INGOs and UN ECOSOC

An INGO cannot vote at the United Nations, sponsor a resolution, or sit in the Security Council chamber. Yet thousands of them sit in the room next door, formally recognised, allowed to speak, and read by the officials who draft UN policy — because of a single, specific relationship this topic is about: ECOSOC consultative status. It is the one formal bridge the UN system builds between itself and the non-governmental world.

In two minutes

The relationship between INGOs and the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is formalised through consultative status, granted under Article 71 of the UN Charter and governed by ECOSOC Resolution 1996/31, which lets recognised INGOs attend meetings and contribute to ECOSOC’s work without giving them any vote.

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