Conslutative status and accreditation

Having "consultative status" means that an NGO has obtained the right to take part in a process of consultation with a certain international organisation. "Consultation" is different from "participation": States have a right to "participation" (either as voting members or as observers), while NGOs can obtain a right to "consultation". Taking part in a process of consultation allows NGO representatives to express their views on issues discussed in conferences and meetings or to place items on their agenda, but without giving them a right to vote, nor other privileges that states enjoy. This means for instance that the time for NGO oral statements may be shorter, or space for NGO written statements may be smaller than it is for states or international organisations. Nevertheless, "consultative status" allows NGOs to have their say in a meeting.

There are different arrangements for consultative status with different organisations; obtaining consultative status for a NGO with one organisation does not automatically assure consultative status with a different institution. Consultative status must be requested with each organisation separately.

1. UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC): ECOSOC grants 3 different statuses for NGOs: General and Special consultative status, as well as inclusion on the so-called "Roster". These statuses allow NGOs to participate in meetings of ECOSOC and its subsidiary organs.
   For more information on ECOSOC consultative status see the website of the NGO Branch and the one of UNOG
   For questions regarding ECOSOC consultative status contact the NGO Liaison Office of the UNOG (see also NGO liaison offices for more details)



2. International Labour Organisation (ILO): The ILO grants 3 different statuses for NGOs: (1) General Consultative Status for NGOs working on a wide range of issues relevant to ILO, (2) Regional Consultative Status for NGOs working on a wide range of issues relevant to ILO in a particular region, and (3) inclusion on the Special List of Non-Governmental International Organizations for NGOs which share ILO's principles but do not work on employer-worker topics. In addition, NGOs may benefit from punctual invitations to certain meetings.
   For more information see the website of ilo and their nformation note for NGOs.



3. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD): UNCTAD grants "observer status" to NGOs with special competences in relevant issues, which allows NGOs to have their voice heard through written and oral statements within the Conference, the Trade and Development Board and its subsidiary bodies.
   For more information on the observer status consult the website of UNCTAD
   For information about other ways of cooperation with UNCTAD, see this section of the UNCTAD website



4. World Meteorological Organisation (WMO): "consultative status" and other forms of cooperation



5. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO): FAO grants a formal status to NGOs that may take three forms, depending on the the importance of the NGO's activities in relation to the activities of FAO: (1) consultative status, (2) specialised consultative status, and (3) liaison status. This formal status creates a partnership relation between the NGO and the FAO and allows for the NGO's participation in FAO Governing Bodies and Technical Committees as an observer. FAO also works with various civil society organisations in the field, without any formal status being required.
   For more information on the FAO's cooperation with civil society, see the FAO website.

The UN Department of Public Information (DPI) offers a partnership agreement called "association". NGOs associated with DPI disseminate information on issues on the UN’s agenda and the work of the Organisation. They should therby reinforce the knowledge about the UN and contribute to a better understanding of the work and aims of the organisation. Association with DPI requires NGOs to have effective information programmes in place and to have the ability to disseminate information about the work of the United Nations.

For further information about DPI association, please consult the DPI website.
Information on the procedure to follow to obtain DPI association is available here .
Contact details of the DPI are available here

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of the main organs of the UN. ECOSOC operates under the authority of the UN General Assembly and is composed of 54 members elected by the General Assembly. Its aim is to coordinate the economic and social work within the UN and its specialized agencies and institutions.

ECOSOC webiste

NGOs can participate in meetings of ECOSOC and its subsidiary organs after having obtained consultative status with ECOSOC. There are three types of consultative status: General, Special and Roster.

For more information on ECOSOC consultative status see www.un.org/esa/coordination/ngo and www.unog.ch/ngo

For questions regarding ECOSOC consultative status contact the NGO Liaison Office of the UNOG (see also NGO liaison offices for more details)

NGOs with consultative status at ECOSOC can participate in meetings of ECOSOC and its subsidiary organs. The Human Rights Commission used to be a subsidiary organ of ECOSOC. The Human Rights Council has replaced the Human Rights Commission and is no longer a part of ECOSOC, but the procedure of allowing NGO participation in the Human Rights Council through ECOSOC consultative status has been maintained.

ECOSOC consultative status thus allows your NGO's representatives to be accredited for different meetings of ECOSOC and its subsidiary organs, as well as for the meetings of the Human Rights Council.

