Cooperation between UN and regional and other organizations – SecGen report (excerpts)

 Cooperation between the United Nations and regional and other organizations * 

   Report of the Secretary-General 

 *  Reissued for technical reasons on 21 October 2010. 

**The present report is submitted six working days after the deadline to allow the inclusion of amendments to the text after the draft report had been submitted to the Executive Office of the Secretary-General for approval. 

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 I.  Introduction 

1.  Section II of the present report has been prepared pursuant to the 16 most recent resolutions in which the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to report on the cooperation between the United Nations and a number of regional and other organizations.

2.  In its resolution 1809 (2008), the Security Council requested the Secretary-General to include, in his regular reporting to the Council, assessments of progress on the cooperation between the United Nations and relevant regional organizations. This report constitutes part of the response to that request.

 II.  Cooperation between the United Nations and regional and other organizations 

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   League of Arab States 

85.  Frequent consultations between the Secretaries-General of the United Nations and the League of Arab States (LAS) have focused on conflict prevention, peacekeeping, peacebuilding, and the fight against terrorism.

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87.  The League of Arab States has supported proximity talks between Palestinians and Israelis, and espoused the Arab Peace Initiative. The United Nations and the League have worked together to assist Lebanon in its efforts to affirm its sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence. The League’s continued engagement on Iraq has focused on the electoral process and promotion of political dialogue and national reconciliation.

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   Organization of the Islamic Conference 

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114.  Joint efforts by ESCWA and OIC have taken place mainly in the areas of sustainable development, financing for development, transport and trade. The OIC secretariat has arranged for the delivery of large quantities of food and medicine to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, with UNRWA arranging storage and distribution. 

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 III.  Cooperation between the United Nations, national parliaments and the Inter-Parliamentary Union 

 A.  Overall support by parliaments to the United Nations 

135.  The Third World Conference of Speakers of Parliament was held at the United Nations Office at Geneva in 2010. In the presence of the Secretary-General and 150 Speakers of Parliament, the Conference adopted a Declaration on Securing Global Democratic Accountability for the Common Good. The Declaration reaffirms the commitment of national parliaments and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) to support the work of the United Nations and continue efforts to fill a “democracy gap” in international relations.

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 C.  Peace and security 

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152.  The President of IPU undertook two diplomatic missions to the Middle East region in 2009, where he met with Israeli and Palestinian political leaders in an effort to help ease tensions and restart a parliamentary dialogue between the parties. 

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 E.  Democracy and human rights 

165.  IPU continued to support parliaments in Burundi, Cambodia, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Maldives, Pakistan, the Palestinian Legislative Council Secretariat, Sierra Leone, the Sudan, Viet Nam and Zimbabwe. UNDP has been an important partner in strengthening the capacities of parliamentarians and their staff, modernizing the procedures and services of parliaments, providing assistance to parliamentary committees, improving communications services, and promoting gender activities. 

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