DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INFORMATION APPROVES 21 NON-GOVERNMENTAL

ORGANIZATIONS FOR ASSOCIATION

The Department of Public Information (DPI) Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) approved on 20 December the association of 21 NGOs from 12 countries. The NGOs include two from Eastern Europe, three from Latin America, three from the Middle East, seven from North America and six from Western Europe. The organizations represent a diverse range of interests, including human rights, education, children, youth, women, economic and social development, sustainable development and the environment, health care, humanitarian relief, peace and security, road safety, communications, drug rehabilitation, poverty alleviation and assistance to victims of terrorist attacks.

The newly associated organizations conform to the principles of the United Nations Charter, operate solely on a not-for-profit basis and demonstrate a long-standing involvement with United Nations issues. Most important, they have the information programme infrastructure in place to reach a broad audience about the work of the United Nations. This information dissemination capacity is a unique criterion for association with DPI.

Several of the newly associated NGOs focus on programmes to promote education, human rights and humanitarian assistance. The Jane Goodall Institute (United States) concentrates on education, conservation, development and wildlife research. The Armenian Constitutional Rights-Protective Centre (Armenia) provides human rights education to schools throughout Armenia to promote the development of the democratic structures in the country. Small Kindness (United Kingdom) provides humanitarian relief, education and health programmes to victims, especially children, of war.

S.O.S. Attentats (France) aims to help victims of terrorist attacks through class action suits on behalf of their members and is also involved in studies and projects both at the national and international level concerning the health and social effects of terrorist attacks. Fundación Aylen (Argentina) is devoted to the prevention and rehabilitation of drugs and narcotic addiction. The Arab Centre for Strategic Studies (Syria) studies internal development and strategic issues relating to the existing situation in the Arab world and its future at the political, social, economic and security level.

The International Communication Association (United States) concentrates on media, information and technology in developmental communication, as well as research and impact assessment of public information and communication activities. The mission of the Institute for Traffic Care (Netherlands) is to create a more global approach to road safety through collaborative engineering and education to reduce the incidents of road crashes.

Raymond Sommereyns, Chair of the DPI Committee on NGOs and Director of DPI’s Outreach Division, noted that the semi-annual meeting welcomes a new group of highly qualified NGOs to work with the United Nations. “At the same time”, he said, “we are rigorously examining those NGOs that no longer meet the criteria for association with DPI”. A list of disassociated NGOs will be available in February 2003.

Following are the organizations newly associated with DPI, listed alphabetically by region:

-- Eastern Europe: Armenian Constitutional Rights-Protective Centre (Armenia) and International Public Organization Association “Nature and Creation” (Russia);

-- Latin America: Fundación Aylen (Argentina), Núcleo Assistancial à Saúde Amiga (Brazil) and Parceiros Voluntarios (Brazil);

-- Middle East: Arab Centre for Strategic Studies (Syria), Green Front of Iran (Iran) and Iranian Society of Environmentalists (Iran);

-- North America: Center for Partnership Studies (United States), Imamia Medics International (United States), International Communication Association (United States), Jane Goodall Institute (United States), Manhattanville College (United States), Peacemaker Corps Foundation (United States) and Saratoga Foundation (United States);

-- Western Europe: First Week Foundation (Norway), Institute for Traffic Care (Netherlands), Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Italy), Small Kindness (United Kingdom), Society of the Sacred Heart (Italy) and S.O.S. Attentats (France)

The DPI Committee on NGOs also confirmed the association of an NGO, Network Earth Village, which already has received consultative status with the United Nations through its Economic and Social Council.

A total of 29 NGOs were considered for association. The new NGOs bring the number associated with DPI to 1,412.

For further information, please contact the DPI/NGO Section, telephone: (212) 963-6842, email: dpingo@un.org. The directory of NGOs associated with DPI is also available on the DPI/NGO Web site http://www.un.org/dpi/ngosection/.

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