14 February 2003
----Press Conference-----
We have just learnt of a Press Conference that will be held on
Monday 17th February from 2pm to 3pm in Room 15 of the CICG.
The panel will be composed of Mr. Utsumi (Secretary General of
the ITU; Mr. Adam
Samassekou, President of the PrepCom; Maria Cattaui, ICC; Mr.
Lessig, speaker; and one or two civil society representatives.
Please send your suggestions on the name of the person you would
like to designate
and the message you would like to deliver on behalf of the civil
society at info@geneva2003.org <mailto:info@geneva2003.org>
----Report on the meeting of the Inter-governmental Bureau----
For your information please note that on The 11th February the
Bureau discussed five topics.
1. The need to have a compilation of the documents
produced by the regional conferences;
2. The adoption of the programme of the PrepCom2;
3. The need to discuss the articulation between phase I
(Geneva) and phase II (Tunis) of the Summit;
4. The selection within the Asian group of the person who will
Chair the Sub-Committee 2. This Committee aims at producing the
draft element for the political declaration and the plan of action;
5. Note was taken of the discussion among Civil Society to
establish a Civil Society Bureau and it was decided to discuss at a
further date how the relationship between governments and Civil
Society could
benefit from this arrangement.
The following meetings of the Inter-Governmental Bureau are
scheduled for the 16th and 18th February.
----Establishment of a high panel on United Nations and Civil
Society relations---
Yesterday the UN officially announced the setting up of the
Secretary-General's high- level panel to review and assess
relations with civil society. For your info please see Terms of
Reference of this panel at the
end of this message (English only).
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High-level Panel on United Nations-Civil
The High-level Panel will undertake an assessment of relations
between the United Nations and civil society with the objective of
formulating recommendations to the Secretary-General for
enhancing interaction
between the Organization and civil society, including
parliamentarians and the private sector.
The panel will:
1) Review existing guidelines, decisions and practices
regarding civil society organizations' access to and participation in
United Nations deliberations and processes.
2) Identify best practices in the United Nations system and in
other international organizations with a view to identifying new and
better ways of interaction with NGOs and other civil society
organizations
3) Examine the ways in which participation of civil society
actors from developing countries can be facilitated.
4) Review how the Secretariat is organized to facilitate,
manage, share experiences and evaluate the United Nations
relationships with civil society.
The panel will consult broadly and submit its recommendations to
the Secretary General within twelve months.
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