Non-Governmental Organizations Committee Takes Note of Nearly 400 Quadrennial Reports, Postpones Action on Several Others
On the seventh day of its 2018 regular session, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations today took note of 394 quadrennial reports from various organizations, while postponing action on several other reports after members of the body requested additional information from their respective applicant groups.
Following questions and comments from the representatives of Cuba and Sudan, the Committee also postponed action on a request from the Social Service Agency of the Protestant Church in Germany to maintain its consultative status following its merger in 2012 with the Protestant Development Service to form the Protestant Agency for Diakonie and Development.
In addition, delegations discussed working methods and conducted an interactive dialogue with representatives of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. and the Global Forum for Media Development.
The 19‑member Committee considers applications for consultative status and requests for reclassification submitted by non‑governmental organizations. Once an application has been reviewed and approved by the Committee it is considered recommended for consultative status. Organizations which were granted general and special status can attend meetings of the Council and issue statements, while those with general status can also speak during meetings and propose agenda items. Organizations with roster status can only attend meetings.
The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 7 February, to continue its session.
Merger Requests
The Committee first considered a request for the Social Service Agency of the Protestant Church in Germany to maintain its consultative status following its merger in 2012 with the Protestant Development Service to form the Protestant Agency for Diakonie and Development (Germany).
The representative of Cuba requested clarification of that organization’s relationship with Brot für die Welt and its activities and partners in Latin America. The representative of Sudan said the organization did not use maps recognized by the United Nations, including those of his country, and asked for that to be corrected.
Review of Quadrennial Reports
The Committee then took note of new quadrennial reports for the period 2013 to 2016 containing submissions by the following non-governmental organizations:
Report E/C.2/2018/2: 15 non-governmental organizations: Action Solidaire pour un Développement Entretenu à la Base; Action internationale pour la paix et le développement dans la région des Grands Lacs; African Artists for Development; African Women's Association; Agence Internationale pour le Developpement; Amis des Etrangers au Togo; Association Internationale des Medecins pour la Promotion de l'Education et de la Santé en Afrique; Association Mauritanienne pour la santé de la mère et de l'enfant; Association Points-Coeur; Association Sénégalaise pour la promotion des énergies renouvelables "KokkiEnergie"; Association camerounaise pour la prise en charge de la personne agée; Association d'Aide à l'Education de l'Enfant Handicapé; Association of African Women for Research and Development; Association pour l'action sociale et le développement; and Association pour la Promotion de la Lutte Contre les Violences faites aux Femmes et la Participation au Développement de la Femme africaine.
Report E/C.2/2018/2/Add.1: 15 non-governmental organizations: Association Togolaise d'Etude de Recherche et d'Appui au Développement Humain Durable; Autre Vie; Benin Environment and Education Society; Carre Geo et Environnement; Centre Africain de Recherche Industrielle; Centre National d’Information sur les Droits des Femmes et des Familles; Centres d’Accueil de l’Espoir, Les; Comité français des organisations non gouvernementales pour la liaison et l'information des Nations Unies; Federation Europeenne des Centres de Recherche et d'Information sur le Sectarisme; Femmes Autochtones du Quebec, Inc./ Quebec Native Women, Inc.; Fondation Surgir; Fondation pour la Promotion de la Sante et le Developpement de la Recherche; Fondation pour les Etudes et Recherches sur le Développement International; Genève pour les droits de l’homme : formation internationale; and Institute for Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding.
Report E/C.2/2018/2/Add.2: 16 non-governmental organizations: Archbishop E. Kataliko Actions for Africa; Association Culturelle D'aide à la Promotion Éducative et Sociale; Association de Solidarite Aide et Action Enfance Mali "ASAA/EM Jigiya Ton"; Centre d'études diplomatiques et stratégiques; International Movement for Fraternal Union among Races and Peoples; International Organization for the Right to Education and Freedom of Education; Le Collectif des Femmes Africaines du Hainaut; Les rencontres du Mont-Blanc - Forum international de l'économie sociale / The Mont-Blanc Meetings - International Forum of the social economy; Organisation Mondiale des associations pour l'éducation prénatale; Organisation de defense de l'environnement au Burundi; Organisation des Laics Engagés du Sacré-Coeur pour le Développement de Kimbondo; Regards de Femmes; Reporters Sans Frontiers International — Reporters Without Borders International; Rescue and Hope; Villes de France; and Yelen.
