UN Authority Figures

Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations: China

Photo: Office of Gongmeng, Chinese NGO. In March 2010, China tightened rules on overseas donations to organisations inside its border. (Alertnet.org, March 12, 2010)

Mission of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations: "The main tasks of the Committee are...The consideration of applications for consultative status and requests for reclassification submitted by NGOs; The consideration of quadrennial reports submitted by NGOs in General and Special categories; The implementation of the provisions of Council resolution 1996/31 and the monitoring of the consultative relationship; Any other issues which the ECOSOC may request the Committee to consider." (Committee on NGOs web-site)

China's Term of office: 2011-2015 (re-elected April 28, 2010)

China's Record on NGOs:
"Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), both local and international, continued to face intense scrutiny and restrictions...[T]he government maintained a task force aimed at blocking political change advocated by NGOs involved in social, political, and charitable activities, and also by groups dedicated to combating discrimination against women, persons with disabilities, and minorities...To register, an NGO must find a government agency to serve as its organizational sponsor, have a registered office, and hold a minimum amount of funds...The government did not permit independent domestic NGOs to monitor openly or to comment on human rights conditions...The government...increased scrutiny of NGOs with financial and other links overseas." (US State Department Country Report of Human Rights Practices in China, 2009)