Viet Nam Observer Objects to NGO with ‘Dark Aims, Ill Will and Illegal Acts’,
Following Consensus Decision by Committee; In All, 128 Groups Referred to Council
The non-governmental
organization Kmer Kampuchea-Krom Federation is utterly unqualified to be
granted consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, the
Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations heard today as it began the
process of winding down its 2012 resumed session.
Begun on 21 May, the
session recommended a total of 128 non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
for consultative status with the Council, Kmer Kampuchea-Krom among
them. “With its dark aims, ill will and illegal acts, it would not
contribute to the work of the Council but would bring serious damage to
the reputation of the Committee and ECOSOC and disruption to their
work,” said the representative of Viet Nam who addressed the Committee
as an observer concerning its 22 May decision to recommend special
consultative status for the organization.
He accused the
organization of having carried out many politically motivated acts such
as slandering, inciting and undermining the national unity of Viet
Nam. He said those actions violated Economic and Social Council
resolution 1996/31, which provides that an NGO granted consultative
status must not engage in unsubstantiated or politically motivated acts
against States Members of the United Nations incompatible with the
purposes and principles of the Charter.
Describing the Kmer
Kampuchea-Krom Federation as a “foreign-based” organization that did not
represent the ethnic Kmer people in Viet Nam but instead advocated and
promoted secession in the territory of Viet Nam, the representative
urged the members of the Committee to take appropriate action to prevent
it from getting the status it sought with the Council.
Several representatives
took the floor to explain that they had not had full information at the
time they had made the decision to recommend the organization and
promised to support the request by Viet Nam when the matter came
before the Council. Among them, the representative of the Russian
Federation, who said that any NGO that submitted a request to the
Committee should “absolutely” meet the requirements of the relevant
resolutions. If its activities did not fit or were not in line with the
United Nations Charter, then it should not be granted status. Cuba’s
delegate similarly pledged support for the request when the matter came
up in the Council, while Venezuela’s speaker said the Committee should
receive the necessary information from Member States when considering
applications.
On the other hand,
however, the representative of the United States said that, while she
had listened carefully to the information presented by the
representative of Viet Nam, she did not believe that it was
appropriate for the Council to overturn a consensus decision that had
been made by the Committee. Her country had looked very closely at the
information presented by the organization in its application and that
was why it had joined the decision to recommend it.
Also today, the Committee
recommended the removal of 22 organizations from consideration for
failing, after three reminders, to respond to questions from the
Committee, after their applications had been deferred.
The Committee also
approved proposed dates for its 2013 session. The regular session would
take place from 21 to 30 January and then on 8 February, while the
resumed session would be convened from 20 to 30 May and on 7 June.
Of the 128 organizations
for consultative status with the Economic and Social Council during its
current resumed 2012 session, 126 were recommended for special
consultative status and two for roster status. The recommended
applicants included 70 new ones and 58 that were deferred from previous
sessions of the Committee.
Their areas of interest
cut across regions and included such fields as health care, HIV/AIDS
treatment and prevention, space exploration, indigenous issues,
agricultural development, humanitarian affairs, conflict prevention,
religious affairs, sports, model United Nations and sustainable
livelihood.
In addition: rural
women’s empowerment, post-conflict Somalia, private-sector promotion in
developing countries, support for peace and tolerance education among
youth, participation in civic life in the context of Jewish values and
American pluralism, poverty reduction among the elderly in Nigeria, and
poverty eradication among people with disabilities in the Pacific
region.
Also throughout the
session, the Committee reviewed scores of quadrennial reports from NGOs,
recommended several reclassifications, and took note of name change
requests, as well as requests for the withdrawal or reinstatement of
consultative status. In other actions, it voted to block the proposed
closure of an application for consultative status of an organization
alleged to have terrorist ties, giving the NGO a chance to respond to
those concerns.
The Committee will meet again on 8 June to adopt its report.
Background
The Committee on
Non-Governmental Organizations met today to continue its consideration
of new applications for consultative status and new requests for
reclassification and to also take up other matters related to the review
of the work of the Committee as it continued its resumed 2012 session.
Removal of Organizations from Committee Consideration
The Committee first took
up the question of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) whose
applications had been deferred but which had not responded to questions
from the Committee despite three reminders. It recommended that all
22 organizations be removed from the list under consideration by the
Committee.
The representative of Pakistan and China made procedural statements.
Special Consultative Status
The Committee then heard a statement by the representative of Viet Nam
who spoke as an observer concerning the Committee’s decision on 22 May
to recommend special consultative status for the organization Kmer
Kampuchea-Krom Federation.