Regarding Reporters Sans Frontiers International — Reporters Without Borders International, the representative of China requested elaboration of the group’s contribution to the universal periodic review of the United Kingdom.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.7: 15 non-governmental organizations: ADALAH — Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel; AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition; AUA Americas Chapter Inc.; Abdul Momen Khan Memorial Foundation; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation Family Violence Prevention and Legal Service; Academy for Mobilizing Rural-Urban Action through Education; Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy; Adolescent Health and Information Projects; Adventist Development and Relief Agency; Advocates for Youth; African Citizens Development Foundation; Agrenska Foundation (Grosshandlare Axel H. Agrens Donationsfond); Albert Schweitzer Institute; All India Movement for Seva; and All-China Environment Federation.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.8: 15 non-governmental organizations: Alliance Creative Community Project; Almanar Voluntary Organization; Alsalam Foundation; American Association of Jurists; American Bar Association; American Diabetes Association, Inc.; American Heart Association, Inc.; American Jewish Committee; American Society of the Italian Legions of Merit; Amuta for NGO Responsibility; Arab African American Womens' Leadership Council Inc.; Arab Mexican Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Civil Association; Asia-Pacific Human Rights Information Center; Asociacion Gilberto AC; and Center for Reproductive Rights, Inc.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.9: 15 non-governmental organizations: Asociacion de Antiguas Alumnas del Colegio Madres Irlandesas; Asociación Nacional Cívica Femenina; Association for Citizen's Tolerance and Cooperation; Association for Protection of Refugee and Internal Displaced Women and Children; Association for Women's Career Development in Hungary; Association for Women's Rights in Development; Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East of the Russian Federation; Association of the Bar of the City of New York; Associazione Amici dei Bambini; Associazione Casa Famiglia Rosetta; Asylum Access; Auspice Stella; Australian Catholic Social Justice Council; Australian Lesbian Medical Association; and Centre For Climate Change and Environmental Study.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.10: 15 non-governmental organizations: B.A.B.E. — Be Active, Be Emancipated; Bangladesh Mahila Parishad; Barinu Institute For Economic Development; Büro zur Umsetzung von Gleichbehandlung e.V.; COBASE — Cooperativa Tecnico Scientifica di Base; Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies; Cameroon Youths and Students Forum for Peace; Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict; Canadian Council of Churches; Canadian Voice of Women for Peace; Catolicas Por El Derecho A Decidir; Caucasian Feminist Initiative; Center for Inquiry; Center for Migration Studies of New York; and Center for Practice-Oriented Feminist Science.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.11: 15 non-governmental organizations: Centre for Community Economics and Development, Consultants Society; Centro Integrado de Estudos e Programas de Desenvolvimento Sustentável; Centro Mexico de Derecho Ambiental, A.C.; Centro Nazionale di Prevenzione e Difesa Sociale; Centro Panafricano Kituo Cha Wanafrika; Centro Regional de Derechos Humanos y Justicia de Genero; Centro de Investigacion Social, Formacion y Estudios de la Mujer; Chaithanya Samskarika Vedi Chennayangaloor P.O.; Charity Foundation for Special Diseases; Child Foundation; Children of a Better Time; China Arms Control and Disarmament Association; China Family Planning Association; China Soong Ching Ling Foundation; and the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.12: 15 non-governmental organizations: Christian Children's Fund; Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants; Coalition Against Trafficking in Women; Commission on Voluntary Service and Action Inc.; Community Emergency Response Initiative; Community Youth Network Program; Congregation of Our Lady of Mount Carmel — Carmelite NGO; Consortium for Street Children; Consumers International; Contact Base; Coordinadora Andina de Organizaciones Indígenas; Cork Forest Conservation Alliance; Corporacion Colombia Unida por el Respeto al Adulto Mayor/Corporation Colombia United for the Respect of the Elder; Corporación Centro de Estudios de Derecho Justicia y Sociedad; and Corporación Red Nacional de Mujeres Comunales, Comunitarias, Indígenas y Campesinas de la República de Colombia.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.13: 15 non-governmental organizations: Corporate Accountability International; Corporativa de Fundaciones AC; D.A.R.E. America (Drug Abuse Resistance Education); Deutsches Komitee für UN Women e.V.; Doha International Family Institute; Dui Hua Foundation; Earthquakes and Megacities Initiative; EastWest Institute; Eastern Alliance for Safe and Sustainable Transport; English International Association of Lund (Sweden); Equality Now; Equitas centre international d’education aux droits humains; European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights; European Solidarity Towards Equal Participation of People; and Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Regarding Equality Now, the representative of Cuba requested information on the group’s activities vis-à-vis sustainable development.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.14: 15 non-governmental organizations: Family Educational Services Foundation; Family and Life; Farmers Educational and Cooperative Union of America; Fazaldad Human Rights Institute; Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas; Federation of Cuban Women; Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine; Felix Varela Center; Feminenza Kenya; Feminist League; Fondazione Opera Campana dei Caduti; Fondazione San Patrignano; Forum of Women's NGOs of Kyrgyzstan; Foundation for Autism Support and Training; and Foundation for Preventing Youth Violence.
