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Special Consultative Status

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Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), Bhubaneswar, has been accorded Special Consultative Status (SCS) by the United Nations (UN). The SCS confers a host of privileges and facilities on an NGO, which are similar to those conferred to a member country by the UN. 
Induction of an NGO in this elite group follows a ratification process similar to membership of a new country in the UN. The United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN-ECOSOC) granted the prestigious recognition to KISS after concurrence by representatives of all the member countries. The KISS authorities had made a presentation for grant of SCS at UN Headquarters, New York in front of the representatives of the all member countries of the UN in February 2014. Following detailed discussion, all representatives accorded their approval, except two countries who wanted more information. It took KISS authorities one year to satisfy the queries raised by these two countries. Subsequently, resolution to grant SCS to KISS was adopted unanimously.
Recognition Process
The founder of KISS Prof Achyuta Samanta initiated the process for this prestigious recognition in 2009 and an application was submitted in the same year. The UN thoroughly evaluated the activities, functioning and achievements of KISS during the period from 2009 to 2012. All the committees of the UN were satisfied with the functioning of KISS. Different committees recommended to the UN for grant of special status to KISS between 2012 and 2014. In 2014, in a session of the Heads of the Member States of the UN, the proposal for grant of special status to KISS received the final approval. Subsequently, KISS was accorded this recognition in a session of the General Assembly of the UN after approval of the UN Secretary General Ban-Ki moon. 
Privileges to KISS
With this special status, KISS will have following special privileges—
  • Providing expert information to UN-ECOSOC
  • Receiving information about provisional agenda 
  • Engage with the Secretary General of UN and place items of special interest in the provisional agenda of the UN-ECOSOC
  • Having access to the UN and attendance at its meetings, designate official representative to the UN Headquarters in New York, UN’s offices in Geneva and Vienna 
  • Sitting as observer at public meetings of UN-ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies, General Assembly of UN, Human Rights Council and various other UN intergovernmental decision-making bodies
  • Submitting written statements in areas of its competence and relevant to the work of UN-ECOSOC 
  • Making oral presentations at UN-ECOSOC
  • Providing consultations to UN-ECOSOC 
  • Using facilities of UN
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