Introductory Remarks

Let me start by joining all previous speakers in thanking the NGO Section, the Division for Public Economics and Public Administration (DPEPA) and the NGO Tunisia 21, for having organized this important meeting, for their kind invitation and warm welcome. It is indeed a great privilege and opportunity for the Conference of NGOs (CONGO) to participate in this initiative to strengthen civil society. What could be a better beginning of the New Year for the UN than to launch this Informal NGO Regional Network in Africa to empower NGOs as vital partners in (UN matters) all decision making and recognize their importance in the implementation of significant and consequential commitments. This initiative goes to the heart of CONGO's mandate and we are therefore greatly pleased to be partners in this event.

CONGO's Vision...

CONGO's vision is to be the primary support and platform for a civil society represented be a global community of informed, empowered and committed NGOs that fully participate with the UN in decision-making and programs leading to a better, an economically and socially more just world.

As the oldest association of NGOs working with the United Nations since its inception, the mission of CONGO is to facilitate access and full participation for the non-governmental segment of civil society with all segments of the United Nations. Endorsing the aims of the United Nations, CONGO facilitates giving voice to NGOs, so that the issues of the people can be heard directly from them within and throughout the United Nations system.

...and Tradition

While traditionally working with NGOs in the UN Centres in New York, Geneva and Vienna, CONGO has more recently - in addition to the above - embarked on an outreach program to provide more support for NGOs at regional and national levels as it pertains to their involvement with United Nations work. To address concerns and orientation of these NGOs, CONGO has begun working to create partnerships in the regions and to connect to new national and local NGOs through regional consultations and co-sponsoring events.

[In the past three years CONGO sponsored a consultation in Kampala, (Feb. 1998), where the interdependence of population, development and peace issues was addressed. In October 1999, CONGO worked with the DPI/NGO Executive Committee and Kyung Hee University in Seoul to host a landmark Conference of NGOs (Seoul International Conference of NGOs) designed to provide input into the Millennium Forum. Later in May 2000, CONGO was part of a facilitating Committee that organized the Millennium Forum, providing direct input into the Millennium Summit deliberations in September 2000.]

Today I am therefore immensely pleased to participate in this launch of an Informal African Network. We are here at a new point of departure in which high UN Officials, including the President of ECOSOC, whom I salute, the NGO Section, ... - and I congratulate Hanifa - the DPI Section, with Paul Hoeffel, ... a local NGO umbrella, regional NGOs .....and global NGO associations such as CONGO and WFUNA, close ranks (unite) to give a boost to African NGOs from all parts of the continent. This meeting will highlight specific African NGO culture and needs, and link them inter-sectorially with the global civil society movement.

CONGO and African NGOs

As some of you know already, but I want to stress again: Not only since I accepted the leadership of CONGO, I had my eyes open for and my heart committed to Africa, in particular for support of African women, bringing them to a number of important UN meetings. And following in the footsteps of my predecessor - with us here today -, who held the first African Consultation, my vision is to create, and /or link with existing regional and sub-regional mechanisms in support of our common agenda. As the first step we set up in Geneva towards more formal cooperation, a preliminary framework of shared values which links us as CONGO, through Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS) with members of the African Women Committee on Peace and Development (AWCPD), an important NGO mechanism. They were present during the Commission on Human Rights.

Throughout the year CONGO gave high visibility to and facilitated, sponsored or supported contributions of African NGOs to the Commission on Human Rights (Geneva) to the Third Conference on Least Developed Countries (Brussels) and to the GA Special Session of HIV/AIDS (New York). In July CONGO organized - with the support of the NGO Section and the ECOSOC Secretariat - the first ever held NGO Forum to the ECOSOC High-Level Segment under its theme of African Sustainable Development (Geneva).

With the participation of many African NGOs the Forum produced a series of recommendations coming from the grassroots perspective to the High-Level Segment. These included proposals on

• Peace, democracy and good governance;
• Africa's AIDS crisis;
• Gender equality and women's role in peace making and brokering;
• Food security and agricultural liberalization and
• Poverty eradication with an urgent appeal for unconditional debt cancellation.