Regarding the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine, the representative of the Russian Federation requested clarification of its joint activities with the with the International Federation of Trade Unions and of activities undertaken regarding the rights of workers.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.15: 15 non-governmental organizations: Foundation for Responsible Media; Freann Financial Services Limited; Friends of ISTAR; Fundacion Intervida; Fundacion de Ayuda y Promocion de las Culturas Indigenas Rosa Collelldevall; Fundación Familias Monoparentales Isadora Duncan; Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo; General Arab Women Federation; Geopolitikai Tanács Közhasznú Alapítvány; Gherush92 — Committee for Human Rights; Global Environmental Action; Global Foundation for Democracy and Development, Inc.; Global Health And Awareness Research Foundation; Global Helping to Advance Women and Children; and Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.16: 15 non-governmental organizations: Global Political Trends Center; Global Race Against Poverty and HIV/AIDS in Nigeria; Global Welfare Association; Global Youth Action Network; Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Council of North and South America; Green Cross International; Habitat International Coalition; Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America, Inc; Haiti Mission; Halley Movement For Social and Community Development; HEDA Resource Centre; Homosexuelle Initiative Wien; Hong Kong Women Professionals and Entrepreneurs Association; Human Rights Watch; and Human Security Initiative Organization.
Regarding Habitat International Coalition, the representative of Azerbaijan requested information on changes to its organizational membership structure, including a list of its current members.
Regarding Human Rights Watch, the representative of China requested more information on the expansion of its scope of work on several thematic issues, including health and the environment.
Regarding Homosexuelle Initiative Wien, the representative of Mauritania asked if that organization conducted activities outside Europe, and if so, could it provide a list of those activities and explain how it contributed to them.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.17: 15 non-governmental organizations: Ilitha Labantu; Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society; Indian Dreams Foundation; Indigenous World Association; Inga Foundation; Initiatives of Change International; Innu Council of Nitassinan (Innu Nation); Institute for Practical Idealism; Institute for Security Studies; Institute of Cultural Affairs International; Integrated Care Society; Inter-American Housing Union; Inter-Faith Vision Foundation Cameroon; International Academy of Architecture; and International Air Transport Association.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.18: 15 non-governmental organizations: International Association for Advancement of Space Safety; International Association of Applied Psychology; International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics; International Association of University Presidents; International Commission of Jurists; International Confederation of Christian Family Movements; International Council For Caring Communities, Inc.; International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment; International Council for the Day of Vesak; International Council of Management Consulting Institutes, Inc.; International Development Enterprises (India); International Federation of Building and Wood Workers; International Federation of Journalists; International Federation of Non-governmental Organizations for the Prevention of Drug and Substance Abuse; and International Federation of Women in Legal Careers.
Regarding the International Federation of Journalists, the representative of China requested details about the composition of that entity’s gender council.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.19: 15 non-governmental organizations: International Institute of Administrative Sciences; International Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Sciences; International Press Institute; International Peace and Development Organization; International Road Transport Union; International Seafood Sustainability Foundation, Inc.; International Social Science Council; International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics; International Union of Parents and Teachers; International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs; International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations; Iranian Elite Research Center; Iraqi al-Mortaqa Foundation for Human Development; Islamic Relief; and Italian Centre of Solidarity.
