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The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published an extremely valuable and user-friendly Handbook for NGOs in 2006: Working with OHCHR, A Handbook for NGOs.

The Handbook provides information on how to use the UN human rights system and address human rights violations. OHCHR is about to publish an updated and expanded version of the Handbook, which we will link to as soon as it is made available.

General information

How are NGOs accredited by ECOSOC?

Article 71 of the Charter of the United Nations sets out the legal basis for the participation of NGOs at the United Nations and empowers ECOSOC to ‘make suitable arrangements for consultation with non-governmental organizations which are concerned with matters within its competence’. ECOSOC has elaborated on the principles to be applied to these 'consultative arrangements' and the rights of participation of NGOs that are granted consultative status in Resolution 1996/31.

Resolution 1996/31 creates three categories for NGOs with different rights of participation for each category. These categories are based on the type of NGO, its membership, and the extent to which their activities are related to the work of ECOSOC (referred to as ‘the Council’ in the text of the Resolution):

1. General consultative status – NGOs that are ‘concerned with most of the activities of the Council and its subsidiary bodies … and are closely involved with the economic and social life of the peoples of the areas they represent and whose membership, which should be considerable, is broadly representative of major segments of society in a large number of countries in different regions of the world’ are eligible for ‘general consultative status’ with ECOSOC. There were 136 NGOs with general consultative status in 2005.
2. Special consultative status – NGOs that ‘have a special competence in, and are concerned specifically with, only a few of the fields of activity covered by the Council and its subsidiary bodies, and that are known within the fields for which they have or seek consultative status’ are eligible for ‘special consultative status’ with ECOSOC. There were 1,639 NGOs with special consultative status in 2005.
3. NGOs on the Roster – NGOs that do not fit the requirements for general or special consultative status but which ECOSOC or the UN Secretary-General ‘considers can make occasional and useful contributions to the work of the Council or its subsidiary bodies or other United Nations bodies’ can be included in a list, known as 'the Roster'. They are known as 'NGOs on the Roster'. NGOs in this category generally have a very specialised or technical focus in their work, and include NGOs that have a formal status with UN specialised agencies, such as the World Health Organization (WHO). There were 944 NGOs on the Roster in 2005.

NGOs with general or special consultative status can designate authorised representatives to attend public meetings of ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies, while those on the Roster can designate representatives to attend meetings related to their area of work. NGOs with general or special consultative status can make oral statements at meetings, and NGOs in all three categories can submit written statements.

The Resolution also sets out additional criteria for eligibility. NGOs wishing to be accredited in any of the three categories have to submit applications to the ECOSOC Committee on NGOs. The Committee, made up of 19 State representatives, reviews applications annually and forwards a list of NGOs recommended for accreditation for final approval to ECOSOC. The consultative status of NGOs can be withdrawn, or suspended, if the organisation abuses its status, receives funds from criminal activities, or does not make any positive or effective contribution to the work of the UN within any three-year period. NGOs also have to submit ‘quadrennial reports’, a brief report submitted every four years, on their activities and contribution to the work of the UN. The accreditation process has been criticised because of the ability of governments to block and grant applications for political reasons, and because it is costly and resource intensive.

Further reading

For more information about NGO participation in the Council, see the OHCHR website.  

The ISHR Handbook A New Chapter for Human Rights: A handbook on issues of transition from the Commission on Human Rights to the Human Rights Council also discussed these issues in chapter 7 and is available here.