In pursuance of its objective of welcoming back the civil society community to UN premises at an appropriate date in 2022, the United Nations Secretariat has been continuously monitoring the health situation in New York City to assess the necessary conditions for providing access to the UN Headquarters building while ensuring the safety of all those present in the building.
At this time, due to the emergence and spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, and in keeping with the current guidance from local authorities, almost all meetings and events at UN Headquarters are being held virtually or have been postponed at least until the end of January 2022 when these arrangements will be reviewed.
As indicated in our earlier communications however, we will start processing requests for UN grounds passes for NGO representatives immediately, as we wait for the safe reopening of the building to NGOs. This is to ensure that representatives of NGOs who request grounds passes will be able to collect them now, for access to the UN compound in New York only when authorized at a date to be determined, based on an assessment of the health situation.
To that end, the NGO Branch will start approving requests for UN grounds passes received through our online system on a first-come first-served basis. It is important to note that while a high number of requests is expected, given the need to abide by the new requirements for Covid-19, all requests will be reviewed with due care to ensure compliance with the new guidelines (at: http://csonet.org/?menu=86 in English, and http://csonet.org/index.php?menu=174 in French).
As a result, the approval process will require a longer than usual wait period. As soon as the requirements have been verified, an email notification will be sent to the email address of your organization on file, with instructions to print the required security form for NGO representatives to obtain their grounds passes.
Please note that requests that do not follow the guidelines outlined on our website, including the submission of requests for more than three passes per NGO, will result in the disapproval of all the requested passes for the requesting organization.
Once you receive an email confirmation, you will be able to collect your pass at the UN Pass and ID Office located at 320 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017, Ground Floor, between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday.
Please note that passes will NOT be issued if the civil society representatives present themselves at the UN Pass & ID Office without the printed security form and a valid, government-issued photo ID.
Please also note, as previously stated, that grounds passes will only provide access to the UNHQ in New York once the conditions are met for it to reopen to civil society representatives.
Therefore, while civil society representatives are welcome to collect their grounds passes from the UN Pass & ID Office in January, after they have been approved by the NGO Branch, entry to the UN Headquarters in New York complex remains restricted at this time due to the prevailing health conditions in New York. This means that grounds passes issued to civil society representatives will not provide access until the UN building is once again open to civil society. As soon as the situation improves and the UN re-opens fully, we will communicate the information accordingly.
We look forward to welcoming civil society representatives back at UNHQ in New York as soon as the health conditions allow for it.
Please note that arrangements for collecting ground passes are subject to change depending on the health situation in New York and the related arrangements at the United Nations.
For any changes or updates to these instructions, please check our website periodically before submitting requests for UN grounds passes (at: http://csonet.org/?menu=86 for instructions in English, and at: http://csonet.org/index.php?menu=174 for instructions in French). We encourage you to apply early on for obtaining your grounds passes, so as to give enough time for the UN to process those requests.
Thank you.