United Nations, July 23: India, along with six others, voted against a draft resolution presented by the United States recommending six human rights groups, blocked for years in the UN NGO Committee, to obtain special consultative status in the Council. economic and social issues of the United Nations.

At the meeting of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), made up of 54 members, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations recommended special advisory status to 203 groups.

However, six other non-governmental organizations, including the foundation that runs Wikipedia, were added to the list in a draft proposed by the United States, which, in turn, led to a registered vote call, according to the UN.

A report on the UN website states that the draft resolution on the list of non-governmental organizations receiving consultative status in the Council, presented by the US delegate, “caused a brief stir.”

The draft resolution, sponsored by a total of 36 countries, recommended six additional non-governmental organizations to the list proposed by the Committee. It was adopted with 23 votes in favor, China, India, Kazakhstan, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Russia and Zimbabwe voting against and 18 abstentions.

The Council decided to grant Diakonia special consultative status; Inimoiguste Institute; National Human Rights Association “Helsinki Belarusian Committee”; There is no peace without justice; Foundation of the American Syrian Medical Society; and Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.

The US delegate stressed that those organizations had been waiting for years for non-governmental status and repeatedly answered questions from members of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations.

Supporters of the amended resolution defended the right of the six organizations to have their voices heard in the United Nations. Others pointed to those organizations that have political affiliations or, as the Israeli delegate claimed, even terrorist, the report said.

Several members of the Member States criticized the approach of submitting the request directly to the Council as it was a maneuver to circumvent the Committee.

The report adds that the representative of India, in explaining the position after the vote, highlighted the key role of the Committee, which has a clear mandate. The procedure is transparent, he said, warning against any deviation from it.

Human Rights Watch welcomed ECOSOC approval for UN accreditation for the six human rights groups “which have been locked in the UN NGO Committee for years.”

Louis Charbonneau, UN director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement that the decision to grant UN accreditation to six human rights groups is a step in the right direction.

“But it is only a fraction of the hundreds of organizations whose applications have been unfairly blocked for years by Russia, China and other abusive governments. Countries that respect rights should push for an urgent review of the UN accreditation process for non-governmental organizations and end efforts to silence human rights activists at the United Nations. “-Agencies