For Immediate Release
May 24 , 2006
Contact: Daniel J. Johnson
[email protected]/847.543.0630
www.iffampac.org
IFFAMPAC Receives Special Consultative Status with United Nations Economic and Social Council
Rockford, Illinois. On May 11, 2006, IFFAMPAC was granted Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations. IFFAMPAC was one of 12 non-governmental organizations that the Economic and Social Council Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations recommended to receive the second highest status given to NGOs.
“This was the first year of eligibility for IFFAMPAC. We are all very pleased and honored that our work and international reputation were noted by the United Nations Member States as being impeccable and respectful,” commented IFFAMPAC president and founder Jane Durgom-Powers, who attended the committee session at the United Nations in New York.
“This was an important day for the family associations worldwide. For the first time they now have a direct voice which will be heard at the highest levels internationally,” Durgom-Powers said.
Special Consultative Status allows IFFAMPAC to share with the ECOSOC its expertise by means of sending representatives to the UN, attending and speaking at ECOSOC meetings, and circulating statements. IFFAMPAC is also now required to submit quadrennial reports.
IFFAMPAC focuses on helping the surviving families of armed conflict who face tremendous social, economic, legal, and cultural challenges when a primary economic provider of the family vanishes and cannot be accounted for as a result of conflict.
IFFAMPAC is working in a joint effort with the International Humanitarian Law Subcommittee of the International Human Rights Committee of the International Section of the American Bar Association to develop a new model international law and to develop best practices guidelines to address the issue of the missing.
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