By\u00a0Thalif Deen<\/p>\n\n\n\n
UNITED NATIONS (IPS)\u00a0<\/strong>– When the high-level meeting of over 150 world political leaders takes place September 22-30, thousands of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and their accredited UN representatives will either be banned from the UN premises or permitted into the building on a strictly restricted basis\u2013 as it happens every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This year will not be an exception to the rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a message to staffers, journalists and NGOs last week\u2014spelling out the rigid ground rules during the summit\u2013 the UN said members of civil society organizations (CSOs) and NGOs who are invited to attend high-level meetings or other events will be required to be in possession of a valid NGO pass\u2013 and a special event ticket (indicating a specific meeting, date and time) at all times to access the premises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA United Nations non-governmental organization (NGO) pass alone does not grant access during the week of 22\u201330 September 2025\u201d<\/strong>, the message warned<\/p>\n\n\n\n These restrictions have continued despite the significant role played by NGOs both at the UN and worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A former UN Secretary-General, the late Kofi Annan (1997-2006), once characterized NGOs as \u201dthe world\u2019s third superpower.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And a former Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro (2007-2012) told delegates at a UN meeting, the United Nations relies on its partnership with the NGO community \u201cin virtually everything the world body does\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhether it is peace-building in sub-Saharan Africa or human rights in Latin America, disaster assistance in the Caribbean or de-mining efforts in the Middle East, the United Nations depends upon the advocacy skills, creative resources and grass-roots reach of civil society organizations in all our work,\u201d she said, paying a compliment to NGOs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The NGOs playing a significant role in humanitarian assistance include Oxfam, CARE International, Doctors Without Borders, International Committee of the Red Cross, the Red Crescent, Save the Children, Action Against Hunger, among others,<\/p>\n\n\n\n During an event marking the 75th anniversary of the UN Charter in 2020, the current Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, said civil society groups were a vital voice at the San Francisco Conference (where the UN was inaugurated 80 years ago).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou have been with us across the decades, in refugee camps, in conference rooms, and in mobilizing communities in streets and town squares across the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou are with us today as we face the COVID-19 pandemic. You are our allies in upholding human rights and battling racism. You are indispensable partners in forging peace, pushing for climate action, advancing gender equality, delivering life-saving humanitarian aid and controlling the spread of deadly weapons\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd the world\u2019s framework for shared progress, the Sustainable Development Goals, is unthinkable without you\u201d, he declared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But none of these platitudes have changed a longstanding UN policy of restricting NGO access to the UN during high-level meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The annual ritual where civil society members are treated as political and social outcasts has always triggered strong protests. The United Nations justifies the restriction primarily for \u201csecurity reasons\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n