Regarding the International Press Institute, the representative of China requested that that organization’s website, which referred to Taiwan as a nation, be corrected.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.20: 15 non-governmental organizations: Japan Asia Cultural Exchanges; Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights; Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society; Jordanian Women Union; Kevoy Community Development Institute; KinderEnergy Inc.; Korea Women's Associations United; Korean Council for Local Agenda 21; Korean Foundation for World Aid; Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees; Latin American and Caribbean Continental Organization of Students; Law Association for Asia and the Pacific; Lawyers for Lawyers; Lawyers' Rights Watch Canada; and League of Kenya Women Voters.
Regarding Lawyers for Lawyers, the representative of Pakistan, requested that the organization provide information on any partnerships or collaborations with other governmental and non-governmental organizations.
Regarding the Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights, the representative of India requested a list of the group’s activities which contributed to work of the Council and its subsidiary body.
Regarding Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada, the representative of Azerbaijan requested more details on the group’s specific contributions to environmental sustainability and climate change.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.21: 15 non-governmental organizations: League of Women Voters of the United States; Lift up Care Foundation; Living Bread International Church Inc.; MINBYUN — Lawyers for a Democratic Society; Mama Zimbi Foundation; Marie Stopes International; Mata Amritanandamayi Math; Mbororo Social and Cultural Development Association; Mexican Foundation for Family Planning; Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life Inc. Education Fund; MIROSLAVA International Alliance; Modern Advocacy, Humanitarian, Social and Rehabilitation Association; Montage Initiative, Inc.; Mosaic; and Narcotics Anonymous World Services.
Regarding MIROSLAVA International Alliance, the representative of the Russian Federation enquired about the views of those in Ukraine who did not wish for Euro-Atlantic integration, including North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) structures, but favoured strengthening relations with the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.22: 15 non-governmental organizations: Global NeuroCare; International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations; National Association of Cuban Economists; National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials; National Council of Women of Malta; National Council on Family Relations; National Union of Jurists of Cuba; National Youth Council of Russia; Negev Coexistence Forum; Netherlands Association of Women’s Interests, Women’s Work and Equal Citizenship; Network for Women's Rights in Ghana; New Humanity; New Zealand Family Planning Association, Inc.; Nigerian Institute of Homeopathy; and Nonviolence International.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.23: 15 non-governmental organizations: Nour Foundation; Observatorio Regional para la Mujer de América Latina y el Caribe; Omega Research Foundation Limited; Open City International Foundation, Inc.; Open Society Institute; Organisation Internationale pour la Sécurité des Transactions Electroniques; Osservatorio per la Comunicazione Culturale e l'Audiovisivo nel Mediterraneo e nel Mondo; Outreach Social Care Project; Oxfam GB; Pan Pacific and South East Asia Women's Association; Partnership Africa Canada; Passionists International; Pasumai Thaayagam Foundation; Pathways to Peace; and Pax Romana.
Regarding Open Society Institute, the representative of Cuba asked for information about the organization’s activities in, or related to, Latin America. The representative of the Russian Federation said it was an organization that belonged to George Soros whose activities in the Russian Federation were undesirable. He asked what activities and projects were being carried out with relation to Ukraine, before, during and after the events in that country in late 2013 and early 2014.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.24: 15 non-governmental organizations: Peace Corps of Nigeria; Peace Worldwide; Penal Reform International; People with Disability Australia, Inc.; People’s Development Initiatives; Pitirim Sorokin - Nikolai Kondratieff International Institute; Population Media Center, Inc.; Project Kesher; Qatar Charitable Society; Reach Out to Asia; Reforestamos México, A.C.; Refugee Council of Australia; Regional Public Charitable Organization "Drug Abuse Prevention Centre"; Registered Trustees of Pastoralists Indigenous Non-Governmental Trust; and Rehabilitation Engineering Society of North America.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.25: 14 non-governmental organizations: Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary; Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights; Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung — Gesellschaftsanalyse und Politische Bildung e.V.; Rotary International; Rural Health Care Foundation; Sadguru Sadafaldeo Vihangam Yoga Sansthan; Save the Children International; Scholars at Risk Network; Science of Spirituality, Inc.; Shushilan; Sign of Hope e.V. — Hoffnungszeichen; Simply Help, Inc.; Sisters Inside Inc.; and Sisters of Charity Federation.
