United Nations NGO Branch

Introduction to ECOSOC Consultative Status

The first venue by which non-governmental organizations took a role in formal UN deliberations was through the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). 41 NGOs were granted consultativestatus by the council in 1946; by 1992 more that 700 NGOs had attained consultative statusand the number has been steadily increasing ever since to 3,400 organizations today.

Article 71 of the UN Charter opened the door providing for suitable arrangements for consultationwith non-governmental organizations. The consultative relationship with ECOSOC is governedtoday by ECOSOC resolution 1996/31, which outlines the eligibility requirements for consultativestatus, rights and obligations of NGOs in consultative status, procedures for the withdrawal orsuspension of consultative status, the role and functions of the ECOSOC Committee on NGOs,and the responsibilities of the UN Secretariat in supporting the consultative relationship.

Consultative status is granted by ECOSOC upon recommendation of the ECOSOC Committeeon NGOs, which is comprised of 19 Member States.

Who is Eligible?

Consultative relationships may be established with international, regional, sub regionalandnational non-governmental, non-profit public or voluntary organizations. NGOs affiliated toan international organization already in status may be admitted provided that they can demonstratethat their programme of work is of direct relevance to the aims and purposes of the United Nations.In the case of national organizations consultation with the Member State concerned is required.

To be eligible for consultative status, an NGO must have been in existence (officially recognized by a government) for at least two years, must have an established headquarters, a democratically adopted constitution, authority to speak for its members, a representative structure, appropriate mechanisms of accountability and democratic and transparent decision-making processes. The basic resources of the organization must bederived in the main part from contributions of the national affiliates or other components or from individual members.

Organizations established by governments or intergovernmental agreements are not considered NGOs.

General, Special and Roster status

There are three categories of status: General consultative status, Special consultative status andRoster status.

General consultative status is reserved for large international NGOs whose area of work coversmost of the issues on the agenda of ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies. These tend to be fairly large,established international NGOs with a broad geographical reach.

Special consultative status is granted to NGOs which have a special competence in, and areconcerned specifically with, only a few of the fields of activity covered by the ECOSOC.These NGOs tend to be smaller and more recently established.

Organizations that apply for consultative status but do not fit in any of the other categoriesare usually included in the Roster. These NGOs tend to have a rather narrow and/or technical focus.NGOs that have formal status with other UN bodies or specialized agencies (FAO, ILO, UNCTAD,UNESCO, UNIDO, WHO and others), can be included on the ECOSOC Roster. The roster lists NGOsthat ECOSOC or the UN Secretary-General considers can make "occasional and useful contributionsto the work of the Council or its subsidiary bodies."

Participation in International Conferences

Non-governmental organizations in general consultative status, special consultative status and onthe Roster, that express their wish to attend the relevant international conferences convened bythe United Nations and the meetings of the preparatory bodies of the said conferences shall asa rule be accredited for participation. Other non-governmental organizations wishing to beaccredited may apply to the secretariat of the conference for this purpose.