Amplifying the voices of civil society

Established in 1946, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) is a standing committee of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). It is the main gateway for NGOs, as representatives of civil society, to have a voice at the United Nations. The Committee is composed of 19 Member States and operates in accordance with ECOSOC resolution 1996/31. 

Through its two reports—one from the regular session held at the end of January and one from the resumed session in May— the Committee conveys its recommendations to the Council regarding the granting of consultative status to NGOs. As of 31 December 2024, 6,468 NGOs hold active consultative status with ECOSOC. 

The 2025 regular session of the Committee on NGOs is currently underway, taking place from 20 to 24 January, 30 to 31 January and on 3 and 11 February. During this session, the Committee is reviewing a considerable number of applications and quadrennial reports submitted by NGOs, including 213 new applications for consultative status and 326 applications that were deferred from previous sessions. 

In addition to these applications, the Committee is also considering 500 new quadrennial reports by NGOs in status on their activities, as well as 131 quadrennial reports that were deferred from earlier sessions. 

Due to the significant rise in the number of organizations applying for consultative status, as well as those already holding consultative status with ECOSOC, the number of new applications has increased fivefold from 143 in 2009 to 845 in 2023, while the number of quadrennial reports has surged nearly sixfold from 202 to 1,215. 

To efficiently manage this growing workload and improve effectiveness, the Committee on NGOs adopted a decision titled "Improving the Work of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations" (Decision 2024/342) during its resumed session in 2024. Approved by the ECOSOC Management Segment in July 2024, this decision seeks to reform the NGO Committee's working methods to allow it to more effectively fulfill its mandate.

For more information: The Committee on NGOs

Photo credit: UN Photo/Mark Garten