The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), UN, where the RuMSS holds its Special Consultative Status, has highly evaluated our Organization, recognizing and thanking us for the contributions our organization
is making
to the work of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). As well, seeing the RuMSS as one of the most influential organizations in global civil society with our website regularly visited by many NGOs, our partners at the Council have requested us. RuMSS President Yan V. Vlasov has given directions to meet the request from New-York.

For ECOSOC, it is of interest what our non-governmental organization while in consultative status with ECOSOC has found and in what way it has impacted RuMSS’ activities. No doubt, the special consultative status with ECOSOC, UN, which we have held for almost three years, started playing an immediate positive role on the whole in both internal and external activities of the Organization.

Right away on granting the status, we received congratulations from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation who praised this significant step on the world stage. Since then, the Ministry has repeatedly invited RuMSS President Yan Vlasov, and he took part in, for example, a meeting of the Interdepartmental Working Group of the Ministry on NGOs’ activities issues.

Along with that, more opportunities within ECOSOC revealed themselves, where the RuMSS can influence, and has already done so, on activities in this UN structure both in the current day and for the future. Invitations we have received to work with the General Assembly on the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda and, for instance, our participation in the Innovation Award of the DESA’s Division for Social Policy and Development in May 2013 serve as an example here. We consider these as mutually beneficial, direct participation in the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ECOSOC.

We believe we should particularly esteem oral and written statements, where NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC can perfectly bring to their partners and colleagues within UN their ideas on improving civil society patterns in their countries and beyond. This is in place because relevant non-governmental organizations have a special and unique competence in areas, the NGOs propose to intervene. Thus, the RuMSS submitted its oral statement for the High-level segment: annual ministerial review in 2014 to initiate public control in healthcare. Another advantage of oral and written statements at ECOSOC meetings is further vitalization to NGOs’ initiatives on both international and national levels.

The consultative status with ECOSOC with enormous opportunities (you can see only a few above) to participate in, debate on and initiate decisions, and so on and so forth, give a convincing political and social weight to NGOs possessing such a consultative status, and this impacts relationships with partners in a very positive way.

Pavel Zlobin

Vice President, International Affairs