India has joined countries with “abusive governments” such as China and Russia to vote against a draft resolution by the US that recommended that six human rights groups, blocked for years in the United Nations’ NGO Committee, be granted special consultative status at the UN Economic and Social Council.
At the meeting of the 54-member Economic and Social Council (Ecosoc), the Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations recommended 203 groups for special consultative status.
However, six other NGOs, including the foundation that runs Wikipedia, were added to the list in a draft proposed by the US, which in turn led to a call for a recorded vote, according to the UN.
A report on the UN website said the draft resolution on the list of NGOs to receive consultative status with the Council, presented by the US delegate, “caused a brief stir”.
The draft resolution, sponsored by 36 countries, recommended six additional NGOs to the list proposed by the Committee. It was adopted by 23 votes in favour, with China, India, Kazakhstan, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Russia and Zimbabwe voting against and 18 abstentions.
The Council decided to grant special consultative status to Diakonia, Inimoiguste Instituut, National Human Rights Civic Association Belarusian Helsinki Committee, Non Ce Pace Senza Giustizia, Syrian American Medical Society Foundation and the Wikimedia Foundation Inc.
The US delegate said these organisations had been waiting for years to obtain non-government status and repeatedly answered questions from members of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations.
Supporters of the amended resolution defended the right of the six organisations to make their voices heard at the UN. Others pointed to those organisations having political or, as stated by Israel’s delegate, even terrorist affiliations, the report said.
Several member states criticised the approach of submitting the request directly to the Council on the ground that it was a manoeuvre to circumvent the Committee.
The report added that the Indian representative, explaining the position after the vote, highlighted the key role of the Committee, which has a clear mandate. The procedure is transparent, he said, cautioning against any deviation from it.
The Ecosoc lies at the heart of the UN system to advance the three dimensions of sustainable development — economic, social and environmental — according to its website. It is the central platform for fostering debate and innovative thinking, forging consensus on ways forward, and coordinating efforts to achieve internationally agreed goals. It is also responsible for the follow-up to major UN conferences and summits.
The Human Rights Watch welcomed the Ecosoc approval for UN accreditation for the six human rights groups “that have been blocked for years in the UN’s NGO Committee”.
Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement that the decision to grant UN accreditation to six human rights groups was a step in the right direction.
“But it’s only a fraction of the hundreds of organisations whose applications have been unfairly blocked for years by Russia, China and other abusive governments,” he said.
“Rights-respecting countries should push for an urgent overhaul of the UN’s accreditation process for non-governmental organisations and put a stop to efforts to silence human rights activists at the UN.”
