CEVAP:

One of the main function of ECOSOC is to coordinate activities among different governmental and non-governmental actors and stakeholders. These actors can include policymakers, parliamentarians, experts, academics, foundations, associations, business interests and nongovernmental organizations. ECOSOC holds issue-based meetings under three main categories:
• High-Level Political Forum (HLPF)
• Annual Ministerial Review (AMR),
• Development Cooperation Forum (DCF).
Along with the General Assembly, ECOSOC also has an authority to call international conferences and make arrangements for consultation with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Global conferences on critical issues such as human rights, the environment, population, and women rights have been some of the most important contributions of ECOSOC. These global conferences particularly provide an important
 orum for civil-society organizations to express their voices in the UN. As of May 2018, there are 4,862 NGOs that enjoy consultative status within the UN system (UN, 2018). This status provides with these NGOs the right to send observers to the meetings of ECOSOC and of its subsidiary bodies.
The consultative status is granted upon the recommendation of ECOSOC Committee on NGOs. The consultation role in ECOSOC is governed by ECOSOC Resolution 1996/31, which delineates the core requirements for consultative status.
All specialized agencies at the UN have their own governing bodies and budgets. At the
intergovernmental level, they interact through ECOSOC. However, under the provisions included in legal agreements that govern the relationship between specialized agencies and the UN, most of the organizations within the system operates independently of the United Nations. In other words, within the UN system, specialized agencies are autonomous organizations created by intergovernmental agreements and treaties. For example, the Bretton Woods institutions, namely the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, and other affiliated organizations such as the World Health Organization, cooperate with other UN bodies on a wide range of global issues in economic, social, cultural, humanitarian, environmental, and related fields. However, specialized agencies are mandated to report either to the General Assembly or to ECOSOC.