The External Affairs Ministry has clarified that India 's vote on June 6 in the UN against a Palestinian NGO Shahed should not in any way be construed as a vote against the Palestinian cause. India had voted in favour of Israel in the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to deny the Palestinian non-governmental organisation 'Shahed' the observer status, after Israel said the organisation did not disclose its ties with Hamas.
The statement is extremely significant in view of the fact that India has traditionally supported an independent Palestine as part of a two-state solution.India has been extremely cautious when it comes to Palestine cause. In 2017, India had expressed its support for " Independent and viable Palestine" when it participated in the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people.
The ECOSOC vote took place at the UN on June 6 where the US, France, Germany, India, Japan, the UK, South Korea and Canada polling in favour of Israel, while China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and others voted against it. The Palestinian NGO 'Shahed' had proposed to obtain observer status in the UN but its proposal was rejected by a 28-14 vote.
Meanwhile, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar stated the vote should not be in any way be construed as a vote against the Palestinian cause.He said that India voted in favour of a proposal which was submitted by Israel at the Economic and Social Council of the UN for further scrutiny by the committee on NGOs. The proposal was submitted by Israel based on information that the NGO allegedly has close contacts with terrorist organisations, he added. Kumar however clarified that the vote was in line with India's position on greater scrutiny by the NGO committee of the consultative status application for possible terrorist linkages and to screen the NGO application with the sanctions list of the UN Security Council before ECOSOC NGO status is granted to them.
Why is it important for an NGO to get ECOSOC status?
It is extremely important for an NGO to get an accreditation with ECOSOC as it helps NGOs to raise a voice at the international forum like UN. UN has recognised the role of civil society and non governmental organisations in raising issues of public concern at the International level. According to UN's Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Civil society and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have already played active roles in shaping 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and will continue to be invaluable partners to implement the goals on the ground.The Department of Economic and Social Affairs stated that one of the major platforms for NGOs to work with the United Nations is through a consultative relationship with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Consultative status is granted by ECOSOC upon recommendation of the ECOSOC Committee on NGOs, which is composed by UN Member States.
Currently, there are 4,862 NGOs from all over the world which enjoy ECOSOC status. These NGOs work in many different areas including education, health, poverty eradication, human rights, gender equality and indigenous issues.
Benefits for NGOs having ECOSOC status?
NGOs accredited with ECOSOC have several benefits. For instance, these NGOs can participate in many events, including, but not limited to regular sessions of ECOSOC, its functional commissions and its other subsidiary bodies. They can
attend official meetings;submit written statements prior to sessions;make oral statements;meet official government delegations, UN officers and other NGO representatives;organize and attend parallel events that take place during the session;participate in debates, interactive dialogues and panel discussions.
Variety of ECOSOC status:
There are three types of consultative status: General, Special and Roster.
General and special status NGOs are required to submit a ‘quadrennial report’ every four years.
