NGOs and the Commission for Social Development: Promoting Social Integration

Transcription

1 NGOs and the Commission for Social Development: Promoting Social Integration Forty-Eighth Session, New York, 3 to 12 February 2010 The Forty-Eighth session of the Commission for Social Development will take place from 3 to 12 February 2010 at the United Nations New Conference Building at the United Nations Headquarters in the Garden in New York. Due the structural work relating to the United Nations premises at Headquarters referred to as the Master Plan, no specific information on the venue of the session can be provided at this time. Further information will be available at the website of the Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) in due time: The Priority Theme of the session is Social Integration. In addition to the priority theme, the session will include review of relevant United Nations plans and programmes of action pertaining to the situation of social groups such as: disabled persons, youth, ageing, and the family. Information on the session will be regularly updated at the following link: Beginning with the forty-fifth session, the Commission has organized its work according to a cycle of two sessions dealing with one single priority theme. The first year is a review session, while the second year is a policy session resulting in a set of resolutions or decisions. In conjunction with the forty-eighth session, a Civil Society Forum would be organized. It will take place on 2 February 2010, one day before the opening of the session. The outcome of the Forum, which is presented in the format of a declaration, will be read during the first meeting of the session. Information on the Civil Society Forum will be made available through webpage of the NGO Committee for Social Development: NGO representatives interested in attending the Forum may get directly in touch with the NGO Committee for Social Development through the following ngosocialdevelopment@gmail.com. Since the holding of the World Summit for Social Development, DSPD has established a more proactive approach and a solid tradition in involving civil society organizations and actors in the different aspects of its substantive work as well as in the work of the Commission. Sessions of the Commission are open to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in consultative status with ECOSOC. NGOs in general and special consultative status may submit written statements to be circulated and also make oral presentations during the general debate at the Commission. DSPD is the main provider of substantive servicing to the Commission. This means that most of the reports before the Commission are prepared by DSPD. In addition, DSPD advises the Bureau of the Commission, as well as Member States, on organizational and substantive issues relating to sessions of the Commission.

2 Through its Civil Society and Outreach Unit, the Division provides NGOs with information relating to the Commission. The Unit reviews written statements submitted by NGOs before their publication as official documents of the Commission. It receives requests made by NGOs for oral presentations and coordinates with the Secretary of the Commission the sequence of those oral presentations. Upon requests by NGO Committees and Caucuses, the Unit conducts briefings aimed at improving the involvement of NGOs in the work of the Commission. This page is aimed at facilitating participation of NGOs at the Commission. It includes: 1. Provisional Agenda of the forty-eighth session 2. Provisional programme of work of the forty-eighth session 3. Information on written statements and oral presentations 4. Letter of the to NGOs inviting them to the forty-eighth session (You must sign in to download your letter of invitation) 5. Briefings and parallel events 6. Frequently asked questions on NGO participation 7. Online Pre-registration (You must sign in to designate your representatives) Written statements and oral presentations at the Commission NGOs in general and special consultative status with ECOSOC interested in issuing written statements are urged to do so by 20 November Documents should be typed in Word Format and submitted electronically to the Civil Society and Outreach Unit of DSPD. Such documents will be processed by the United Nations Secretariat and published as formal documents of the Commission. Modalities for written statements to the Commission for Social Development as well as to other substantive commissions of ECOSOC are described in paragraphs 36 and 37 of ECOSOC Resolution 1996/31: The following conditions shall be observed regarding the submission and circulation of such written statements: (a) The written statement shall be submitted in one of the official languages; (b) It shall be submitted in sufficient time for appropriate consultation to take place between the Secretary-General and the organization before circulation; (c) The organization shall give due consideration to any comments that the Secretary-General may make in the course of such consultation before transmitting the statement in final form;

3 (d) A written statement submitted by an organization in general consultative status will be circulated in full if it does not exceed 2,000 words. Where a statement is in excess of 2,000 words, the organization shall submit a summary, which will be circulated, or shall supply sufficient copies of the full text in the working languages for distribution. A statement will also be circulated in full, however, upon the specific request of the commission or other subsidiary organs; (e) A written statement submitted by an organization in special consultative status will be circulated in full if it does not exceed 1,500 words. Where a statement is in excess of 1,500 words, the organization shall submit a summary, which will be circulated, or shall supply sufficient copies of the full text in the working languages for distribution. A statement will also be circulated in full, however, upon the specific request of the commission or other subsidiary organs; (f) The Secretary-General, in consultation with the chairman of the relevant commission or other subsidiary organ, or the commission or other subsidiary organ itself, may invite organizations on the Roster to submit written statements. The provisions in subparagraphs (a), (b), (c) and (e) above shall apply to such statements; (g) A written statement or summary, as the case may be, will be circulated by the Secretary- General in the working languages and, upon the request of a member of the commission or other subsidiary organ, in any of the official languages. NGOs in general and special consultative status may make oral presentations during the general debate at the Commission. NGOs should address their requests for oral presentation to DSPD at the beginning of the session indicating under which agenda item they wish to address the Commission. NGO representatives are advised to not orally present statements that are produced as documents of the Commission (written statements). Since those statements are available to members of the Commission, it seems redundant to read them. Due to time constraints, refraining from reading written statements allows other NGOs to have their views heard by the Commission. This contributes ultimately to enriching debates at the Commission. Both written statements and oral presentations should be related to the theme or sub-themes of the session. Oral presentations are made according to the programme of work of the session. NGO representatives are encouraged to make brief and concise presentations. Briefings and parallel events To ensure a proper planning of the session and stimulate a more productive participation of NGOs, DSPD will conduct briefings on substantive as well as practical arrangements on the work of the Commission at the request of NGO Committees and Caucuses. During the session, the Secretariat will make a room available to NGOs for briefings and other events. The NGO Committee on Social Development has established a practice of conducting morning briefings for the entire duration of sessions of the Commission. Those briefings focus on the review of the work of the Commission. It also gives to NGO representatives the opportunity to exchange views with members of the Bureau of the Commission, delegations and officials of the Secretariat. Other Committee and Caucuses, as well as individual NGOs, interested in holding parallel events during the session should get in touch with the DSPD Civil Society and Outreach Unit.