Regarding Scholars at Risk Network, the representative of Pakistan requested information on the group’s work relating to refugees and migrants
Regarding Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung — Gesellschaftsanalyse und Politische Bildung e.V., the representative of Turkey requested a full list of the organization’s publications during the reporting period, segregated by theme and year, and further information on the group’s activities vis-à-vis the peace and security pillar of the United Nations.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.26: 15 non-governmental organizations: Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur; Society for International Development; Society for Threatened Peoples; Society of Iranian Women Advocating Sustainable Development of Environment; Society to Support Children Suffering from Cancer; Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland Limited; Stichting Both ENDS; Stichting Coalition for Work with Psychotrauma and Peace; Strategic Humanitarian Services; Summer Institute of Linguistics; Suomen YK-liitto Ry; Support Home of God Project; Support for Women in Agriculture and Environment; Susila Dharma International Association; and Tarumitra.
Regarding the Society for Threatened Peoples, the representative of China requested more information on that organization’s contribution to the work of the United Nations during the reporting period.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.27: 15 non-governmental organizations: The BARKA Foundation, Inc.; The Catholic Health Association of India; The Institute of Economic Strategies; The Leprosy Mission International; The Rockefeller Foundation; The Society For The Policing of Cyberspace; Track Impunity Always/Association suisse contre l'impunite; Treasureland Health Builders; U.S. Federation for Middle East Peace, Inc.; UNANIMA International; Under The Same Sun Fund; Union Syndicale des Agriculteurs; Union of Arab Jurists; Union of Ibero American Capitals — Intermunicipal Financial and Economic Centre for Advice and Co-Operation; and Unitarian Universalist Association.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.28: 15 non-governmental organizations: Unitarian Universalist Service Committee; United Nations Association of New Zealand Incorporated; United Nations Association of Mauritius; United for Intercultural Action; Unión de Asociaciones Familiares; Verein Sudwind Entwicklungspolitik; Vida y Familia de Guadalajara A.C.; Vietnam Peace and Development Foundation; Virtue Foundation; Volontariato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo; Water Safety Initiative Foundation; WaterAid; Wellesley Centers for Women; Widows Rights International; and Women Awareness Center Nepal.
Regarding Verein Sudwind Entwicklungspolitik, the representative of Iran requested more details about that group’s activities during the reporting period relating to the establishment of a just world economic order.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.29: 15 non-governmental organizations: Women Environmental Programme; Women and Memory Forum; Women for Women International; Women in Dialog; Women's Bar Association of the State of New York; Women's Board Educational Cooperation Society; Women's Centre for Legal Aid and Counseling; Women's Federation for World Peace International; Women's International Democratic Federation; Women's Learning Partnership for Rights, Development and Peace; Women's Missionary Society of the African Methodist Episcopal Church; World Association of Former United Nations Interns and Fellows; World Evangelical Alliance; World Faith Inc.; and World Family of Radio Maria NGO.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.30: 15 non-governmental organizations: World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations; World Hepatitis Alliance; World Kabaddi Federation; World Public Forum — Dialogue of Civilizations; World Russian People’s Council; World Stroke Organization; World Union of Small and Medium Enterprises; World Water Council; Yoga in Daily Life USA; Yogaathma Foundation; Young Naturalist Network; Young Power in Social Action; Youth Alliance for Leadership and Development in Africa; Youth Awareness and Guidance Organisation, Agbarha-Otor; and Youth Net and Counselling.
Report E/C.2/2018/CRP.31: 6 non-governmental organizations: Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative; Youth Path Organisation; Youth for a Child In Christ; Zenab for Women in Development, Inc.; Zonta International; and Zoï Environment Network.
Regarding the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, the representative of India asked about that organization’s participation in activities organized by the Council or its subsidiary bodies during the reporting period.
In addition, the Committee took note of the quadrennial report for the 2011‑2014 reporting period from the International Eurasia Press Fund, contained in report E/C.2/2018/CRP.32.
Next, the Committee took note of the following deferred quadrennial reports submitted by non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Council, contained in document E/C.2/2018/CRP.4: American Psychological Association 2012-2015; Amnesty International 2008-2011 and 2012-2015; British Overseas NGOs for Development 2012-2015; CIVICUS — World Alliance for Citizen Participation 2012-2015; Centrist Democratic International 1998-2001, 2002-2005, 2006-2009 and 2012-2015; Christian Conference of Asia 2012-2015; Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches 2012-2015; Conscience and Peace Tax International 2011-2014; International Commission of Jurists 2009-2012; Federacion de Asociaciones de Defensa y Promocion de los Derechos Humanos 2012-2015; Heritage Foundation 2011-2014; International Social Service 2011-2014; Iraqi Development Organization 2012-2015; Nonviolent Peaceforce 2011-2014; and Physicians for Human Rights 2011-2014.