More information on consultative status on: www.un.org/esa/coordination/ngo/about.htm

A NGO must fulfill certain conditions to obtain ECOSOC status. First of all, the NGO must have been existing for at least two years and its existence must be officially registered with the appropriate government authorities. It is also necessary to have official headquarters, a democratically adopted constitution, a representative authorised to speak in the name of the NGO and a transparent accountancy mechanism. Finally, the NGO's activities must be relevant to the work of ECOSOC.

For further information, please consult the website of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs on www.un.org/esa/coordination/ngo/ or contact Ricardo Espinosa at the NGO Liaison Office of UNOG.

NGOs wishing to apply for ECOSOC consultatif status need to follow the following procedure: first the NGO must submit a letter of intent to the NGO Section of the Department of Economic and Socials Affairs(DESA). This letter should be written on headed paper and signed by the NGO's president. Once the NGO Section receives the letter of intent, it will send an application package to the NGO, including a questionnaire and all necessary instructions to continue the procedure (this application form is also available for download). With its application, the NGO must provide all information required, and in particular:

• - fill-in the questionnaire;
• - submit an activity report;
• - present its charter/constitution;
• - present its statutes by law;
• - present its certificate of registration;
• - present its most recent financial reports;
• - supply samples of its publications samples, if applicable.

The application, when completed and handed-in, will be examined by the ECOSOC Committee on NGOs. This Committee will then submit its recommendations to ECOSOC, which will take the final decision.

Applications are only accepted in English and French. Applications handed-in before 1st of June 2010 will be taken up by the Committee on NGOs during 2011, those sent in before 1st of June 2010 will be examined in 2011 and so on. It is thus a very long procedure!

For further informations, please consult www.un.org/esa/coordination/ngo/
or contact Ricardo Espinosa at the NGO Liaison Office of UNOG.

Accreditations are permissions which allow NGO representatives to participate actively in the UN's work. NGO representatives can get accreditations for conferences, special meetings or other events organised within the UN and its affiliated organisations and programmes. NGO representatives can also get a one year accreditation to attend to the whole of the UN's work in Geneva.

Yes, an NGO has to ask for an accreditation even if it already has ECOSOC status. Accreditation and ECOSOC status are two different things and require different procedures, yet the latter is often the condition for the former.

Two types of accreditation exist;

• - Temporary accreditations linked to a specific conference
• - Annual accreditations delivered by the NGO Liaison Office of UNOG.

The former are delivered by the secretariat of the conference and allow NGOs to send their representants to this specific conference only.

The latter are delivered for one year by the NGO Liaison Office of UNOG. To get an annual accreditation, an NGO must fulfill certain conditions. First of all, it must have ECOSOC consultative status (see below). Every year, the NGO can then designate persons to represent it at the Offices of the United Nations. The number of representatives cannot exceed 7 persons. Exceptionally temporary passes for a maximum duration of two months non-renewable can also be issued to additional representatives.

For further informations, please consult the "accreditation" section of UNOG and "General Principles on Accreditation of NGO Representatives"

For temporary accreditations, you need to contact the secretariat of the conference your ONG wishes to participate in. For an accreditation request to a session of the Human Rights Council, for instance, you would have to contact the Secretariat of the Human Rights Council. More on this particular case ise available in the section "accreditation for sessions of the Human Rights Council".

For annual accreditations, NGOs with the ECOSOC Status must designate their representatives to UN. Therefore they are required to fill in the "Form for Designating NGO Representatives to ECOSOC" . The form must be typed or printed legibly and sent to theNGO Liaison Office of UNOG. The NGO must also send copies of this accreditation form to the NGO Liaison Office of UN in New York, to the NGO Liaison Office of UN in Vienna and to every designated representative.

These accreditations are issued for one year, and they are valid from the day they are issued until the end of the same year. To receive their badge, designated representatives must appear in person with a valid photo ID card to the Pass and Security Office at the main entrance of the UN Building in Geneva (Pregny Gate). Designated representatives must also provide a copy of the "Form for Designating NGO Representatives to ECOSOC" with their name on it at the time they retrieve the accreditation badge.

There is no deadline to retrieve a badge, it can be done just before a conference.

Once you are in Geneva, go to the ‘Pregny Gate’ of the Palais des Nations / UN building (next to the ‘Appia’ stop of bus number 8). Take with you a valid identity document as well as a copy of your accreditation request. The security personal will then issue a badge for the duration of the session.

Badges can be picked up from 2 pm. of the working day preceding the first day of a session.

Be aware that on the first day of a session, many people will be picking up their badges. You may thus have to calculate 30 to 90 minutes of queue time.