Annan’s panel seeks to smooth UN-civil society relations, chairman says
Faced with the proliferation of non-government organizations (NGOs), the chairman of a panel of prominent figures convened by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today he would seek “some creative mechanisms and instruments” to smooth a consultative relationship between the world body and non-government actors.
“You have to face this new situation and to what extent it would be possible from the UN point of view to have new mechanisms to engage more non-government actors in the UN process,” former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil told a press briefing on the second of two days of closed meetings at UN Headquarters in New York.
This would not necessarily mean direct participation in the decision process, but “in the deliberation process, yes,” said Mr. Cardoso, chairman of the Secretary-General’s Panel of Eminent Persons on UN Relations with Civil Society.
He cited the last decade’s explosion of civil society organizations as a reason Mr. Annan had decided to examine problems associated with and possible expanded links between the UN and non-State actors, such as NGOs, parliamentarians, foundations, and members of the private sector.
In that regard, the panel was researching organizations and possible areas of contact, setting guidelines for discussions, and consulting with all actors to better understand what kinds of links could be established.
He said that during the last decade, UN conferences on women, racism and the environment, for example, had encouraged a new type of interaction between the UN and civil society. The new situation now had to be understood and built upon.
“In all this there is new questions and to what extent it will be possible to utilize the energy coming from civil society in the process of deliberation,” Mr. Cardoso added.
The panel brings together prominent personalities from Colombia, Hungary, India, Iran, Jordan, Mali, Mozambique, the Philippines, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and the United States.