AHRC honored to receive the UN NGO ECOSOC Consultative Status
The American Human Rights Council (AHRC-USA) is gratified and truly honored to receive the United Nations- ECOSOC Consultative Status approved in its session held on July 24, 2018. This recognition is important to the work of AHRC. The Consultative Status will enable AHRC to actively engage with the ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies. This honor will advance the mission on human rights within the nonprofit 501(C)-3 status of AHRC.
The UN Charter established ECOSOC in 1945 as one of the six main organs of the United Nations. The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic, social, and related work of 15 UN specialized agencies, their functional commissions and five regional commissions.
ECOSOC serves as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues and formulating policy recommendations addressed to member states and the United Nations system. A number of non-governmental organizations have been granted consultative status to the Council to participate in the work of the United Nations.
The UN Charter Article 71 established ECOSOC. ECOSOC is the only UN body with a formal framework for NGO”S (non-governmental organizations) participation at the UN. Worldwide only 4,708 non-governmental organizations have this elevated status.
The American Human Rights Council (AHRC) is dedicated to defending and protecting human rights as outlined in the U.S. Constitution and the United Nations 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The AHRC was formed to protect these rights and advocate for all human being whose rights are being violated or denied. To that end, the AHRC will build a tenacious, objective, and carefully guided advocacy program that will serve to defend individual human rights, whenever and wherever they are being infringed upon. The granted status will enable AHRC to play more effective and productive role serving such goals.
The United Nations ECOSOC consultative status granted to the American Human Rights Council (AHRC) will enable AHRC to attend international conferences and events, submit written and oral testimony at the UN, organize side events at UN gatherings, and allow access to all UN sites in the world. This access will give AHRC the opportunity to network and provide input and make a difference on the issue of human rights on the world stage.
This status not only benefits the American Human Rights Council (AHRC-USA), it also benefits the UN as it will help AHRC advance the mission of the UN in raising public awareness of any human rights abuses and play a role in advancing UN Human Rights Council goals as well as it helps AHRC contribute vital and essential information to the UN.
As a human rights organization, the UN Consultative Status will advance AHRC’s role to the monitoring and implementation of international agreements. As such, AHRC will serve as an early warning agent in the event there is a serious and immediate problem that needs addressing.
The Economic and Social Council is at the heart of the United Nations system to advance the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental. It is the central platform for fostering debate and innovative thinking, forging consensus on ways forward, and coordinating efforts to achieve internationally agreed goals. It is also responsible for the follow-up to major UN conferences and summits.
“Congratulations to our friends at AHRC. This ECOSOC status at the UN seeks to promote and protect human rights within the UN framework by allowing AHRC to advocate local, nationally , and internationally,” said Dr. Kay Mc Gowan, U N delegate, 4th World Conference on Women 1995, UN Delegate 1st World Conference on Indigenous Peoples 2015, UN Delegate World Conference on Indigenous Education 2017, Delegate to the Working Group on the UN Declaration on Indigenous Peoples,2002-2009,Testified Expert Mechanism on Indigenous Peoples ,UNITAR,UN Peace and Conflict Training.
“AHRC takes great pride in obtaining such prestigious status that helps advance and empower its engagement with the United Nations,” said Dr. Ihsan Alkhatib, associate professor of political science at Murray State University and AHRC advisory board member. “AHRC extends sincere appreciation to the team members who worked diligently through this process, especially attorney London Bell for her leading efforts during her service with the AHRC,” added Alkhatib.
“The mission of the AHRC is human rights, we take all steps needed to advance our mission and our getting the United Nations NGO ECOSOC consultative status will help us greatly in making a difference on a global stage,” said Imad Hamad, AHRC Executive Director.
“As we promised our friends and supporters, although we are a Michigan-based organization, our aim is national and international,” added Hamad. “This UN-affiliated status is a point of pride for us and we thank our friends, supporters and donors that have enabled us to further our mission and we promise them to continue to make them proud of AHRC and its work,” concluded Hamad.
Ray Hanania is an award winning political and humor columnist who analyzes American and Middle East politics, and life in general. He is an author of several books.
Hanania covered Chicago Politics and Chicago City Hall from 1976 through 1992 at the Daily Southtown and the Chicago Sun-Times. He began writing in 1975 publishing The Middle Eastern Voice newspaper in Chicago (1975-1977). He later published “The National Arab American Times” newspaper (2004-2007).
Hanania writes weekly columns on Middle East and American Arab issues as Special US Correspondent for the Arab News ArabNews.com, at TheArabDailyNews.com, and at SuburbanChicagoland.com. He has published weekly columns in the Jerusalem Post newspaper, YNetNews.com, Newsday, the Orlando Sentinel, Houston Chronical, and Arlington Heights Daily Herald.
Hanania is the recipient of four (4) Chicago Headline Club “Peter Lisagor Awards” for Column writing. In November 2006, he was named “Best Ethnic American Columnist” by the New American Media. In 2009, Hanania received the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the recipient of the MT Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award. He was honored for his writing skills with two (2) Chicago Stick-o-Type awards from the Chicago Newspaper Guild. In 1990, Hanania was nominated by the Chicago Sun-Times editors for a Pulitzer Prize for his four-part series on the Palestinian Intifada.
His writings have also been honored by two national Awards from ADC for his writing, and from the National Arab American Journalists Association.
Hanania is the US Special Correspondent for the Arab News Newspaper, covering Middle East and Arab American issues. He writes for the Southwest News newspaper group writing on mainstream American issues.
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