NEWSLETTER

Outreach 1997

The Voice of the NGO Community at CSD

Countdown to Earth Summit II

Vol. 1 No. 14
SATURDAY/SUNDAY
5-6 APRIL 1997

PRE-CSD5 SPECIAL EDITION (revised)

NGOs, Looking Good for CSD 5

AT A GLANCE

WELCOME

COMMENTARY

ANNOUNCEMENTS

NEWS FROM THE CONFERENCE ROOM
Women's Linkage Caucus

RIO GRINDS

The opinions, commentaries and articles printed in OUTREACH
are the sole opinion of the individual authors or
organizations, unless otherwise expressed. They are not the
official opinions of the NGO/CSD Steering Committee or of
WFUNA.

COMMENTARY...

CSD 5 - Great Expectations on Integration, Commitment and
Action.

Every environmental path now leads to New York and the UN - or
so it might appear to the keen political observer. A short
month has elapsed since the Intersessional ended - yet so much
has apparently happened.

The Secretary General of the UN
Mr. Kofi Annan, has disclosed some of his reform plans.
Official delegates have renewed their environmental mandate in
their capitals, and NGOs have renewed their commitments to
being critical and creative in the CSD 5 proceedings. A major
NGO environment event took place in Rio - maybe with some
serious repercussions for the future of global environment
policieys.

Streamlining, efficiency and integration
are key words in one of the statements on reform measures
coming from the Secretary-General. Accountability,
transparency and gender equity are reiterated as basic values
that are here to stay. Relying on the good experiences and
positive results of the past 50 years of activities is a
necessity to create a new future for the organization that is
meant to "meet the changing needs of the world community as it
moves into the next millennium."

A 'Code of Conduct'
has been drafted and is a part of the reform programme for the
UN System. It lays out in clear form expectations for conduct
and performance, requires the highest standard of efficiency,
competence, independence and integrity and sets out a
framework of accountability for performance, sets standards of
conduct designed to avoid real or apparent conflict of
interests - to mention but a few of the strong points in the
statement by the Secretary-General.

NGOs have always been critical
of the 'Establishment.' In fact this is - in a manner of
speaking - one of our "raison d'etre." We have reason to
believe that our common efforts in working to improve the UN
have also resulted in some of the strong wording in the reform
statement. But nourishing such a feeling commits us to believe
in and work for continually improving our work. NGOs'
standards can hardly afford to be lower than those of the
Established world. Thus the 'Code of Conduct' and the general
direction of the reform statements is also a challenge to NGO
performance during the CSD 5 proceedings.

We should strive to integrate our efforts - it has not always
been the NGO fortŠ. We are almost always strong in substance -
and have almost always won any debate - but have often lost
the final vote because of lack of coordinated efforts among
ourselves.

The CSD/NGO Steering Committee
has made serious efforts at streamlining the NGO input as well
as making the NGOs work in a more efficient, transparent,
accountable and integrated way. The past two years have shown
considerable success in this area.

A major event
such as Rio+5 in Brazil in March attracted attention from the
entire environment world - not the least because of the sheer
size of its budget, the impressive list of the invited
speakers, the contents of the conference documents and the
bold and courageous visions contained in its policy
statements.

Rio + 5 was labeled an NGO event
Any event this big will attract laudatory remarks as well as
criticism. Was all well in Rio? Were all these efforts, all
this energy and all this money well spent? Several sources of
information referred to chaotic meetings, high levels of
frustration and overspending. Many have focused such criticism
on an alleged sum, some 300 000 US dollars paid as fee to a
Mr. Gorbachev for a short lecture on global environment he
gave in Rio. If this is true, how wise is such spending in a
time when people everywhere demand that less money is spent
with more concrete results?

The UN is going through a catharsis-like period in order to
save money and reduce spending everywhere it is possible. The
reform programme of the UN features this as a major area of
concern. Surely the text of the reform programme must have
been known to key persons within the RIO+5 proceedings? All of
our actions communicate a message. What is the final message
from RIO+5 to the world and to the CSD? As it was labeled an
NGO event, how does it contribute to the common NGO
environmental and sustainable development efforts? 

