Committee on NGOs (esta publicación también
está disponible en español) - an essential resource for all
non-governmental organisations looking to 'get past the gatekeeper' and obtain
UN consultative status as a means to engage effectively with its human
rights system.
The UN Committee on NGOs is the body through
which all NGO applications for Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
accreditation with the UN human rights system must pass. This Committee is one
of the least transparent and accountable bodies in the UN. ISHR has witnessed
first-hand the difficulties that many human rights organisations face in navigating
this process.
This handbook is a response to an intense
need for information and explanations about decision-making in the Committee
and the overall process of obtaining ECOSOC accreditation. Scores of NGOs have
requested ISHR for help with the application and review process. Others have
approached ISHR in cases when the NGO has been accused of infraction and is
faced with losing or having its status suspended. We receive questions
regularly on, among others, filling out the application for accreditation,
appearing in front of the Committee, managing constant delays and deferrals of
an application, and how to respond to cases of blatant reprisals.
The handbook provides logistical
information, strategic advice, and guidance to human rights organisations that
wish to obtain UN consultative status. The first chapter provides an overview
of accreditation options with the UN, with a focus on obtaining consultative
status with ECOSOC. The second and third chapters provide information on the
application and review process. Chapter IV dives into the political dynamics in
the Committee, while Chapter V provides advice for those NGOs whose
applications are constantly deferred. Chapter VI covers key obligations for
NGOs once consultative status is received, and highlights the disciplinary
sanctions if requirements are contravened.
The effective and active participation of
NGOs in the UN human rights bodies and mechanisms is instrumental to the
system's functioning and integrity. NGOs have played a major role in the Human
Rights Council and former Commission on Human Rights. They have been essential
in the creation of international instruments, the approval of resolutions, and
the creation of special procedures, among other advances. This body of work has
been produced on the basis of first-hand information and testimonies, which
only civil society can provide.
This handbook is a small contribution to assist those NGOs that
wish to participate in the work of the UN. Without them, the UN human rights
system would simply no longer function.