The ECOSOC Committee on NGOs (‘Committee’) closed its 2025 resumed session on 5th June after reviewing 614 NGO applications for consultative status. Of the 258 new and 356 deferred applications from previous sessions, it recommended consultative status for 170 NGOs (an approval rate of 30.8%). While the recommendation for approval rate for new applications remained steady (56.6% vs. 55.8%), it dropped down from 8.9% to 7.3% for deferred applications.
By posing questions to the applicant NGOs under consideration, China accounted for a third of the deferrals at this session, while the United States accounted for nearly half.
© ISHR. All figures are based on ISHR’s in person monitoring of sessions.
Despite already limited opportunities for NGOs to engage with the Committee in-person, the delegation of India proposed further reducing these opportunities for engagement with NGOs from the existing 5 to 3 for future sessions. India further proposed restricting participation by only allowing NGOs that have responded in writing to questions posed by Committee members. This concerning proposal would significantly restrict the already limited opportunities for civil society to engage with the Committee. “Efforts to enhance the Committee’s efficiency must not come at the cost of its very core mandate, which is to ensure meaningful civil society participation at the UN” said ISHR’s Maithili Pai. At a time when civil society engagement at the UN is continually shrinking, inclusivity and access to the Committee are more crucial than ever.
The UN Department for Global Communications (DGCAM) informed the Committee in the middle of the session that due to the ongoing liquidity crisis and budget constraints webcasting would be discontinued, leaving the remainder of the session without webcasting of in-person sessions of the Committee. The unexpected announcement sparked strong concern among Committee members, who questioned the short notice and underscored the importance of webcasting in ensuring transparency. Following their intervention, the DGCAM decided to continue webcasting through the end of the session. It remains unclear whether future sessions will be webcast. Yet for many NGOs that cannot travel to New York, the webcast is the only way to follow the Committee’s proceedings from around the world. “Ensuring continued webcasting of future sessions is essential for transparency, inclusion, and meaningful civil society engagement at the UN in the context of shrinking civil space globally” added Maithili Pai.
As the call for concrete progress continues to grow, discussions by the informal group on improvement of the Committee’s working methods awaited since last year’s ECOSOC decision represent a critical and much needed step forward.