The representative told
the Committee that non-governmental organizations had become important
actors in people’s lives, both at the national and international levels
and that the nearly 1,000 foreign NGOs working in his country
contributed to mutual understanding and to its socio-economic
development. Viet Nam, however, wanted to officially register its
protest over the application for consultative status by the Kmer
Kampuchea-Krom Federation. Its stated aim of seeking freedom and
justice for the Khmer people in Viet Nam constituted a grave offence
to a sacred national value of the Vietnamese people. The Vietnamese
nation was a family of 54 ethnic groups, including Kmers, living
together for generations in one whole territory in unity and mutual
assistance in the cause of national construction and defence. Without
national unity, the Vietnamese people would not have been able to
overcome the many daunting trials in the country’s history. The
Constitution prohibited all acts of ethnic discrimination and the State
implemented a policy of inclusive development.
The Kmer Kampuchea-Krom
Federation, he said, was a foreign-based organization, which did not
represent the ethnic Kmer people in Viet Nam, but advocated and
promoted secession in the territory of Viet Nam, as revealed in the
NGO’s official website. Statements made by its leaders inciting the
establishment of an independent country and a government for the ethnic
Kmer people in Viet Nam advanced Kmer Kampuchea-Krom Federation’s dark
politically motivated objectives. That was a serious violation of the
spirit, purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, including
the principle of respecting the territorial integrity and political
independence of States. That was also a serious violation of paragraphs
2 and 57 of Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31.
Additionally, he said, the
organization had carried out many politically motivated acts such as
slandering, inciting and undermining the national unity of Viet Nam.
Those acts violated paragraph 57(a) of resolution 1996/31, which
provided that to have a consultative status with the Council, a
non-governmental organization must not engage in unsubstantiated or
politically motivated acts against Member States of the United Nations
incompatible with the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
The NGO was utterly unqualified for consultative status with the
Council. With its dark aims, ill will and illegal acts, it would not
contribute to that body’s work, but would bring serious damage to its
reputation and to that of the Committee, and disruption to their work.
He, therefore, urged Committee members to take appropriate action to
prevent the organization from getting consultative status with the
Council.
The representative of Pakistan
regretted that the Committee members had not been aware of the facts
presented before taking decision on the application. He had taken due
note of the statement and of the specific allegations of secessionist
activities of the organization in Viet Nam. That information would be
sent to his capital, and Viet Nam’s request would receive due and
careful consideration, which would enable Pakistan to take appropriate
action in the Economic and Social Council.
The representative of Cuba
said that she had also taken note of the statement. The Committee had
not had all the necessary information at the time a decision was taken.
Cuba supported the request by Viet Nam to present the matter to the
Economic and Social Council and would act appropriately on the matter in
that forum.
The representative of the Russian Federation
said that any organization that submitted a request to the Committee
should absolutely meet the requirements of the relevant resolutions. If
its activities did not fit or were not in line with the United Nations
Charter, then that organization should not have the status it
requested. His country would be acting on that basis when the Council
acted on the application.
The representative of India
welcomed the new information presented by the Vietnamese delegation and
said that his country would support Viet Nam’s position on the matter
in the Council, where, he believed, the appropriate decision would be
taken.
The representative of Venezuela
said that she had taken note of the information provided by Viet
Nam and stressed that the Committee should be able to receive
information from Member States to help it reach decisions on
applications. Viet Nam could count on Venezuela’s support when the
Council took action.
The representative Nicaragua similarly welcomed the information and agreed it would be important when the Council took a decision.
The representative of the United States
said she had looked very closely at the information presented by the
organization in its application and that was why the delegation had
joined the consensual decision to recommend granting it status. Her
delegation had also carefully listened to the information presented by
the representative of Viet Nam. The United States did not believe
that it was appropriate for the Council to overturn the consensus
decision made by the Committee.
The representative Turkey
said that he had taken due account of the objection by Viet Nam and
that that objection would be communicated to his capital. Turkey was
sure that the Council would take the new facts into account when making
its decision.
Tentative Summary
Chairman MARIA PAVLOVA TZOTZORKOVA ( Bulgaria)
informed the Committee that tentative results of the session showed
that 128 organizations were recommended to be granted status by the
Economic and Social Council, including 126 for special consultative
status and two for roster status. The status of 75 organizations had
been withdrawn and those of 208 others had been suspended for
non-submission of quadrennial reports.
The Committee then turned
its attention to its provisional agenda and documentation for the 2013
session. Ms. Tzotzorkova informed the members that the proposed dates
for the 2013 regular session were from 21 to 30 January and on
8 February, while those for the resumed session were from 20 to 30 May
and on 7 June.
The Committee approved the proposed dates for the 2013 session.
Next, Committee Rapporteur, YONI ISH-HURWITZ ( Israel)
introduced the Committee’s report, explaining that it was still in
“skeleton form”, but that the substantive details would be entered in
time for the Committee’s 8 June meeting. Committee members would be
notified about informal consultations, which were set to take place
early next week, to finalize that report.
The representative of Turkey said his country was only concerned with certain issues, which were known and which he wanted underlined.
Committee Chairman TZOTZORKOVA ( Bulgaria) then suspended the resumed session and adjourned the meeting. Originally posted at un.org
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