The primary impetus for the 1996 revision of the arrangements was the unprecedented level of NGO participation, especially from national NGOs, in the preparations for UNCED - the 1992 Earth Summit.
A significant section of 1996/31 was the following paragraph: In 1948, shortly after the founding of the United Nations, there were 45 NGOs in Consultative Status, mostly large international organizations.
1996/31 grants different rights for participation in ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies - principally ECOSOC's Functional Commissions - including rights to United Nations passes, to speak at designated meetings, and to have documents translated and circulated as official UN document; e.g. Information Technology, Public Participation, and Global Agreements submitted to the Commission on Social Development in 1998.
The three sub-categories of Roster Status - see below - have been supplemented by a fourth category, the definition of whose rights remains somewhat vague, namely "NGOs accredited to the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD)": The primary form of Roster Status, for NGOs with a focus on one or two of the areas of competence of ECOSOC.
Although not defined in 1996/31, a fourth category of NGOs accredited to the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was established by ECOSOC decision 1996/302.