"We
Will Spare No Effort" A Civil Society Call to Action for the Five Year
Review of the Millennium Summit and the Millennium Development Goals,
June 2005
IV. Strengthening the United Nations
Just because governments have forgotten
about the
Cardoso report doesn’t mean that NGOs should do the same.
- Jeffrery
Huffines, US Bahaá’íi International
Community
|
Civil
society organizations expressed several views on the “Strengthening the
United
Nations” cluster, particularly related to the role of civil society
within the
UN system, as well as more far reaching recommendations.
NGOs would be very disappointed if the strengthening
and democratization of the United Nations was not on the agenda of the
2005 UN
General Assembly. A number of
civil society coalitions and networks are actively promoting
fundamental reform
of the UN system, as noted in the Annex of this report.
Reform Ideas
As
a whole,
civil society groups welcomed the overall goal of the UN
Secretary-General to
enhance the human rights and economic and social arms of the United
Nations,
and to bring them to a more equal level with the Security Council. Civil society organizations strongly
believe that all of these issues are interconnected and mutually
reinforcing,
and that the United Nations should have a central policy role in all
three
areas. Some were concerned by
reports that many governments only wished to deal with certain aspects
of the
Secretary-General’s proposals, rather than treating them as a holistic
“package” of reform measures.
- Many groups
expressed support for the reform and strengthening of the Economic and
Social Council, which is the main body of the United Nations dealing
with economic and development concerns.
- There is no clear
“NGO position” on Security Council reform. Some
organizations observed that Security Council reform is a contentious
and difficult issue, both for governments and NGOs.
However this should not prevent action by the United Nations
on other reform measures that can be implemented more easily and
quickly.
- It was observed
that member states often pass resolutions without providing the means
for those decisions to be implemented. This
creates enormous pressure upon the UN secretariat and other UN bodies
to attempt to fulfill those mandates without adequate resources or
staffing. It also reduces public
confidence in the UN system which appears to create unattainable goals. Thus it was recommended that governments focus
on fulfilling their existing promises, and only pass resolutions that
they intend to implement.
- Many organizations
expressed interest in exploring creative means of bringing into the
United Nations the voices of citizens from around the world, from
advanced polling techniques to an “internet agora,” to the creation of
a “people’s assembly” to complement the General Assembly.
- As the UN seeks to
enhance the workings of the General Assembly, many organizations noted
that civil society groups still lack the formal right to participate in
or attend General Assembly sessions or its committees.
The time is ripe at the 2005 General Assembly for NGOs to be
allowed to attend the six major committees of the UN General Assembly.
- It was observed
that while the UN had commissioned a Panel of Eminent Persons to
evaluate the relationship between the UN and civil society, resulting in “The Cardoso Report” and the
subsequent proposals presented by the UN Secretary-General in 2004, no
substantive action has been taken by governments to implement any of
those recommendations. It was urged that
these important, visionary proposals be acknowledged and debated at the
General Assembly as soon as possible.
We share the concerns of the
Secretary-General that the Commission on Human Rights lacks credibility. For years NGOs have been exposing the
shortcomings of the UN’s main human rights body, including its
inability to address many situations of gross and systematic human
rights violations around the world.
– Joint statement by
14 Human Rights NGOs
to the UN Commission
on Human Rights, March 2005
|
Human Rights Council
Several groups were
particularly
vocal on the Secretary-General’s proposals for the reform of the human
rights
body of the United Nations.
- Regardless of how the United Nations
chooses to reform its human rights machinery, the NGO community
emphasizes the principles of: transparency; independence; measurable
achievements and commitments to progress; effective international
cooperation and national action; and the importance of mainstreaming
and linking human rights with development and security.
- A number of human
rights organizations spoke in favor of the Human Rights Council
proposal. The possible benefits of the
Human Rights Council working on a year-round basis were noted, as this
would allow for more consistent follow-up on recommendations, better
use of the UN’s monitoring procedures and more effective responses to
crises.
- The
valuable elements of the existing system should be retained, regardless
of any changes implemented. These include the independent human rights
monitoring procedures, known as rapporteurs and working groups, and the
active participation of non-governmental organizations in the work of
the human rights body.
- The view was
expressed that members of the Commission on Human Rights or the
proposed Human Rights Council should demonstrate clear commitment to
the protection and promotion of human rights, through measures such as
the ratification of the major human rights conventions and active
compliance with requests for visits by the human rights special
procedures.
Governments want NGOs to speak with one
voice, but this isn’t possible. We have different input, different
issues.
-- Rosa G. Lizarde (ENLACE/International Facilitating
Group for FFD)
|
- The Office of the
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, as the secretariat of the United
Nations human rights bodies, should be allocated a larger portion of
the UN budget in order to conduct its work.
Enhancing the Role of Civil Society
Much
of the discussions centered on how to ensure a unified voice of civil
society
within the UN system while also respecting our tremendous diversity. Many groups recalled that there were
already existing committees, networks, and working groups that serve to
bring
together civil society views as a concerted force at the United
Nations. Many
of these networks, while having secretariats in the developed world,
also have
strong constituencies in the
Global South.
Suggestions
as to how to ensure an effective role for civil society at the United
Nations
included the following:
If we are to achieve the MDGs in the
timelines, and the roles of NGOs from our part of the world are not
encouraged, than the MDGs will be hard to accomplish.
-- Pastor Peters Omoragbon, Nurses Across the Borders
(Nigeria)
|
- Several
organizations noted that governments and the United Nations often
expect NGOs to speak with one voice, which given our diversity is
neither possible nor desirable. Instead
the UN must incorporate civil society participation in ways that
recognize our own wide range of views and interests.
Several examples were presented, such as the “major groups”
model of the Commission on Sustainable Development, the Financing for
Development process, and the civil society “bureau” and various
caucuses interfacing directly with governments at the World Summit on
the Information Society.
- It was noted that
civil society groups are often called to implement policy
that has already been developed, rather than consulted at
the initial policy setting stage. This
often results in UN projects that are not responsive to the needs of
the communities they are intended to help, or that are not sustainable
in the long run.
- It was recognized
that the NGOs most engaged in UN processes tend to be large,
Western-based groups and networks. Thus,
more needs to be done by the United Nations to solicit perspectives and
proposals from community-based and grassroots organizations, using the
internet, regional and thematic consultations, and other means.
- Groups from the
global south expressed how difficult it was for them to participate in
UN processes. Barriers included visa problems, lack of access to the
internet and insufficient funds to travel to UN meetings and
conferences. Groups expressed support for
a UN Trust Fund to facilitate NGO participation from developing
countries, as well as foster capacity building for Southern NGOs,
enabling them to raise their concerns and issues at
the United Nations.