Established in 1946, it reports directly to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
The current membership of the committee (2019-2022) includes: Bahrain, Brazil, Burundi, China, Cuba, Estonia, Eswatini, Greece, India, Israel, Libya, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Sudan, Turkey and United States of America.
After the application is screened by the NGO Branch, it is reviewed by the ECOSOC Committee on NGOs.
Human rights groups and a number of governments have expressed concern that some member states—particularly those with poor human rights records—have sought to block or impede the accreditation of legitimate NGOs.
China, Russia and South Africa were among the countries that voted to deny the group consultative status.