Many of the proposals were reflected in the ECOSOC Ministerial Declaration, the High-Level Segment outcome paper, and form part and parcel of "Putting Africa Front and Center" as requested also in the Millennium Declaration, to the implementation of which all here are committed. They also form part of our deliberations here.

CONGO was also influential in initiating a process to include and highlight African women's voices in the preparations towards and at the World Conference Against Racism. We became partners in a pre-conference of African women held last June in Dakar, which turned into a phenomenal success, securing space at the World Conference for African women in the discussions of the intersectionality of gender and racism.

At CONGO we will continue to give visibility to and support to African women's voices, not only as victims of multiple forms of discrimination, in which gender, race, class and various other forms of intolerance intersect, but, importantly, also as agents of change leading to new ways of conflict resolution, peace negotiation and reconciliation.

CONGO's Strategic Plan and the new Network

I am very pleased to see Board - (FEMNET) and other CONO members (FAS, TMA) among the NGOs invited to this meeting. They will present their specific contributions to the new Network. However, I cannot forgo the opportunity to invite all others to also become CONGO members. It could strengthen the way you will work together as the African Network.

CONGO will adopt at its next Board meeting in February a Strategic Plan with five goals:

• Enhanced dialogue
• Outreach to the NGO community, particularly those in the South
• Training/capacity building centers for NGOs
• Global communications and
• Improved member services

Under Outreach and regional presence our Action Plan will include the following:

1. Creating a regional presence (CONGO Office/liaison service/ Focal point, eventually CONGO Regional Committee) in areas supported by UN Regional Commissions or other UN regional or sub-regional mechanism). Through this we want to encourage
   • more proactive and effective working relationships between civil society and UN agencies in the regions, with special attention to regional NGO processes
   • articulating key challenges facing civil society and the UN in the regions
   • developing a framework for improved coordination and collaboration among NGOs, (all this could be done through this Network)
   • introducing and promoting membership of CONGO to NGOs in the regions (That is what I am doing here)
2. On the substantive side we want to help
   • monitoring and assisting with the Millennium Forum and Summit follow up
   • bringing key lessons learned, best practices and recommendations back to the global level, at general Assemblies, Millennium Forum Follow ups, etc.
   • facilitating increased NGO representation and follow up to international meetings
3. Providing better, on-going and more responsive services for NGOs resulting from regional consultations (We are preparing for a Regional Consultation later this year in Asia (East Asia/Pacific)

CONGO Training Institute

Under Training CONGO proposes a new program initiative to build regional leadership and organizational management capacity by working in partnership with member organizations and regional networks. We want to see in place a CONGO Training Institute with branches in the 5 UN Regions. The vision of five regional CONGO Institutes in Africa, Asia, South America, Eastern and Western Europe is to be achieved by identifying, organizing, training and integrating local expertise existing in member organizations, public and private sectors for the strengthening of civil society.

Through their participation at workshops at CONGO Institutes, NGOs would have the opportunity to share and develop their expertise in leadership, management and organizing, become better acquainted with their regional colleagues and begin to integrate service delivery systems. NGO participants would be encouraged to reduce program and service duplication, to work collaboratively, and to develop improved strategies for the empowerment of civil society in their regions.

CONGO Regional Committee

The objectives of this conference here , (as outlined in the Aide mémoire) and the CONGO strategic goals go so hand in hand, are so complementary, that I am looking forward to seeing new synergies emerging from today's meeting. Under the CONGO umbrella function some 30 substantive Committees in the three UN Centers Geneva, New York and Vienna. We have been dreaming to create Regional Committees for a long time. I strongly believe the moment has come: in launching today this NGO Regional Network In Africa to also lay the groundwork for a CONGO African Regional Committee. Committees are completely autonomous but they have the advantage to be constantly linked to a global body for advocacy and action. (And I only remind you of the upcoming UN Conferences)

We are all committed to putting "Africa Front and Center." May then this renewed partnership have a positive impact and help to meet the special needs of Africa.