The Committee on NGOs decided this afternoon to recommend that the Economic and Social Council suspend for three years the consultative status of the non- governmental organization (NGO) ASOPAZCO (International Council for the Association for Peace in the Continents).
By a vote of four in favour (Chile, France, Germany, United States) to nine against and two abstentions (India, Turkey), a motion to reconsider ASOPAZCO’s case was defeated.
The Committee had resumed its session this afternoon to consider replies received from ASOPAZCO and from the Transnational Radical Party, following the Committee's June decision to recommend three-year suspensions of consultative status for both organizations.
Reconsideration of the Committee's ASOPAZCO case came to the vote after the United States said additional information in the organization's reply raised new questions. The most troubling one was that despite having been available in New York for some time in June, ASOPAZCO had been unable to appear before the Committee.
France's representative said that ASOPAZCO's violation of Cuba’s airspace -- an action that also violated its consultative status with the Committee -- was a very serious matter, as it was a violation of national sovereignty. However, that action had been followed by an extremely energetic reaction by the Cuban authorities. Germany's representative recalled that the airspace violation had taken place in 1996, but ASOPAZCO had only received its consultative status afterwards.
Responding to the United States delegate, the representative of Cuba said that while the Committee should be available when non-governmental organizations were in New York, NGOs should not try to impose their schedule on the Committee. ASOPAZCO had come to New York without being sure whether it would be able to appear before the Committee, yet it had a representative in New Jersey. It was a group of political agitators hiding behind the fa栤e of so-called non- governmental organizations.
He said his country had a very small airspace and had rejected a February 1996 Security Council resolution condemning Cuba's response because ASOPAZCO representative Silvia Eliondo was well known for her terrorist activities. She
Committee on NGOs - 2 - Press Release NGO/369 764th Meeting (PM) 21 July 2000
had violated Cuba’s airspace a number of times, and was very well known for her anti-Cuban political activities in Miami. China's representative noted that ASOPAZCO's reply had acknowledged that a member registered under its name had participated in a flight which violated Cuban airspace. Sudan's delegate said her delegation had also examined ASOPAZCO’s reply and did not see any new information that could change make it change its position in favour of suspension.
The representative of Cuba said that the only way to rescind the Committee’s decision was to decide on a reconsideration of the proposal his delegation had made for the suspension of ASOPAZCO by engaging rule 57 of the Rules of Procedure of the Economic and Social Council. [Rule 57 requires that two Committee members propose a motion for reconsideration and two members oppose it.]
The representative of Germany, invoking Rule 57, proposed that the Committee reconsider the decision on ASOPAZCO. The United States delegate supported that proposal, while the representatives of Cuba and the Russian Federation opposed it.
Explaining the motion, the Chairman said the Committee would vote on whether or not to reconsider its June decision to recommend that the Economic and Social Council suspend ASOPAZCO’s consultative status for three years.
Following the vote, consideration of the reply received from the Transnational Radical Party’s reply was deferred until a date to be announced.
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