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11th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development 
UN Headquarters, New York, 28 April - 9 May 2003

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Mon 28 
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SUMMARY 

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CSD11 Highlights, Friday, May 2nd

 On Friday morning, participants met to hear Major Groups' comments on the Chair's draft decision. A number of speakers praised the draft as providing a good basis for a final outcome.


 





Official Session

Comments by Major Groups on the Chairman's Draft(s)


Left to Right: JoAnne DiSano, CSD Chair Valli Moosa and Zehra Aydin-Sipos

 

  


 


Women

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Youth

  On the section outlining the future organization of work, WOMEN stressed the importance of regional-level participation in the CSD's work, and questioned the appropriateness of holding regional meetings at UN headquarters in New York. LOCAL AUTHORITIES and FARMERS emphasized the need to involve Major Groups throughout the two-year cycle, and YOUTH stressed self-selection of representatives. NGOs called on the UN Secretary-General to use transparent and inclusive processes in the selection of experts. Addressing the procedures and guidelines the CSD would use to identify best practices, INDIGENOUS PEOPLE called for selecting best practices that result in community ownership.


Business and Industry
 

 

YOUTH emphasized that CSD initiatives, such as learning centers, should not substitute for full Major Groups participation. On the multi-year programme of work, BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY noted the difficulty of selecting cross-cutting issues, and suggested designating the chapter headings of the JPOI, so as to reflect all key issues. She also said the cross-cutting issues need to be more clearly linked to the key theme selected for each work cycle. WOMEN supported a gender focal point within the CSD and, with INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, NGOs and YOUTH, called for inclusion of peace, human rights and education as cross-cutting themes.YOUTH further identified corporate accountability as an important cross-cutting issue. NGOs said the themes of unsustainable consumption and production, and protecting the natural resource base, should not be overlooked. In addition to consideration of Africa, SIDS and LDCs, he called for a focus on "large consumer countries."


Trade Unions

 
Indigenous Peoples
 
  On key themes for future work cycles, WOMEN, YOUTH and NGOs stressed early consideration of unsustainable consumption and production. In the section on reporting, INDIGENOUS PEOPLE called for language to involve Major Groups in this matter. WOMEN supported gender-disaggregated data and, with NGOs, highlighted the need for clear national reporting mechanisms. On enhancing the contribution of UN agencies and bodies, WOMEN said UN agencies active on gender issues should be involved in the CSD's work. 

Local Authorities
  On enhancing the contribution of Major Groups and other constituencies, LOCAL AUTHORITIES, supported by others, proposed that this section of the draft be strengthened. TRADE UNIONS urged support for training, and said countries should include union representatives in their delegations. INDIGENOUS PEOPLE called for financial mechanisms to ensure enhanced Major Groups' participation, and appealed for consideration of the elderly population. The SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL COMMUNITY stressed that science, technology and education are essential tools for sustainable development policy making and implementation, and supported involving educators "regularly and fully" in the CSD's work. He supported the contribution of relevant scientists, including those covering the social, economic and environmental sectors.


Farmers
 

 

FARMERS proposed that the decision should approve a role for Major Groups in monitoring and reviewing implementation of the JPOI, as this would motivate more active participation in the CSD process. On the CSD's role as a focal point for partnerships, BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY suggested adding text that would provide a more specific reference to partnerships. She proposed that the CSD play a broad role that focuses not only on monitoring, but also on capacity building, leveraging support for new partnerships, and exchanging lessons learned. YOUTH stressed that partnerships are not substitutes for government commitments, and NGOs called for a framework for screening and monitoring partnerships, stressing the need for mandatory reporting with independent evaluation.
 


NGOs
   On the preamble to the draft decision, which will be presented to delegates during the second week of CSD-11, NGOs stressed the need for references to rights-based approaches and gender equality as fundamental to sustainable development, and an emphasis on policy coherence, particularly with the trade agenda. Highlighting that there is little implementation without local action, LOCAL AUTHORITIES, supported by several other speakers, proposed inserting the phrase "including at the local level" whenever the words "at all levels" are used in the text - a formulation used in the JPOI.


Partnerships Fair



Partnerships for Small Island Development States-organized by UNDESA; Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Coral Pasisi of SPREP (in photo below, on left) overviewed the 14 Pacific Type II Umbrella Initiatives, which includes partnerships related to capacity building, energy, land resources, adaptation, tourism, governance, vulnerability and disaster management, health, information and communication technology, water, conservation, ocean, community development and waste management. For more information, visit http://www.pacificwssd.org.

 

 
UNIDO Initiative on Technology Transfer: Assessing Needs, Promoting Action (organized by UNIDO) Irene Freudenschuss-Reichl (photo immediate right) introduced the draft report on WSSD Partnerships on Technology Transfer. For more information, visit: http://www.unido.org

The partnership for an African Regional Center for Infectious Diseases was presented by Alfredo Guillet, Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in photo on far right)
   
 



 


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