A heavy responsibility
has been placed on the shoulders of the organizers of the RIO
+5 to communicate a substantive and serious message to the
rest of the sustainable development NGOs, Agenda 21
stakeholders and to all the participants of CSD 5. We all need
to be given something substantial, something strong and bold,
something to really believe in as a message from RIO + 5. When
this is given to us, we should be able to integrate this in
our joint efforts to improve the environment and sustainable
development. Then we will all be able to proceed forward much
more strongly.

The sustainable development NGOs are meeting
to join forces and integrate their efforts these few days
leading up to the opening of the CSD 5 on Tuesday. At a
crucial time in history, we the NGOs, have an almost unique
opportunity to be heard.

We all have great expectations. Let us hope that all is well
that ends well towards the end of April, and that we all come
out of this experience a lot richer, more accountable, more
streamlined, more integrated and perhaps even more
transparent. Good luck with our work.        ...jgs 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

CSD/NGO STEERING COMMITTEE
MEETING SCHEDULE

When:  5-7 April 1997
Where: UN Church Center
     777 UN Plaza, 8th Fl. 

Saturday, 5 April 
9:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
  Steering Committee Meeting
2:30-3:45 p.m.
  Caucus Meetings
4:00 p.m.
  Building closes

Sunday, 6 April 
9:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
  Caucus and Regional Meetings
2:30-3:45 p.m.
  NGLS Orientation for new NGOs
4:00 p.m.
  Building closes

Monday, 7 April 
9:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
  Discussion of Major Points
  Additions to intersessional documents

________________


NGO REGISTRATION

Registration of NGOs will take place at a Registration Desk
located in the Public Lobby of the General Assembly Building
(enter through the Visitor's Entrance located on 1st Avenue
and 45th Street). For security purposes, all representatives
are requested to bring a photo ID (i.e. passport or drivers
license), as well as a copy of their letter of accreditation
from their organization. Passes will not be available for
persons whose names have not been communicated in advance.

Schedule for registration:

Monday, 7 April     9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, 8 April    9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, 9 April  10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Monday, 14 April    9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.
Tuesday, 15 April   9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

NOTE: At all other times, please call the NGO Section at (212)
963-4843 or (212) 963-4846 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for
information on how to secure your passes.

________________

REQUESTS FOR MEETING SPACE
8-25 April

IN THE UNITED NATIONS BUILDING...
Contact:
Ms. Zehra Aydin, Major Groups Focal Point
2 UN Plaza, 22nd Floor
tel.: (212) 963-8811
fax: (212) 963-1267

Procedure:

1) Fax your request to the above number before 4:00 p.m. the
day prior to the requested date.

2) Costs for the rooms vary, depending on type of room and
service needed, i.e. sound (cost runs $60.00 per hour - if
your meeting runs over even by 5 or 10 minutes, be prepared to
pay for the full second hour).

3) Ensure that contact person and contact number are presented
clearly in your fax.

NOTE: Space is extremely limited due to an increased level of
participants and decreased allocation of space.

AT THE CHURCH CENTER, 777 UN PLAZA...
Contact:
Ms. Linda Arnold
tel.: (212) 682-3633

Procedure:

1) Pick up forms to reserve space at the Church Center on the
2nd Floor of 777 UN Plaza (corner of 44th Street & 1st Ave.)

2) Fill out the form and hand it in to Ms. Linda Arnold before
4:00 p.m. prior to the requested meeting date.

3) FOR ALL BOOKINGS AT THE CHURCH CENTER AFTER 6:00 P.M., A
$60.00 SECURITY CHARGE WILL APPLY.

________________

Important:

As of 8 April, daily NGO strategy sessions will be held every
morning from 9:15-10:30 a.m. in conference room D.  At all
other times, NGO activity will be based in Conference Room E. 

