Bahrain’s UN committee membership reflects royal vision's international recognition

Manama, Apr. 17 (BNA): The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, affirmed that the election of the Kingdom of Bahrain as a member of the United Nations Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations, for the period between 2019 and 2022, which came during the vote held by the United Nations Economic and Social Council in New York, reflects the international recognition of the policy and keenness of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to consolidate all rights and freedoms and reinforce collective action with allies to achieve the goals of the United Nations and to establish international peace and security. The Minister of Foreign Affairs added that this achievement is a result of the ongoing efforts of the Kingdom of Bahrain that aim at promoting respect for human rights on the local, regional and international levels, as it is the foundation of development in all fields.  He affirmed that the win highlights the government’s approach, led by His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, which focuses on adhering to the Kingdom’s international obligations in the field of human rights, and ensuring the communication with international institutions to grant, protect and develop these rights.  The Minister attributed the win to the effective strategies and constructive initiatives adopted by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, which seek to strengthen partnership and dialogue with various countries of the world and move forward in developing human rights. He also stressed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue exerting its utmost efforts to fulfill its duties in promoting the Kingdom of Bahrain and its national achievements in international forums.  The Kingdom of Bahrain was elected as a member of the United Nations Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations Committee in New York. The voting resulted in the win of the Kingdom of Bahrain, India, Pakistan and China and the exit of Iran from the United Nations Economic and Social Council for the period of 4 years 2019-2022. This intergovernmental standing committee was established by the Economic and Social Council in 1946. It includes 19 countries with a four-year term membership. The main tasks of the committee include the examination of applications for membership of the Economic and Social Council and the reports submitted by non-governmental organizations every 4 years. It also reviews all other matters relating to consultative relations between non-governmental organizations and the Economic and Social Council. The committee meets twice a year, where it holds its first meeting "the regular session" in January, and the second meeting "the resumed session" usually in May or June. The Economic and Social Council endorses all the decisions taken by the committee and meets immediately after its second session. Several non-governmental organizations in the field of economic and social development obtained consultative status with the Economic and Social Council. Certain criteria was established regarding the accreditation of non-governmental organizations at United Nations conferences and the process of applying for consultative status with the Economic and Social Council. The "general status" is granted to the major international non-governmental organizations working on most of the issues on the agenda of the Economic and Social Council, while "special consultative status" is granted to competent non-governmental organizations in a few areas related to the work of the Council. The "roster status" is granted to the organizations which the Council deems capable of contributing effectively to its work. The Economic and Social Council decides to grant consultative status to non-governmental organizations based on the recommendation of the international Intergovernmental Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations.