Mercy Reports to the United Nations Economic and Social Council

As an organization in Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, Mercy submitted a brief report of our activities over the past four years, known as the quadrennial report, which highlights Mercy contributions to the work of the UN.

Mercy’s consultative relationship is a reciprocal one, as we have the privilege of participating in a wide variety of United Nations-sponsored events, meetings and activities. In return, we contribute to the development aims of the United Nations, based on our areas of experience and expertise. The quad report allows us to inform Member States about our work, and to receive an official acknowledgement of our contribution as partners in development.

The report for 2018-2021 highlighted Mercy services and advocacy in the areas of health, education, anti-trafficking, migration, homelessness, response to gender-based violence, empowerment of women and girls, and protection of land and water, among many other related issues. We showcased projects like Inherent Dignity, an advocacy guidebook and webinar series launched in 2018 on preventing trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and to realising the human rights of women and girls throughout their lives. We also highlighted the Mercy Global Action Emerging Leaders Fellowship (MELF), which began in 2019 and was submitted as a Generation Equality Forum Commitment in 2021. MELF seeks to build upon the capacities of women and provide effective tools to be agents of change in their own communities and in the greater society, through international encounters, webinars and modules, mentorship, and research. We also featured Hope in a Time of Pandemic, a publication and series of recommendations and resources created in 2020, linking grassroots experiences and critical analysis on social, economic, political, and environmental areas during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Additionally, the report highlighted Mercy Global Action’s active participation as a member of various coalitions of non-governmental organizations UN, including the NGO Mining Working Group, the NGO Committee on Migration, the NGO Committee to Stop Trafficking in Persons, and the NGO Working Group to End Homelessness. Finally, the report listed the many UN meetings Mercy has engaged with over the past four years, especially the Commission on the Status of Women, the Commission on Social Development, the annual COPs of the UNFCCC, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the process to elaborate the Global Compact for Migration, the High-Level Political Forum, and our engagement with several human rights mechanisms, among many others.