ENB:04:02
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THINGS TO LOOK FOR TODAY:
PLENARY: The first meeting of the INCD Plenary will probably be held this morning before the start of the information sharing segment. The governments must dispense with a series of procedural matters, beginning with the adoption of the agenda (A/AC.241/L.2/Rev.1). The Plenary will then turn to the list of NGOs recommended for accreditation to the INCD process (A/AC.241/9). There is not expected to be any problems with approval of this document. The Committee is also supposed to decide on the work programme of each working group. Finally, the Committee needs to elect the rest of its officers. At the conclusion of the organizational session in January, the Committee had still not elected a Rapporteur. The Committee also has to elect the following working group officers: a Chair from the Western European and Others Group, a Vice Chair from the Latin American and Caribbean Group; and a Rapporteur from the Eastern European Group.
INFORMATION SHARING SEGMENT: Following the election of officers, the Plenary will turn to Agenda Item 3, "Sharing of technical information and assessments" for the first of six days scheduled for technical and informational multi-media presentations. Look for interventions and discussion on the first of the seven segments, "Desertification, drought and the global environment" with presentations by Robert Balling (USA), A.M. Imevbore (Nigeria), UNESCO and UNEP.
IN THE CORRIDORS: The first several days of the Nairobi session are expected to be more of an orientation session for both delegates and NGOs, many who are unfamiliar with the multilateral negotiating process or traditional United Nations procedures. While the formal information sharing segment will take place in the conference room, look for the exchange of relevant experiences related to combatting desertification and drought in the corridors and breezeways of Gigiri. There also may be informal consultations on the programme of work, as well as initial reaction to the Secretariat's draft format and possible elements of the convention.