Annan says panel assessing civil society’s new role in UN work to report soon

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the intensification of the relationships between civil society organizations and governments over the past 15 years has been rewarding, but presented new challenges on which a panel he has appointed will report early next year.

In a message to the 22nd General Assembly of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations (CONGO) meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, he said yesterday: “I think we all sense that some real challenges have come to the fore – such as the sheer numbers of foundations and other groups seeking to participate and the quality of the participation.”

A panel of eminent persons, chaired by former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil, “is expected to report early in the new year,” he said.

“In the end Governments will decide on these matters, but each of you has an important role to play in this path of change and I hope you will make your voices heard,” Mr. Annan said.

When the 12-member panel was appointed last February, Mr. Cardoso told journalists that the explosion of civil society organizations was the reason Mr. Annan had decided to examine the resulting problems and the possibly expanded links between the UN and non-State actors, such as NGOs, parliamentarians, foundations and members of the private sector.