AIDS Action Europe is among 349 organizations who signed an open letter to all the UN Member States urging them to vote constructively in the upcoming elections to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations for the 2023-2026 term.
The open letter is coordinated by the International Service for Human Rights and is a part of a campaign to reform the UN Committee responsible for granting accreditation rights to NGOs. The letter states the importance and responsibility of an ECOSOC Member's role, as well as the necessity for the member to be committed to fulfilling the Committee’s mandate in a fair, transparent, non-discriminatory, expeditious and apolitical manner.
The UN Committee on NGOs (ECOSOC Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations) is the UN body responsible for deciding which NGOs get accredited with the UN; accreditation gives NGOs the opportunity to make statements, organize events and lobby on resolutions at the United Nations. The 19 elected Members of the Committee represent member states and then serve as gatekeepers for the civil society's access to the United Nation. Past experience has shown that some organizations cannot get accredited for years and they are stop from participating in the UN meetings.
