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How NGOs can apply for UNFCCC observer status

29.07.2016

For representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to attend any sessions or meetings of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), they must first be admitted by the Conference of the Parties (COP) as observer organizations. If your organization is interested in being admitted as an observer organization, you must apply through the Online Admission System and upload the following documentation:

1. Letter of application from the head of the organization. If your organization is a university, the letter of application must come from the President/Chancellor/Rector of the university. Affiliate schools or departments of a university are not eligible for admission;

2. Certified copies of documents detailing the mandate, scope and governing structure (organization chart if available) of the organization, such as the articles of association, bylaws, statutes, or constitution, including information on the handling of assets in case of dissolution of the organization and amendments to those documents;

3. Certificate of incorporation/registration/establishment of the organization issued by a government authority of a State Party to the International Court of Justice, a State Member of the United Nations, of one of its specialized agencies or of the International Atomic Energy Agency;

4. Certificate of the non-profit and/or tax-exempt status of the organization issued by a government authority of a State Member of the United Nations, of one of its specialized agencies or of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or in a State Party to the International Court of Justice. Alternatively an organization may prove its non-profit status by providing a copy of the relevant law/regulation certifying the non-profit status of the organization due to its legal nature; FCCC/SBI/2004/5 Applications are accepted in one of the six official UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish). Items 2-4 and the financial statement in Item 5 must be submitted in the original language along with a full translation in one of the official UN languages. Translation does not need to be certified or notarized.

5. A recent annual report, including a financial statement that provides information expenditure of the organization;

6. List of donors and other funding sources in the last two years unless the organization is one year old. The treatment of the information is strictly confidential;

7. Information on activities undertaken by the organization in the last 12 months that indicate the competence of the organization in matters relating to the UNFCCC, such as newsletters and other publications;

8. Information on the affiliation of the organization with other non-governmental organizations or networks involved in climate change activities;

9. In the case of research institutes, including universities, a document that proves academic independence of the organization.

Deadline

The deadline to apply for admission in time to attend COP 23 is 31 August 2016 (deadline for COP 22 was last year, 31 August 2015).

Applications must be complete, including all required official documents and information as outlined in the respective standard admission process above, and have to be submitted within the deadline. Incomplete applications as of the deadline will be automatically deferred to the following review cycle.

Currently, 23 Mountain Partnership member organizations have UNFCCC observer status and may attend COP 22, on 7-18 November 2016 in Marrakech, Morocco:

Photo: COP21/Arnaud Bouissou