CSD :: CSD-12 - Bureau

1st Implementation Cycle - Review Session
14-30 Apr 2004
New York

The fifth meeting of the Bureau of the twelfth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) took place on 1 March 2004. Minister Brende (Norway), Chairperson of CSD-12, chaired the meeting via video link from Oslo. The following Vice-Chairs attended the meeting in New York: Ambassador Stagno (Costa Rica); Mr. Toru Shimuzu (Japan); Mr. Bolus Paul Zom Lolo (Nigeria); and Ms. Eva Tomic (Slovenia) joined by tele -link. The meeting was also attended by the Director of the Division for Sustainable Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DSD/DESA), staff from DSD/DESA and officials from the Norwegian Ministries of Environment and Foreign Affairs.
Minister Brende opened the meeting by expressing his appreciation to Vice-Chairs for their efforts in preparing for the briefing on the organization of work for CSD-12 on 25 February 2004 in New York, and to Ambassador Stagno for cha iring the briefing. He noted that such briefings provide an important channel for communication with delegates and indicated that there would be a further briefing at the next Bureau meeting on 19 March 2004 in New York.

Minister Brende shared with Bureau members his recent activities as Chairperson of CSD-12 and his continuing work to further mobilize support for CSD-12. The Vice-Chairs reported on the regional briefings they had organized with assistance from the Secretariat, as well as other ongoing activities and contacts involving members of their regional groups in relation to the organization of work for CSD-12. These activities had helped maintain a continuing dialogue between the Bureau and member States.
The Bureau took note with satisfaction of the meeting on CSD-12 that the Secretariat had organized on 10 February 2004 between Ambassador Stagno, Mr. Toru Shimuzu, and Mr. Bolus Paul Zom Lolo representing the Bureau, and representatives of the World Bank.

The Bureau reviewed the note and annotations on the organization of work for CSD-12 and discussed various issues that had emerged from the briefing of 25 February and regional briefings, as well as communications to Bureau members from member States. The Bureau agreed that there would be a speaking list for the High-level Segment and that delegations would be invited to indicate a preferred date and discussion theme for Ministers’ interventions. In their statements Ministers could provide feed-back related to the Chairperson’s summary of the officials’ segment, their views on priority concerns in implementation and guidance on an effective policy discussion during the Policy Year.
In this regard, the Bureau noted that the High-level Segment should be organized in a manner that facilitates interactive discussions among ministers of different portfolios. The Bureau would continue discussions on this matter and review options at its next meeting.
The Bureau further reiterated the importance of Major Groups’ participation during CSD-12 and the Chair briefed on his discussions with some leaders of Major Groups organizations about their potential participation in the High-level Segment.

The Bureau reaffirmed the high priority it attached to a successful SIDS preparatory meeting and reaffirmed that the SIDS preparatory meeting would be an integral part of CSD-12 and the revised version of the annotated organization of work would reflect that. Taking note of the current consultations among member States on the outcomes of the SIDS inter-regional preparatory meeting held in Nassau, Bahamas, from 26-30 January 2004, the Bureau agreed to hold further discussions on the specific modality of work for the SIDS preparatory meeting.
In this regard, it was proposed that the Bureau would explore the possibility of organizing a briefing on the documentation for the SIDS preparatory meeting and related issues, with date to be announced shortly in the UN Journal.

The Secretariat provided a brief update on the current status of planning for the Partnerships Fair and noted the launch of the web-based partnerships database on Friday 27 February 2004. The Bureau noted with appreciation the great interest in the Partnerships Fair, as shown by the numerous initiatives by member States, organizations of the United Nations system, Major Groups and other stakeholders. The Secretariat is continuing preparations on other events at CSD-12 in close collaboration with all concerned parties. Current status of documentation
The Bureau took note of the Secretary-General reports (advanced unedited copy) that had been posted on the CSD-related website of the Secretariat. The Bureau was also informed that the Secretary-General’s report on SIDS was in the stage of internal clearance. Next meeting of the Bureau
The next meeting will be held in New York on 19 March 2004.
The Bureau agreed that it would give a briefing to delegates on the organization of work for CSD-12 at its next meeting and would hold a conference call with the organizing partners of Major Groups.