Highlights for Thursday, 15 December

On Thursday, 15 December 2011, Amb. John Ashe (Antigua and Barbuda), Co-Chair of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), opened the Second Intersessional Meeting of the UNCSD. Noting that three changes to the Bureau and the accreditation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to participate in the UNCSD PrepCom needed to be formally adopted, he presided over a short formal meeting of the PrepCom for this purpose.

Amb. Kim Sook (Republic of Korea), newly-elected PrepCom Co-Chair, noted that the Second Intersessional Meeting offers the first opportunity to discuss the 6,000 page compilation document and its discussions will help guide the Bureau and Secretariat in the preparation of the zero draft of the outcome document, which will be tabled in January 2012. Tariq Al-Ansari, Deputy Chef de Cabinet, Office of the President of the General Assembly, on behalf of Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, General Assembly President, said that the expected outcome should be a concise document, with a results-oriented programme of action, clear timeframes and specific targets; and that integration, coherence, and implementation are the cornerstones of the conference outcome. UNCSD Secretary-General Sha Zukang called on governments to “aim high” at Rio, particularly given “new” sustainable development issues, such as food insecurity, volatility in energy prices, global financial instability, and unemployment.

Delegates adopted the organization of work without amendment, and heard opening statements. They then exchanged views on the compilation document and offered comments and guidance for the zero draft.