I propose to take Questions Nos. 175 and 191 together.
The consultative relationship between non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) is governed by ECOSOC resolution 1996/31, which outlines the eligibility requirements for consultative status; rights and obligations of NGOs in consultative status; procedures for withdrawal or suspension 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 provides NGOs with access to ECOSOC and to its many subsidiary bodies; to the various human rights mechanisms of the United Nations; ad-hoc processes; and special events organised by the President of the General Assembly. Currently 4,862 NGOs, including nine Irish NGOs, hold consultative status with ECOSOC.
International, regional, sub regional and national non-governmental and non-profit, public or voluntary organisations may apply for consultative status. Applications are reviewed by the Committee on NGOs (the Committee), a subsidiary body of ECOSOC, which consists of 19 Member States elected on the basis of equitable geographical representation and which meets twice a year in January and May. Following review, the Committee’s recommendations are forwarded to ECOSOC for decision.
In the course of reviewing an application, the Committee may ask questions or seek clarification from NGOs. This can often result in a delay in the consideration of individual applications, as the application may then be deferred to the next session. In relation the specific organisation referred to by the Deputies, I am told that it first submitted its application in 2016 but, because of repeated requests for further information, no recommendation has yet been made.
In the margins of the last meeting of the Committee, when its application was again deferred, officials of the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations in New York met with representatives of the organisation, who raised the possibility of appealing directly to ECOSOC. This course of action has been pursued in recent years in response to similar difficulties encountered by a number of other NGOs. However, the application must have been rejected by the Committee and, unless ECOSOC decides otherwise, the organisation is then precluded from reapplying for a period of three years. Moreover, the submission of a resolution to ECOSOC seeking to overturn the decision of the Committee carries no guarantee of success.
In the case of the organisation in question, its application has not yet been put to a vote in the Committee and a resolution cannot therefore be brought to ECOSOC at the present time.
It is widely accepted that there is a strong need for significant reform of the United Nations across much of its work and Ireland is committed to supporting Secretary General Guterres in his efforts in this regard. The Committee on NGOs and the current system of determining NGO consultative status is clearly unwieldy and oversubscribed, and its methods of work need to be revisited. While there have been some positive developments recently, including webcasting of the Committee’s deliberations, which has brought welcome transparency to its processes, there is no doubt that the functioning of the Committee could be improved.
On a more general note, I would like to emphasise our appreciation for the valuable role that civil society actors play in holding countries to account for their human rights records and compliance with their international treaty obligations. Their participation enriches the deliberations of human rights bodies and my Department regularly includes representatives of civil society in our national delegations to meetings such as the Commission on the Status of Women.
Civil society space is a key priority for Ireland at the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva. Recognising the shrinking space for civil society worldwide, Ireland has successfully led on resolutions on the creation and maintenance of safe and enabling environments for civil society space since 2013 and we will again present a resolution on this issue at the next meeting of the HRC in June 2018.
