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CONGO e-Update • 23 January 2008 Meet the CONGO First Vice-President, 29 January, Geneva Following
the 23rd
CONGO General Assembly, the newly-elected First-Vice President
Geneva, Anna Biondi, calls upon Geneva-based NGOs to join her on
29 January at the International Conference Centre (CICG) and set
the framework of our work together. The meeting will help identify
the upcoming centres of focus for CONGO – from the members’
perspective – and will be followed by specific
gatherings linked to the various areas of work and interests.
The meeting will be held 16:00-18:00 on 29 January 2008, at Rooms
5 & 6, 3rd floor of the International Conference
Centre (CICG). Read here the message
from the First Vice-President and UNCTAD XII – preparatory hearings and NGO accreditation
Preparatory Hearings, 28 January 2008, Geneva In view of the upcoming UNCTAD XII, the Preparatory Hearing with civil society and the private sector will be held on 28 January 2008, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. If your organization does not have observer status with UNCTAD, you will need to get accredited to be able to participate in the upcoming hearings and UNCTAD XII itself (see accreditation procedures below). For the Preparatory Hearing of 28 January 2008, please also nominate a focal point for each of the 4 sub-themes, and 2 speakers for each sub-theme. For more information, please contact amel.haffouz@unctad.org
NGO Accreditation to UNCTAD Xii, 31 January 2008 UNCTAD XII will be held in Accra, Ghana, 20-25 April 2008. Meeting every four years to set the organization's mandate and work priorities, Ministerial conferences are UNCTAD's highest decision-making body. All organizations that do not have observer status but wish to be part of the preparations and the Conference itself are encouraged to apply for accreditation. Deadline: 31 January. Information about the accreditation procedures and on line questionnaire: click here. Please visit here the CONGO website page on UNCTAD XII and its preparatory process. Human Rights Council, Update on upcoming steps
Universal Periodic Review (UPR) The UPR, expected to examine the human rights record of all Member States of the United Nations, will offer various opportunities for contributions and involvement of NGOs. The
deadline for NGO submissions to the initial
information on which the review would be based for countries to
be examined by the 2nd HRC Working Group on UPR in May
2008 is as follows: for Gabon, Ghana, Peru, Guatemala, Benin, Republic of Korea,
the deadline is Friday 25 January
2008. For Switzerland, Pakistan, Zambia, Japan, Ukraine, Sri Lanka, France,
Tonga, Romania, Mali, the deadline is 8 February 2008. NGO contributions should be sent to UPRsubmissions@ohchr.org.
These NGO submissions will be summarised by the OHCHR and will be
made available on-line. More information and a 2008 calendar for
the UPR process are available in the OHCHR
note for NGOs on UPR and on the CONGO website
Nomination, Selection and Appointment of Special Procedures Mandate Holders The Human Rights Council established a new appointment process in several steps for the Special Procedures mandate holders. It notably provides that NGOs can nominate highly qualified eligible candidates to be compiled in Public List (Roster) from which the Mandate Holders would be identified. 16 appointments will be made during the 7th session of the Human Rights Council in March 2008. NGOs are highly encouraged to make nominations as soon as possible before 28 January and to take into consideration gender and geographic balance. A standardised nomination form is available on the OHCHR website. Further informal information is available on a public note by Amnesty International. Public Launch of the OHCHR Strategic Management Plan 2008-2009, 28 January 2008 The High Commissioner invite to a public launch with NGOs of the OHCHR Strategic Management Plan 2008-2009, taking place on Monday 28 January at 15.00 (Room XXII, Palais des Nations). Next HRC meetings: Ø 23 January 2008 – 6th special session of the Human Rights Council “Human rights violations emanating from Israeli military incursions in the OPT” Ø 18 February 2008 - Organisational meeting of the Human Rights Council Ø 3-28 March 2008 - 7th session of the Human Rights Council Geneva Forum Disarmament Calendar for 2008, online
The Geneva Forum, a joint initiative of the Quaker United Nations Office, Geneva (QUNO), the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), and the Programme for Strategic and International Security Studies (PSIS) of the Graduate Institute of International Studies announced the online launch of the 2008 Disarmament Calendar. Aimed at contributing to international peace and security by building partnerships among and between governments, international organisations and NGOs on disarmament and arms control issues of common concern, the work of the Geneva Forum comprises three main tracks: 1) Building agendas around new and emerging issues in arms control and disarmament; 2) Supporting ongoing arms control and disarmament negotiations and 3) Promoting the implementation of arms control and disarmament agreements. In carrying out this work, the Geneva Forum interacts closely with government missions to the United Nations, international organisations, NGOs and the media, and actively engages Geneva's important, humanitarian, development and human rights communities in its disarmament work. Handicap International Colloquium – NGOs’ role in global governance, 12-13 February, Lyon
Lakhdar Brahimi, former special counsellor to the UNSG, will chair the colloquium to be held at the Congress Centre in Lyon. In cooperation with Coordination Sud and IRIS, the roundtable will address the role NGOs can play in the global governance. Civil society organizations, inter-governmental organizations, economic players, international relations’ experts and the media are welcome. Other events:
3-28 March 2008: 7th
session of the UN Human Rights Council, Geneva 26-28 March 2008: UNDP 6th Forum of the World Alliance of Cities against Poverty (WACAP), Athens, Greece http://mirror.undp.org/switzerland/wacap/en/forum_athens/index.htm20-25 April 2008: Twelfth session of the United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development, Accra, Ghana 7-18 April 2008 & 5-16
May 2008: Human Rights Council, 1st & 2nd
sessions of the WG on the Universal Periodic Review 21 April – 2 May
2008: Substantive session of the Preparatory Committee on the Durban
Review Conference 25-28 May 2008: Geneva Health Forum, Geneva |
