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Authority and accountability · Claim record

The organisation explained to its branches and to The Guardian that the NGO registration was to keep access to the UN library, that no signature was required in 1991, and that the UN 'years later' published 'Criteria for Association' requiring support for UN goals, after which it withdrew.

Claim ID claim-authority-2001-org-explanation-library-access-and-changed-criteriaConcerns 1 November 2001Organisation's explanation
Organisation's explanation · 1 November 2001 Supported

The organisation explained to its branches and to The Guardian that the NGO registration was to keep access to the UN library, that no signature was required in 1991, and that the UN 'years later' published 'Criteria for Association' requiring support for UN goals, after which it withdrew. Watch Tower (World Headquarters) letter to Branch Committees, 1 November 2001Jehovah's Witnesses Office of Public Information (Britain) — letter to the editor, 22 October 2001

Show the evidence (2 sources)
Primary JW publication Supported

Watch Tower (World Headquarters) letter to Branch Committees, “Letter 'Dear Brothers' re published allegations of secret links with the United Nations”

1 November 2001 · p.1 · Chairman's Committee, World Headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses · Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York

“Our purpose for registering with the Department of Public Information as a nongovernmental organization (NGO) in 1991 was to have access to research material available on health, ecological, and social problems at the United Nations library facilities. We had been using the library for many years prior to 1991, but in that year it became necessary to register as an NGO to have continued access. … Still, the Criteria for Association of NGOs—at least in their latest version—contain language that we cannot subscribe to. When we realized this, we immediately withdrew our registration.”

Also says registration papers 'contain no statements that conflict with our Christian beliefs' and that NGOs are informed that association 'does not constitute their incorporation into the United Nations system'.

Scan of original

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Read the scan as an image. The same explanation appears, in the organisation's own name, in Paul Gillies' 22 October 2001 letter to The Guardian (scan) and is the explanation the UN's 18 March 2002 letter responds to; but no official copy exists and the scan's chain of custody is a discovery site.

Scan provenance. Scan of internal letter hosted by jwfacts.com (discovery site); reference number and addressee redacted; cc Administration Offices Desks, Legal Department, Office of Public Information

Corroborated by. src-wt-2001-1022-gillies-letter-to-guardian, src-un-2002-0318-al-mughairy-dpi-letter

Notes. Brief called this a letter 'to British branch/congregations'; the scan is addressed to Branch Committees from world headquarters, via CompuServe.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-wt-2001-1101-branch-committee-letter-un

Primary JW publication Supported

Jehovah's Witnesses Office of Public Information (Britain) — letter to the editor, “Letter to the Letters Editor, The Guardian”

22 October 2001 · p.1 · Paul Gillies, Press Officer for Jehovah's Witnesses in Britain · Watch Tower Society, The Ridgeway, London NW7 1RN

“In 1991 one of our legal corporations registered with the United Nations as a NGO (non-governmental organization) for the sole purpose of getting access to the extensive library of the United Nations. … At the time of the initial application no signature was required on the form. Years later, unbeknown to the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, the United Nations published “Criteria for Association”, stipulating that affiliated NGO's are required to support the goals of the United Nations. After learning of the situation, our membership as NGO was withdrawn and the ID card of the writer was returned.”

The organisation's public explanation; says the Guardian articles 'substantially misrepresent' the background.

Scan of original

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Read the scan as an image; consistent with the internal 1 Nov 2001 letter and with Gillies' quoted statements in the Guardian. Whether The Guardian printed it was not checked.

Scan provenance. Scan hosted by jwfacts.com (discovery site)

Corroborated by. src-wt-2001-1101-branch-committee-letter-un, src-guardian-2001-1008-jw-link-to-un-queried

Notes. Compare with the UN's 2004 letter, which says applicants 'agreed to meet criteria for association' at the time of association in 1992, and the 2002 letter saying criteria were unchanged since 1991.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-wt-2001-1022-gillies-letter-to-guardian

Claim page

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-authority-2001-org-explanation-library-access-and-changed-criteria/. Every source above opens the original document or the best available copy. If you believe the wording, date or context is wrong, report an error.