In its 70th year, ECOSOC continues to be the gateway for civil society organizations to engage with the United Nations. A small but critical number of organizations were present at the founding conference in San Francisco in 1945, and this has expanded to nearly 4,200 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with ECOSOC consultative status.

In a continuation of the process of opening the door to civil society at the UN, the ECOSOC Committee on NGOs recently concluded its 2016 regular session on 16 February. During this session, the Committee reviewed applications from NGOs seeking consultative status with ECOSOC, as well as quadrennial reports from NGOs already in consultative status, which show how they have contributed to the work of the Council during the previous four years.

NGOs in consultative status are eligible to participate in relevant international conferences convened by the United Nations and the meetings of the preparatory bodies of these conferences.

The work of the ECOSOC Committee on NGOs comes at an important time in the long history of the Council’s efforts to engage civil society with the UN’s development and human rights work. An essential principle of the recently adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is the recognition that civil society is a key stakeholder in the implementation, follow-up and review of the Sustainable Development Goals.

NGO participation ensures that diverse voices and perspectives are reflected in a range of dialogues and negotiations, and plays an important role in grounding multilateral discussions in the everyday realities of people. Each year, some 7,000 NGO representatives participate in intergovernmental events at the UN in New York.

The recommendations emerging from this session will be acted upon by ECOSOC at its Coordination and Management meeting in early April. Of the 475 applications for consultative status that were submitted by NGOs at this regular session of the Committee, 206 were recommended for consultative status with ECOSOC and 245 were deferred to the 2016 resumed session in May.

Twenty-three applications were closed without prejudice due to non-responsiveness of applicants. Votes were taken to close the application from the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKKF), and to dispense with a hearing with the KKKF representative at the daily Q & A session.

Of the 451 quadrennial reports from NGOs at the regular session, 361 reports were taken note of and 90 reports were deferred to the resumed session in May. The number of deferred reports is a 50% increase from last year.