In order to perform all the functions within the ECOSOC agenda, a number of commissions, subcommissions and committees have been established.

• Functional commissions
• Regional commissions
• Special committees

Functional commissions

ECOSOC functional commissions are deliberative bodies whose role is to consider and make recommendations on issues in their areas of responsibility and expertise.

Functional commissions and their document symbols are:

• Statistical Commission, (E/CN.3)
• Commission for Social Development, (E/CN.5)
• Commission on the Status of Women, (E/CN.6)
• Commission on Narcotic Drugs, (E/CN.7)
• Commission on Population and Development, (E/CN.9)
• Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, (E/CN.15)
• Commission on Science and Technology for Development, (E/CN.16)
• United Nations Forum on Forests, (E/CN.18)

Functional commissions are required to report annually to the ECOSOC on their activities submitting draft resolutions and recommendations to the Council.

Previous functional commissions

• Commission on Human Rights, (E/CN.4) 1946-2006, replaced by the Human Rights Council.
• Commission on Sustainable Development, (E/CN.17) 1992-2013, replaced by the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.

Regional commissions

The ECOSOC coordinates the work of five regional commissions with the responsibility to reflect the regional dimensions of the economic and social issues addressed by the United Nations:

• ECA - Economic Commission for Africa
• ECE - Economic Commission for Europe
• ECLAC - Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
• ESCAP - Economic and social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
• ESCWA - Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia

Special committees

The ECOSOC has established a number of subsidiary organs - special committees, in order to perform its tasks and functions. Over the years there has been a considerable increase of such subsidiary organs and other additional intergovernmental bodies in the economic, social and humanitarian fields.

Apart from functional commissions and regional commissions, there are

• Permanent committees
• Expert committees for important tasks
• Ad-hoc committees.

More on ECOSOC subsidiary bodies, commissions and committees

• The subsidiary bodies of the ECOSOC publish their annual reports as a supplement to the Economic and Social Council Official Records (ESCOR). These sessional reports often have a dual symbol: E/year/- and E/CN.-/year/-. Example: E/2011/29-E/CN.17/2011/20. They include information about:
  • membership
  • dates of meetings
  • summary of discussions
  • resolutions and decisions adopted by the body
  • draft resolutions recommended for adoption by ECOSOC and/or the General Assembly.
• Supplements are posted as Reports at the ECOSOC website.
  
• Learn more about the subsidiaries in the research guide: UN Documentation : Economic and Social Council, subsidiary bodies, by Dag Hammarskjöld library (New York).