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28 Apr-9 May 2003
New York

CSD-11

Second Bureau Meeting
24-26 Mar 2003
New York

Note on the outcome of the second meeting of the Bureau of the Eleventh Session

The meeting on 24 March 2003 was chaired by H.E. Mr. Valli Moosa, Chairperson of the Commission and attended by the four Vice-Chairs, namely Ms. Nadine Gouzée (Belgium), Mr. Hossein Moeini Meybodi (Islamic Republic of Iran), H.E. Mr. Bruno Stagno Ugarte (Costa Rica), and Ms. Irena Zubcevic (Croatia). Staff from the Secretariat of the CSD and officials from South Africa, Belgium, and Costa Rica were also involved. The meeting of the Bureau was held in conjunction with the second round of informal consultations organized in the lead up to the 11th session of the CSD. The main outcomes of the meeting are outlined below.

1. Arrangements for informal consultation on 24-26 March 2003

The Bureau discussed suggestions from delegations with regard to the provisional agenda of informal consultations which was circulated earlier. The Bureau decided to include in the agenda an item devoted to the Organization of Work during CSD11. It also decided that the final "wrap up" meeting to be held on Wednesday 26 March should provide an additional opportunity to consider Future Programme of Work of the CSD. It was also agreed that the four meetings during informal consultations would be chaired, sequentially, by the four Vice-Chairs, namely H.E. Mr. Bruno Stagno Ugarte (Costa Rica), Mr. Hossein Moeini Meybodi (Islamic Republic of Iran), Ms. Irena Zubcevic (Croatia), and Ms. Nadine Gouzée (Belgium).

2. State of preparations for CSD11

Ministerial Segment

The Chair informed the Bureau that he has sent letters to Ministers, as well as Heads of the United Nations Funds, Programmes, Agencies and Related organizations, Regional Commissions, GEF and UNFCCC, UNCCD, and CBD, in which he underscored the significance of the forthcoming session of the Commission, and invited them to take an active part in the Ministerial Segment.

In follow-up to the decisions made during the first Bureau meeting, it was agreed that "framework for discussions" papers would be circulated by the Chairman in early April 2003. These papers will take into account any relevant comments made by delegations in the course of informal consultation to be held on 24-26 March 2003. The purpose of the papers would be to focus the discussions and enable the Ministers to give guidance on "Who should do What and How" in order to implement the outcomes of WSSD (in relation to the role of governments, UN agencies and other international institutions, major groups, partnerships and other stakeholders and other implementation actors). Due attention will be given to the main "sectoral" and "cross-sectoral" provisions of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) , as well as the future role of the CSD in advancing implementation of sustainable development at all levels.

The Chairperson also suggested that the main theme of statements made during the general debate could focus on "Visions for the Future CSD."

Regional Implementation Fora

The Bureau considered proposals prepared by some of the UN Regional Commission with regards to the themes and format of the Fora.

It was agreed that while the Regional Fora may discuss some specific themes of regional concern, all five of them, as agreed earlier by the Bureau, should focus on the initial steps taken in the Regions to implement JPOI and any new/foreseen arrangements for regional and sub-regional cooperation.

It was agreed further that it would be desirable for the Regional Fora to be chaired/moderated by eminent persons from the Region with recognized experience in sustainable development.

As far as the panel presentations to kick off the discussions are concerned, given time constraints, the duration of such presentations in each of the fora should not exceed 30 minutes in order to leave more time for inter-active discussions.

It was agreed that the Chairperson, working with the Secretariat in consultation with Regional Commissions, would finalize arrangements for the Regional Fora in CSD11 as outlined in the Provisional Annotated Agenda (see document E/CN.17/3003/1)

Partnerships Fair

The Partnerships Fair is being set up to enable those with experiences or information about sustainable development partnerships, and/or those who wish to become involved in partnerships in some way, to meet and share experiences in the context of the forthcoming CSD11 meeting.

There will be three elements to the Partnership Fair activities:

  1. Events organized by those involved in sustainable development partnerships relating to their initiatives, e.g. reporting on an existing partnership, holding an open meeting of partners, launching a new partnership, discussing a proposed partnership and seeking other partners, etc.
  2. Events organized by UN partners (or other 'neutral' parties) on specific areas of general interest, e.g. partnerships for SIDS, NEPAD initiatives, how to involve the private sector, working with Foundations, etc.
  3. Open Forum time when the Partnership Fair room will be set aside for general exchanges of experiences, networking of participants, information sharing, etc.

The Secretariat informed the Bureau regarding the arrangements being made for the Partnership Fair. It was agreed that the final allocation of time for this new endeavor of the CSD would be determined after the total number of partnership-related activities to be organized as part of the Fair will be known (i.e. after the expiration of the April 4 deadline).

Learning Centre

The Learning Centre is an experimental "event" the purpose of which would be to provide a teaching and training space for interested representatives of major groups, governments and intergovernmental organizations to facilitate opportunities for capacity building that will contribute to UNCED and WSSD follow-up activities and the implementation of JPOI.

The Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium has been reserved for Learning Centre activities for selected periods during the course of the two weeks of CSD-11. A tentative list of institutions, organizations and agencies has been identified and are currently being approached. Initial interest to provide trainers has been expressed by the Smithsonian Institution, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the International Institute for Environment and Development and the International Working Group on Environmental Auditing. Other institutions that could provide trainers include UNU, UNITAR, UNESCO, UNSTRAW, the World Bank and UNDP.

It was suggested that the Learning Centre would also include activities aimed at exchanges of best practice. Similar activities could also be part of the Partnership Fair.

International Year of Freshwater (2003) Presentation

The Bureau agreed with a proposal to include in the programme of work during the second week of the session an event dedicated to the International Year of Freshwater.

The purpose of the event would be to link the MDGs and WSSD goals and targets on water and sanitation with the ongoing deliberations in the water sector (most recently at the Third World Water Forum in Japan), and to see where the world stands as regards implementation. The event will take place on Wednesday 7 May, from 10 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.

Briefing on the planned South African Exhibition

The Chairperson informed the Bureau regarding an Exhibition, which the South African Government proposes to be held during CSD11. The Exhibition will show the positive legacy of WSSD on the City of Johannesburg, South Africa and the Region and will highlight the main accomplishments of the Summit.

Detailed proposals will be submitted shortly for consideration of UN Exhibits Committee.

3. Results of Informal Consultations

The Bureau agreed that the following main points were made during the informal consultations held on 24-26 March 2003 (see Attachment).