Since 1948 CONGO has facilitated the participation of civil society in international deliberations, as represented by NGOs active in United Nations debates and decisions. CONGO's current members come from every continent and represent a broad range of interests, including human rights, gender concerns, peace and disarmament, social justice, governance, the environment, and sustainable development. They include NGO networks, international, regional and national NGOs.

For 50 years CONGO has worked to ensure that its members' voices are heard in the international arena. For example, in 1968, when NGOs were refused participation during the Commission on Human Rights meeting in Teheran, CONGO proposed for the very first time and then organized a parallel NGO forum in Paris, which was attended by UN officials, government representatives, and NGOs. Since then, CONGO has been instrumental in organizing NGO parallel fora at key UN conferences on women, human rights, shelter, and social matters, often bringing a wide range of other organizations into the process. In keeping with a tradition of advocating the participation of NGOs broadly, not limited to its own membership, CONGO has pressed for the wide inclusion of NGOs in such fora, in their pre-conference work as well as their post-conference follow-up.

In 1998 CONGO celebrated its 50^th Anniversary with several events at the United Nations headquarters in New York, including consultations on "Human Rights: Good Practices and Bad Practices" and "United Nations Reform", and a 50^th Anniversary Celebration entitled "CONGO at Fifty: A Reaffirmation of Commitment."