The structure of the UN human rights system (2001) SECURITY COUNCIL GENERAL ASSEMBLY Secretary-General ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL Secretariat INT. COURT OF JUSTICE United Nations System Other Subsidiary bodies Commission on Crime Prevention & Criminal Justice High Commissioner for Human Rights Int. Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia Humanitarian Trust Funds Int. Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Human Rights Field Presences Commission on the status of Women Treaty-monitoring bodies (Conventional mechanisms) Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) Human Rights Committee (HRT) Committee against Torture (CAT) Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Racial Discrimination (CERD) Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Country and Thematic Special Rapporteurs (Extra-Conventional mechanisms) Commission on Human Rights Working Groups Technical Cooperation Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights Working Groups Special Committee on Israeli Practices in Occupied Territories SOURCE: HTTP://WWW.UNHCHR.CH/HTML/MENU6/2/MINORITIES/PAM1.DOC COPYRIGHT: 2001, OFFICE OF THE UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND. • putting political and public pressure on governments to live up to their obligations under the human rights instruments; and • lobbying for more effective implementation of existing standards and mechanisms, and for the creation of new ones. To attend most UN meetings, NGOs need to have consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). This ECOSOC status has been granted to over 2,400 NGOs worldwide. It is possible to participate in a few UN meetings (such as the Working Group on Minorities) without ECOSOC status; however, the vast majority of meetings are only open to ECOSOCaccredited NGOs. You may be able to find an international NGO willing to accredit representatives of other NGOs to attend UN meetings; however, if your NGO wishes to work regularly with the UN system, it is probably worth applying for ECOSOC status. The application can be a long and complicated process but as the case of RADDHO shows (see case study), the benefits of ECOSOC accreditation make this worthwhile. For more information on eligibility criteria for application and the application process, see Annex 6.2. The UN has a huge number of procedures that can be used. However, financial and staffing constraints will mean that NGOs need to choose the mechanisms that MINORITY RIGHTS: A GUIDE TO UNITED NATIONS PROCEDURES AND INSTITUTIONS will be the most effective for their particular objective. Often the most effective strategy is to select a few different mechanisms to target at the same time in order to increase the pressure on government and raise awareness of the issue among as wide a range of audiences as possible. Yet, the extent to which the UN can address issues of concern to minorities is limited. The most powerful Case study: the impact of ECOSOC status on the work of a national NGO Rencontre Africaine pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme (RADDHO), an NGO based in Senegal that works for the rights of refugees, internally displaced persons, and linguistic and religious minorities, obtained Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC in May 2003. The application process was complex and it took approximately two years from the initial application to ECOSOC status being granted. Despite this long process, RADDHO sees its ECOSOC status as a very positive step for the organization. Since becoming ECOSOC accredited it has seen an increase in its influence, regionally and internationally, because it feels it is now more highly respected by national, regional and international institutions. Its relations with overseas embassies based in Senegal have been reinforced. Financially, obtaining ECOSOC status has had a positive impact because it has given RADDHO greater access to some donors. 5