Open letter to UNGA members ahead of 2022 NGO committee elections

To: Member States of the UN General Assembly

Cc: President of ECOSOC, President of the General Assembly, President of the Human Rights Council, UN Secretary General.

Excellencies:

We are one year out from elections to the ECOSOC Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations for the 2023-2026 term. These elections provide states with a commitment to ensuring civil society access and participation, with the opportunity to stand as candidates for membership. They are also the moment for members of ECOSOC to vote with integrity, ensuring the new membership of its subsidiary body is fit to fulfil its mandate.

To coincide with the 75^th Anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, Member States recently committed to boost partnerships – to make the UN more inclusive and engage with all relevant stakeholders ‘to ensure an effective response to our common challenges’.  In recommending approval of the participation of non-governmental organisations in a range of UN bodies and processes, the Committee on NGOs plays a key role in facilitating such partnerships.  A membership of states committed to fulfilling such a task fairly and judiciously is essential.

With this in mind, we would like to make the following recommendations:

1/ States with an interest in facilitating and safeguarding civil society access to and participation in UN processes should stand for election to the Committee.

2/ Candidates should make public the reasons for their candidacy and their commitment to fulfil their responsibilities as members of the Committee, as per ECOSOC Resolution 1996/31.

3/ All regions should put up competitive slates, as the Asia-Pacific and GRULAC regions did in the last elections for the Committee in 2018.  Competitive elections are important to create buy-in to the process and encourage states to be accountable for their commitments.

4/ All regions should make public candidacies at least two months before the elections to allow for proper consideration of candidates.

5/ All ECOSOC members should vote (and be encouraged to vote) only for candidates with positive track records in regard to civil society access and participation.  Candidates could be assessed in regard to indicators such as support for relevant UN resolutions, such as those on civil society space and human rights defenders; on responses to cases of intimidation and reprisals; and on national level initiatives to safeguard civic space, press freedom – online as offline – and the right to defend human rights.

6/ ECOSOC members should consider introducing term limits for membership of the Committee on NGOs, among other reforms encouraging openness and accountability.  As with other UN bodies, states should be required to leave the Committee for a specific interval of time after serving for a maximum agreed period.  Term limits would encourage greater diversity in membership over time and encourage states to step up as candidates.

The Committee on NGOs is entrusted with an important task in opening the door of the UN to the expertise and experience of civil society partners. It requires members that are committed to fulfilling the Committee’s mandate in a fair, transparent, non-discriminatory, expeditious and apolitical manner. It falls to all member states – as potential candidates and / or electors – to ensure that the Committee membership is fit for purpose.

Yours sincerely,

1. Access Now
2. Alliance for Democracy in Laos
3. Alliance for Equality and Diversity
4. Asian Legal Resource Centre
5. Asociación Española para el Derecho Internacional de los Derechos Humanos
6. Association de Solidarite Aide et Action Enfance Mali-Jiguiya Ton
7. Association for Community Research & Action
8. Association of War Affected Women
9. Bahrain Center for Human Rights
10. Botswana Watch Organization
11. Child Rights International Network
12. CIVICUS
13. Christian Solidarity Worldwide CSW
14. Collectif Sénégalais des Africaines pour la Promotion de l’Education Relative à l’Environnement
15. Colonie des Pionniers du Développement CPD
16. Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
17. DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)
18. Digital Empowerment Foundation
19. Edmund Rice International Ltd.
20. Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities International, Inc.
21. Families of the Missing
22. FIDA Nigeria
23. FOKUS – Forum for Women and Development
24. Freedom Now
25. Global Bersih
26. Global Justice Center
27. Global Peace and Development Organization
28. Graduate Women International
29. Guyana RainBow Foundation (GuyBow)
30. Helpline Foundation for the Needy Abuja
31. HIV Legal Network
32. Human Rights Defenders Network-SL
33. Human Rights House Foundation
34. Human Rights Watch
35. International Alliance of Women
36. International Dalit Solidarity Network
37. International Disability Alliance
38. IFBPW (International Federation of Business and Professional Women)
39. International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF)
40. International Planned Parenthood Federation Western Hemisphere Region (IPPFWHR)
41. International Service for Human Rights
42. Light Organization for Relief and Development Africa (LFORD AFRICA)
43. Jerusalem Center for Women
44. Journalists and Writers Foundation
45. Jubilee Campaign
46. KULU – Women and Development
47. Namibia Diverse Women’s Association
48. Network of Rural Women Producers
49. New Future Foundation
50. Nkomo Organization Inc.
51. Ohaha Family Foundation
52. Omega Research Foundation
53. Outright Action International
54. Pan Pacific and South-East Asia Women’s Association (PPSEAWA)
55. PEPA l’Humanitaire
56. Pleaders of Children and Elderly People at Risk-PEPA/NGO
57. Refugee Council of Australia
58. Sahkar Social Welfare Association
59. Servicios Ecumenicos para Reconciliacion y Recostruccion
60. SERVITAS Cameroon
61. Sisters of Charity Federation
62. South Sudanese Christian Women Mission for Peace
63. Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (RFSU)
64. TRIAL International
65. The Light Millennium
66. Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights
67. Unspoken Smiles Foundation
68. Validity Foundation – Mental Disability Advocacy Centre
69. Visaka Dharmadasa
70. Women4nonviolence
71. World Uyghur Congress
72. Yemeni Institute for Strategic Affairs
73. Yemen Organization for Defending Rights & Democratic Freedoms
74. Zonta International