_______________

The HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT CAUCUS will be held from 2:00-3:00
p.m. in Conference Room E on the following dates:

Tuesday, 8 April
Thursday, 10 April
Monday, 14 April
Tuesday, 15 April
Wednesday, 23 April
Thursday, 24 April

______________

NGO CONSULTATION ON INCREASING ACCESS TO THE UN GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
AND ITS MAIN COMMITTEES AND ALL AREAS OF WORK OF THE UN

WHEN:    Wednesday., 30 April
         10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
WHERE:   UN Headquarters
         (room to be announced)

Representatives of NGOs in Consultative Status with ECOSOC and
those Associated with DPI are invited to participate in a day
of discussion on specific issues that are likely to be raised
at meetings of the Sub-Group on NGOs of the Open-Ended High-
Level Working Group on the Strengthening of the United Nations
System, which is examining ways to increase NGO participation
in the work of the UN General Assembly, its Main Committees
and the UN System as a whole. All UN Missions are also invited
to send Representatives.

This Consultation is being organized under the auspices of the
NGO Committee Chairs of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative
Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council
(CONGO). For further information, call the CONGO office in NY
at (212) 986-8557.

______________________

PATHWAYS TO SUSTAINABILITY:
LOCAL INITIATIVES FOR CITIES & TOWNS

From 1-5 June 1997, an international conference will be held
in New Castle, Australia to examine and encourage
environmental awareness in local communities. The outcome of
the conference will be presented to UNGASS in June. For more
information, contact the Conference Managers, Capital
Conferences Party Ltd. in Australia at: tel.: 612 9252 3388;
fax: 612 9241 5282; email: capcon@ozemail.com.au

__________________

HOW TO SUBMIT AN ARTICLE TO OUTREACH...

OUTREACH will be serving the NGO Community particularly at CSD
5 and Earth Summit II in June. We will make efforts to include
statements made by NGOs during the sessions as well as
articles you wish to see published.

The editors reserve the right to choose and edit any
contribution. All contributions must be submitted, with a
proper by-line, NO LATER THAN 4:OO P.M., to be considered for
publication the following day.

Note: Where possible, it is preferred that contributions are
made in "ready format," i.e. that they are submitted on a IBM
compatible diskette or sent via e-mail, indicating clearly
that it is a submission to OUTREACH. To submit electronically,
send to < wfuna@undp.org >, marked 'submission to OUTREACH'.

-=-=-=-=-=-

NEWS FROM THE CONFERENCE ROOM

In the last issue of OUTREACH (19 March), we printed excerpts
from the Moderator's Summary of the Panel Discussion and
Dialogue on Women and the Environment. A "gender pledge" was
accepted during the discussions at CSW, however, the official
language of the pledge is somewhat weaker than what the NGOs
themselves suggested. Today, we bring you the original text as
it was presented by WEDO:

WOMEN'S LINKAGE CAUCUS 

Recommendations to Link the Commission on the Status of Women
(CSW) to Other Conference Follow-up Commissions and
Particularly to the UN General Assembly Special Session for
the Fifth Year Review of the Earth Summit 

                                                 11 March 1997

Recognizing the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action as
the strongest consensus on gender equality, empowerment and
justice ever agreed to by the world's governments, the Women's
Linkage Caucus celebrates the critical role played by women at
recent UN conferences, infusing both the process and outcomes
with a feminist analysis.

We call on members of the Commission on the Status of Women to
act as a strong "women's lobby" to influence the process and
substance of every conference follow-up process at the local,
national and international levels, so that gender
mainstreaming and gender balance become a reality. This
coordination between Commissions is vital if we are to address
the issues critical to women.

The CSW should begin by requesting that Heads of State and
member states of the UN make the following commitments at the
UN General Assembly Special Session for the Fifth Year Review
in June 1997:

We pledge to enhance all governance structures, global and
national, by adhering tot he fundamental principles of equal