Recognising its innovation and social service, the United Nations has accorded its highest consultative status to India’s Sulabh International, the non-governmental organisation known for pioneering low cost public toilet system.
The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) recently adopted the recommendation of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), for upgradation of consultative status of Sulabh International from “Special” to “General”.
This is supposed to be the highest status available to non-governmental organisations (NGO’s) within the UN system.
With this recognition, now Sulabh founded by Dr Bindeshwar Pathak has become a member of 142 elite global group of NGOs having ‘General Consultative status’.
General Consultative status is reserved for large international NGOs whose area of work covers most of the issues on the agenda of ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies.
“The Economic and Social Council decided to approve the committee’s recommendation for reclassification of consultative status of Sulabh International with the ECOSOC from Special to General,” said Andrei Abramov, Chief of the NGO section of UN’s ECOSOC, in a letter to Sulabh.
This new status opens the door for Sulabh International to actively engage with ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies, as well as with United Nations Secretariat, programmes, funds and agencies and to actively participate in the work of the Council, which will allow organisation to consult with Member States and the UN system and effectively implement the provisions of the consultative relationship.