4 Frequently Asked Questions Accreditation and Pre-Registration Q1. Our organization is interested in attending the session of the Commission. What are the procedures for accreditation and to whom shall we direct our queries for application? All NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC are accredited to attend sessions of functional commissions of the Council. The Commission for Social Development is one of those commissions. Therefore, all NGOs enjoying consultative status are welcome to participate in the work of the Commission. For technical reasons, NGO representatives interested in attending sessions of the Commission need to be pre-registered and registered. This facilitates the work of the Secretariat in areas such as security and logistics and allows a proper recording of attendance. NGOs that do not register do not appear in the report of the Commission. Q2. My organization enjoys consultative status with ECOSOC, but we have not received an invitation to attend this session of the Commission. How can we pre-register? The work of the Commission is open to accredited NGOs expressing interest in various areas of social development. Information on sessions of the Commission is posted on the Webpage of DSPD. DSPD may also send information relating to sessions of the Commission to the headquarters of each accredited NGO and not to members in their individual capacity. If your organization has not received any correspondence on the Commission, please get in touch with DSPD. In general, we use addresses of NGOs communicated to the NGO Branch of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. You are also encouraged to use the abovementioned link to pre-register, indicating to which category (General, Special and Roster) your organization belongs. Please do not forget to provide us with an address. Q4. Can representatives of NGOs attend the Commission without pre-registration? To attend sessions of the Commission, representatives of NGOs are strongly encouraged to preregister. To facilitate the pre-registration process, we have introduced an online system simple as shopping while using the Internet. Pre-registration is aimed at providing a proper planning of sessions. In addition, it gives the Secretariat the opportunity to take appropriate measures regarding logistics, safety and security measures, if necessary. Some NGOs representatives hold an annual ground-pass and do not generally pre-register or register to attend sessions of the Commission. This prevents the Secretariat from having accurate records of attendance and, in the case security issues are at stake, may lead to serious problems. NGO representatives in possession of valid ground-passes, as well as those requiring ground-passes for the session, are encouraged to pre-register one month before the opening of the session. In addition, they should complete the process of registration at their arrival at the United Nations premises. A registration desk is set at the visitor s entrance of the United Nations Building during each session of the Commission. When staff members of the Secretariat are not at this desk, NGO representatives should contact the Civil Society and Outreach Unit of DSPD for assistance. A list of telephone numbers will be posted at the Desk. Please note that only the numbers displayed for this purpose should be used.

5 Other concerns Q1. Where do we get documents relating to sessions of the Commission? Once published, few hard-copy documents on the Commission are made available to DSPD for distribution. Those documents are also posted on the Website of the Division: Please note that most of the documents published by the United Nations are available in electronic format and accessible free of charge through the Official Documents of the United Nations also referred to as the Optical Disc System (ODS): Please visit this address and if necessary, contact the NGO Unit for assistance. Q2. Will the United Nations help me with my visa to New York? Arrangements for travel, including visa procedures, accommodation and transportation are the responsibility of NGOs. NGOs need to deal directly with United States authorities for obtaining a visa. The United Nations may send a confirmation letter to accredited NGOs, once their representatives have completed the process of pre-registration. The confirmation letter is often used by representatives of NGOs as proof of their registration to attend a meeting organized by the United Nations, when they submit a request for a visa to United States authorities. If necessary, the Civil Society and Outreach Unit of DSPD will assist in providing information regarding the status of NGOs at the request of United States authorities. However, the United Nations cannot get involved in procedures relating to visas for individual representatives of NGOs. Please note that it is the policy of DSPD to not send letters of confirmation to United States Consulates to support a request for visa. Q3. Does the United Nations provide funding for NGOs to attend sessions of the Commission? The United Nations does not have any funding for this purpose. The costs of travel, accommodation, daily subsistence and other arrangements, including visas, are of the responsibility of NGOs. The United Nations is not in a position to assist in finding other sources of funding for NGOs. For additional information, please contact: Mr. Yao Ngoran Chief, Civil Society and Outreach Unit Division for Social Policy and Development 2 United Nations Plaza Room DC New York, NY Tel.: (212) Fax: (212) Website: ngoran@un.org