LONG ISLAND, NY, July 23, 2018. Children’s Hope India (CHI), which helps underprivileged children progress from poverty to prosperity giving them a chance for a brighter future, was granted Special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in May 2018. Consultative status enables an organization to actively engage with ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies, as well as with the United Nations Secretariat, programs, funds and agencies.
To be eligible for consultative status, “an NGO must have been in existence (officially recognized by a government) for at least two years, must have an established headquarters, a democratically-adopted constitution, authority to speak for its members, a representative structure, appropriate mechanisms of accountability and democratic and transparent decision-making processes. The basic resources of the organization must be derived mainly from contributions of the national affiliates or other components or from individual members.†(UN’s NGO Branch, Department of Economic and Social Affairs).
Special consultative status provides CHI with access to decision-makers at the highest international level. The organization can have its voice heard through its ability to deliver written and oral statements on subjects in which CHI has special competence, to hold side events and collaborative conferences at the UN, and to consult with Member States and the UN system at large (including seeking expert information or advice from organizations with special competence in a subject matter).
Decades of experience partnering with local grassroots organizations in India will enable CHI to provide valuable insight to ECOSOC, and its Commission for Social Development in particular. The organization has strong ties to NGO leaders and a solid understanding of the needs of impoverished children and families in both urban and rural communities in India. CHI’s focus will be to support the work of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) whose 2030 agenda places priorities on unemployment among youth, enhancing social protections, and gender equality and women’s empowerment.
“CHI is honored to receive this status which will enable us to share the 25 years of work on the ground in slum communities in India. We look forward to interacting with organizations with a similar mission to strengthen work that CHI is currently doing,†said Dina Pahlajani, M.D., President of Children’s Hope India.
For more information on Children’s Hope India, please contact Karen Flyer, Executive Director of Children’s Hope India, at [email protected] or 516-500-7CHI.
About UN ECOSOC Status:
The first venue by which non-governmental organizations took a role in formal UN deliberations was through the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). In 1945, 41 NGOs were granted consultative status by the council; by 1992 more than 700 NGOs had attained consultative status and the number has been steadily increasing ever since.
Article 71 of the UN Charter opened the door by providing suitable arrangements for consultations with non-governmental organizations. The consultative relationship with ECOSOC is governed by ECOSOC resolution 1996/31, which outlines the eligibility requirements for consultative status, rights and obligations of NGOs in consultative status, procedures for withdrawal or suspension of consultative status, the role and functions of the ECOSOC Committee on NGOs, and the responsibilities of the United Nations Secretariat in supporting the consultative relationship.
Consultative status is granted by ECOSOC upon recommendation of the Committee on NGOs, which is composed by 19 Member States.
About Children's Hope India:
More than two decades ago, Children's Hope India started as a small group of women professionals hoping to make a difference in the lives of disadvantaged children. Now in 2018, Children's Hope India has over 22 projects across several cities in India and the New York Metropolitan Area, and has impacted over 300,000 children by looking after their health, education and vocational training.
The focus of Children’s Hope India is the ‘whole’ child and providing all the tools a child needs to progress from poverty to prosperity with a cradle to career approach. Since 2015 alone, CHI has allocated over $1.5 million to programs in several cities in India and additional ones in the New York metro area. We are expanding access to education to enrich and empower children for life in the 21st century. As we have embarked on several grass-root projects, we will continue to work towards an inclusive and resilient development agenda and will show the active role that Children’s Hope India, can play in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
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