Committee members posed questions related to a number of the reports on that list.
Regarding the 2012-2015 report of the American Psychological Association, the representative of Turkey requested further information on that organization’s advocacy and outreach activities in support of the United Nations development agenda.
Regarding the 2008-2011 report of Amnesty International, the representative of China asked that the organization elaborate on its contribution to special procedures, treaty bodies and universal periodic review during the reporting period.
Regarding the 2012-2015 report of Amnesty International, the representative of China requested that the group elaborate on the advocacy meetings it conducted with Governments to promote its recommendations.
Regarding the 2006-2009 report of Centrist Democratic International, the representative of Cuba requested information about the organization’s activities during the reporting period and what contributions it made, particularly with regard to events organized by the National Democratic Institute.
Regarding the 2010-2013 report of Centrist Democratic International, the representative of Cuba requested details about that organization’s youth programme.
Regarding the 2012-2015 report of the Christian Conference of Asia 2012‑2015, the representative of Azerbaijan requested information about the activities the group carried out in collaboration with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) during the reporting period.
Regarding the 2012-2015 report of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches, the representative of Turkey asked for details of the organization’s disarmament-related activities, including a campaign relating to the Arms Trade Treaty.
Regarding the 2012-2015 report of the Federacion de Asociaciones de Defensa y Promocion de los Derechos Humanos, the representative of Nicaragua requested a list of the projects that it undertook with its new members.
Regarding the 2011-2014 report of the Heritage Foundation, the representative of Cuba requested a list of the organization’s public events and publications.
Interactive Dialogue
The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. representative said the organization sought to contribute to the goals of the United Nations and engage with partners worldwide on such issues as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, peacekeeping and migration. Its fundamental positions included respect for human rights, the dignity of others and equality for all human beings. Its articles were subject to a vetting process, the nature of which depended on where they would be published, he explained, adding — with regard to its activities in Latin America — that it had no long-term agreement in the last five years with either the National Democratic Institute or Freedom House. He added that information on its programmes dealing with democracy and the rule of law could be found on its website, and emphasized how important it would be for the organization’s work to be granted consultative status.
The representative of Cuba, recalling that the group had 50 members, asked for more details about the organization’s editorial vetting process and its position vis-à-vis principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter, including the sovereignty of States. He also asked what the organization, in its constitution, meant by training talented young people who had “suitable character attributes”.
Responding, the organization’s representative said he would answer those questions in writing. He added, however, that the 50-plus members of the foundation did not engage in the editorial vetting process.
The representative of Cuba asked for more information about the organization’s sources of income.
The representative of the Russian Federation requested more information about the group’s activities in Turkey in the early 2000s, as well as in Belarus.
Responding, the organization’s representative emphasized that it received funding from the Germany Parliament and not the German Government. That was an important distinction, he said.
The Committee then postponed consideration of the organization pending further information.
The representative of the Global Forum for Media Development said his organization comprised 190 national, regional and international non-governmental organizations working in the field of media development, including journalism training, media law and public access to information. Emphasizing that it had been seeking consultative status since 2015, he said its main activity in 2017 concerned Sustainable Development Goal 16 regarding public access to information, the implementation of which was being monitored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Countries in Latin America were more advanced in the area of public access to information than those in North America and Europe, he said, adding that his organization’s work had included training programmes, webinars, conferences and written materials.
The representative of Iran said he had noticed discrepancies between the group’s application and its website about its funding.
Responding, the representative said there was no discrepancy, but perhaps a lack of clarity. Core activities were almost entirely funded by member dues and voluntary donations. A relatively small number of projects done as a group were covered by other organizations which had provided grants over the past 5 to 10 years.
The representative of the Russian Federation asked how the organization intended to defend journalists and the free flow of information in Western Europe and the United States, and not just in Turkey or the Philippines. He also inquired about funding from the National Endowment for Democracy.
Responding, the group’s representative said it was neither an advocacy group nor free speech group, but a journalism training organization. It did not defend or attack the positions or policies or actions of any Government anywhere. Its member groups “absolutely” worked in Europe and North America.
The Committee then postponed consideration of the organization pending further information.