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Part I: Accreditation
Q: Who are the major groups?
A: The major
groups
of civil society, as defined by Agenda 21, are women, children and youth,
indigenous people, non-governmental organizations, local authorities, workers
and trade unions, business and industry, scientific and technological
communities, and farmers. These groups have participated in meetings of the
Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) as representatives of a variety of
different organizations who have been accredited to the United Nations.top
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Q: My organization would like to participate in CSD
meetings.
What do I need to do first?
A: First, you will need to determine if your organization is accredited to the
United Nations, hence eligible to participate. In order to participate in
official meetings of the CSD as a representative of the major groups, each
individual participant must belong to, or be associated with, an
international, regional, sub-regional, or national non-governmental,
non-profit, or voluntary organization that is accredited, meaning that it is
in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), or on
the CSD Roster.top
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Q: What is ECOSOC consultative status?
A: ECOSOC consultative status is granted to non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) by ECOSOC upon recommendation of the ECOSOC Committee on NGOs, which is
comprised of 19 Member States. After meeting certain criteria and
demonstrating that their work is relevant to the aims and purposes of the UN,
these NGOs acquire consultative status with the ECOSOC, which entitles them to
send representatives to attend intergovernmental meetings convened by the
ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies, such as the Commission on Sustainable
Development. To view the list of organizations in consultative status with
ECOSOC,
click here.top
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Q: What is the CSD Roster?
A: In 1992, under an ad hoc arrangement, out of the 1,378 NGOs that were
accredited to the UNCED conference in Rio de Janeiro, a list of 539
organisations without ECOSOC status was drawn up for placement on the
CSD Roster,
expressly to enable them to attend meetings and participate subsequently in
the work of the CSD without necessarily obtaining ECOSOC status (ECOSOC
decision 1993/220).
By ECOSOC decision 1996/302 of 26 July 1996, it was decided that the 539 NGOs
without ECOSOC status that had been placed on the CSD Roster for the purpose
of the work of the CSD, would be accorded expedited consideration to obtain
ECOSOC consultative status at the Roster Level, only upon completion of a
simple request form submitted to the Committee on NGOs if they wished to
expand their participation in the work of the Council.
In 2001, the Committee on NGOs amended the earlier 1996 provision by EOCOSC
decision 2001/295 which stipulated that organisations wishing to establish a
relationship with ECOSOC would have to go through the same application process
as all other organisations requesting consultative status, with the sole
provision that the Committee on NGOs would still undertake consideration of
those applications as expeditiously as possible. No new organizations have
been added to the CSD Roster since its creation.top
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Q: I am not sure if my organization is accredited. What
should I do?
A: If you are unsure of your organization’s accreditation status, you can
search for your organization’s name within the online database of NGOs in
consultative status with ECOSOC, by
clicking here . If your
organization is in consultative status with ECOSOC, it will be listed. If your
organization is on the CSD Roster, it will be listed
here. If
your organisation was accredited to the WSSD, it will be listed
here.
If your organization is not found in the ECOSOC database, on the CSD
Roster or on the WSSD list, but you believe it is accredited, please contact
the NGO Section directly. The NGO Section maintains up-to-date lists of
accredited organizations including those that have recently been granted
consultative status but are not yet included in the lists available on the
Internet. You can contact the NGO Section by e-mail at
desangosection@un.org.
You may also contact the Major Groups Programme at the CSD Secretariat with
questions about your accreditation status:
E-mail: csdmgregister@un.org
Tel. +1 212-963 8497 or +1 212-963 4704
Fax: +1 212-963 4260top
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Q: What about the NGOs that were accredited to the World
Summit on Sustainable Development?
A: The accreditation process that allowed new organizations to get accredited
to, and participate in, the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) was
intended to apply only to the Summit process—not beyond.
A total of 737 organisations were accredited to the WSSD.
The CSD did extend the status of these organizations to allow their
participation in its 11th Session in 2003 and recommended that ECOSOC
“consider, in accordance with established United Nations rules of procedure
and taking note of the ongoing work of the NGO Committee, the status of NGOs
that were accredited to the World Summit on Sustainable Development so that
the Commission can benefit from their contributions as soon as possible.”
