The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has granted JCI new consultative status, advancing our longtime partnership and collaborative relations with the UN. Since 1954, JCI and the United Nations have had a longstanding, positive relationship sharing similar goals and working toward better communities and a better world. ECOSOC allows non-governmental organizations (NGOs) like JCI to have a role in formal UN deliberations. When our partnership with the UN began, JCI received Special consultative status after being recommended by the ECOSOC Committee on NGOs. 

At the end of July 2011, the Committee on NGOs voted to raise JCI’s status from “Special” to “General.”

There are 3 levels of consultative status, Roster, Special and General. Roster consultative status includes NGOs that tend to have a rather narrow or technical focus and can make smaller, occasional contributions to the work of ECOSOC.

Special consultative status, JCI’s previous status, is granted to NGOs that have a Special competence in and are concerned specifically with only a few of the initiatives and activities covered by ECOSOC.

After an application and recommendation process through the ECOSOC Committee on NGOs, JCI was granted a change of status. JCI’s new 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. JCI joins an elite group of fewer than 150 large, established NGOs that hold general status with ECOSOC.

Read the full report from the 2011 resumed session of the ECOSOC Committee on NGOs.

Discover more about general consultative status with ECOSOC.

Learn more about the application and approval process for consultative status with ECOSOC.