WFWP International became an “NGO in general consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations” in 1997. This status was renewed in 2001 based on the preparation of a quadrennial report. Consultative status is granted by ECOSOC upon recommendation of the ECOSOC Committee on NGOs, which is comprised of 19 Member States.

There are only one hundred and twelve NGOs worldwide that hold the general consultative status. The requirements of this level of affiliation include:

• Applying organization's activities must be relevant to the work of ECOSOC
• The NGO must have been in existence (officially registered) for at least 2 years in order to apply
• The NGO must have a democratic decision making mechanism
• The major portion of the organization's funds should be derived from contributions from national affiliates, individual members, or other non-governmental components and
• NGOs granted General consultative status must submit to the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations, every fourth year, a brief report of their activities, in particular regarding their contribution to the work of the United Nations (Quadrennial Report).

General consultative status is reserved for large international NGOs whose area of work covers most of the issues on the agenda of ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies. These tend to be fairly large, established international NGOs with a broad geographical reach.

The benefits of receiving this status include:

• The NGO may propose new items for consideration by the ECOSOC.
• Organizations granted status are also invited to attend international conferences called by the U.N., General Assembly special sessions, and other inter-governmental bodies.

WFWP International maintains a UN office in New York City. WFWPI has twenty UN representatives in seven countries: Austria, Chile, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Switzerland, Thailand, and the US.

WFWP representatives at the UN offices in Europe are:
Vienna: Elisabeth Riedl, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Geneva: Carolyne Hanshin, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it