In February 2004, ECOSOC decided (
E/2004/212
[Arabic]
[Chinese]
[English]
[French]
[Russian]
[Spanish] ) that non-governmental organizations and other major groups
accredited to the World Summit on Sustainable Development can participate in
the first two-year implementation cycle of the Commission on Sustainable
Development (Click here for detailed
information on ECOSOC decision on the status of WSSD NGOs and other major
groups.top
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Q: How do I apply for consultative status with the
Economic and Social Council?
A: To apply for consultative status with ECOSOC, please visit the website of
the
ECOSOC NGO Section .
There you will find all the information and application materials you will
need. Applications received before 1 June 2004 will be reviewed in 2005 by the
NGO Committee and submitted to ECOSOC for final approval.top
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Q: Can I still participate in CSD meetings if my organization is
unaccredited?
A: Welcome as it is, your organisation’s interest in CSD activities needs to
converge with UN rules, which envisage that only accredited organisation can
attend CSD meetings. Non-accredited major group organizations may wish to
check the
ECOSOC
Roster ,
CSD Roster or the
WSSD List to see if they belong to any of the accredited networks.top
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Q: What if I do not belong to an organization? Can
individuals participate?
A: No, unless you are affiliated to an accredited NGO, UN rules do not allow
individuals, interested as they may be, to participate in UN meetings.top
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Q: How can experts from the academic world participate?
A: Experts from the fields of science, technology and education will need to
be members of or affiliated to an accredited organization. Query
the NGO Section database
and/or the
WSSD List for organizations you may be affiliated with.top
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Q: I am the mayor of a city. How can I participate?
A: Local authorities who are members of accredited NGOs can register through
those organizations to participate in CSD meetings. Query
the NGO Section database
and/or the
WSSD List for organizations related to local authorities that you may be
affiliated with.top
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Q: I represent a private company. How can I participate?
A: Representatives from the private sector who are members of accredited NGOs
can register through those organizations to participate in CSD meetings. Query
the NGO Section database
and/or the
WSSD List for business associations that you may be affiliated with. top
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Q: How can journalists and other media representatives
participate?
A: Media representatives wishing to attend CSD meetings should contact the
Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit, Department of Public Information, Room
S-250, New York, NY 10017, USA; Fax: +1 212 963 4642; E-mail:
mediainfo@un.orgtop
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Part II: Pre-registration
Q: My organization is accredited. What do I need to do
now?
A: Accredited organizations planning to send representatives to CSD meetings should
write to the NGO Section at least three weeks in advance of the meeting, and
include a list containing the names and fax numbers of the people you have
identified as your representatives.
NGO Section
Division for ECOSOC Support and Coordination
1 United Nations Plaza, Room 1480 New York, NY 10017, USA
E-mail: csdmgregister@un.org
Fax: +1 212 963 9248 /
Tel: +1 212 963 8652
A confirmation letter will then be sent to each representative by fax. This
letter and a photo ID will need to be shown at the registration desk when your
representative arrives at UN Headquarters for the CSD meeting. Details on
the location and schedule for the registration desk can be accessed by
clicking here
.
Please make sure that your organization has the necessary consultative status
BEFORE sending representatives to New York or making travel arrangements for
them.top
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Q: My organization is in consultative status with ECOSOC,
but we have not received an invitation letter to participate in CSD meetings. Do we
need one?
A: If your organisation is in consultative status with the ECOSOC or the CSD
Roster, no invitation letter is required to participate in the CSD meetings. top
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Q: My organization is a WSSD accredited
organisation, but we have not received an invitation letter to participate in
CSD meetings. Do we need one?
A: If your organisation was accredited to the WSSD, no invitation letter
is required to participate in the CSD meetings. Click
here for detailed information on ECOSOC decision on the status of WSSD
NGOs and other major groups.
top
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Q: Is there any funding available to support my
organization’s participation at CSD?
A: Limited funding will in most years support the participation of a maximum of two
representatives per major group (excluding business and industry) to be
nominated by the
major group organising partners. In all other cases, your organization
will be responsible for all arrangements and costs related to travel and
accommodations while in New York. top
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