PART VII PARTICIPATION OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS IN
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES CONVENED BY THE UNITED NATIONS AND THEIR
PREPARATORY PROCESS 41.- Where non-governmental organizations have been
invited to participate in an international conference convened by the
United Nations, their accreditation is the prerogative of Member
States, exercised through the respective preparatory committee.
Such accreditation should be preceded by an appropriate process
to determine their eligibility. 42.- Non-governmental organizations in general
consultative status, special consultative status and on the Roster,
that express their wish to attend the relevant international
conferences convened by the United Nations and the meetings of the
preparatory bodies of the said conferences shall as a rule be
accredited for participation. Other non-governmental organizations
wishing to be accredited may apply to the secretariat of the
conference for this purpose in accordance with the following
requirements. 43.- The secretariat of the conference shall be
responsible for the receipt and preliminary evaluation of requests
from non-governmental organizations for accreditation to the
conference and its preparatory process.
In the discharge of its functions, the secretariat of the 44.- All such applications must be accompanied by
information on the competence of the organization and the relevance of
its activities to the work of the conference and its preparatory
committee, with an indication of the particular areas of the
conference agenda and preparations to which such competence and
relevance pertain, and should include, inter alia, the following
information: (a) The purpose of the organization; (b) Information as to the programmes and activities of
the organization in areas relevant to the conference and its
preparatory process and the country or countries in which they are
carried out. Non-governmental organizations seeking accreditation
shall be asked to confirm their interest in the goals and objectives
of the conference; (c) Confirmation of the activities of the organization
at the national, regional or international level; (d) Copies of the annual or other reports of the
organization with financial statements, and a list of financial
sources and contributions, including governmental contributions; (e) A list of members of the governing body of the
organization and their countries of nationality; (f) A description of the membership of the
organization, indicating the total number of members, the names of
organizations that are members and their geographical distribution; (g) A copy of the constitution and/or by-laws of the
organization. 45.- In the evaluation of the relevance of applications
of non-governmental organizations for accreditation to the conference
and its preparatory process, it is agreed that a determination shall
be made based on their background and involvement in the subject areas
of the conference. 46.- The secretariat shall publish and disseminate to
Member States on a periodic basis the updated list of applications
received. Member States
may submit comments on any of the applications on the list 14 days
from receipt of the above-mentioned list by Member States. The
comments of Member States shall be communicated to the
non-governmental organization concerned, which shall have the
opportunity to respond. 47.- In cases where the secretariat believes, on the
basis of the information provided in accordance with the present
resolution, that the organization has established its competence and
the relevance of its activities to the work of the preparatory
committee, it shall recommend to the preparatory committee that the
organization be accredited. In cases where the secretariat does not
recommend the granting of accreditation, it shall make available to
the preparatory committee its reasons for not doing so. The
secretariat should ensure that its recommendations are available to
members of the preparatory committee at least one week prior to the
start of each session. The secretariat must notify such applicants of
the reasons for non-recommendation and provide an opportunity to
respond to objections and furnish additional information as may be
required. 48.- The preparatory committee shall decide on all
recommendations for accreditation within 24 hours after the
recommendations of the secretariat have been taken up by the
preparatory committee in plenary meeting.
In the event of a decision not being taken within this period,
interim accreditation shall be accorded until such time as a decision
is taken. 49.- A non-governmental organization that has been
granted accreditation to attend a session of the preparatory
committee, including related preparatory meetings of regional
commissions, may attend all its future sessions, as well as the
conference itself. 50.- In recognition of the intergovernmental nature of
the conference and its preparatory process, active participation of
non-governmental organizations therein, while welcome, does not entail
a negotiating role. 51.- The non-governmental organizations accredited to
the international conference may be given, in accordance with
established United Nations practice and at the discretion of the
chairperson and the consent of the body concerned, an opportunity to
briefly address the preparatory committee and the conference in
plenary meetings and their subsidiary bodies.
52.- Non-governmental organizations accredited to the
conference may make written presentations during the preparatory
process in the official languages of the United Nations as they deem
appropriate. Those
written presentations shall not be issued as official documents except
in accordance with United Nations rules of procedure. 53.- Non-governmental organizations without
consultative status that participate in international conferences and
wish to obtain consultative status later on should apply through the
normal procedures established under Council resolution 1296 (XLIV) as
updated. Recognizing the
importance of the participation of non-governmental organizations that
attend a conference in the follow-up process, the Committee on
Non-Governmental Organizations, in considering their application,
shall draw upon the documents already submitted by that organization
for accreditation to the conference and any additional information
submitted by the non-governmental organization supporting its
interest, relevance and capacity to contribute to the implementation
phase. The Committee
shall review such applications as expeditiously as possible so as to
allow participation of the respective organization in the
implementation phase of the conference.
In the interim, the Economic and Social Council shall decide on
the participation of non-governmental organizations accredited to an
international conference in the work of the relevant functional
commission on the follow-up to and implementation of that conference. 54.- The suspension and withdrawal of the accreditation
of non-governmental organizations to United Nations international
conferences at all stages shall be guided by the relevant provisions
of the present resolution. |