17/11/2016 United Nations Nations Unies Global Sustainable Transport Conference 2016 Information Note I. Introduction 1. Further to General Assembly resolution 70/197 of 22 December 2015, the Secretary-General will convene a Global Sustainable Transport Conference from 26 – 27 November 2016 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. The Conference will be held at the highest level and will bring together key stakeholders from Governments, United Nations system and other international organizations, the private sector, and civil society to engage in dialogue that emphasizes the integrated and cross- cutting nature of sustainable transport. All modes of transport—road, rail, aviation and maritime— will be addressed as well as transport both in urban and rural areas, energy and transport, public transport, countries in special situations, road safety, and financing for sustainable transport, while looking at the same time how to find a new paradigm for transport sustainability. 2. The present note outlines the organizational aspects of the Global Sustainable Transport Conference. Information on substantive matters related to the Conference can be found on the conference website: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/Global-Sustainable-Transport- Conference-2016 II. Date, venue and programme 3. The Conference will take place at the Complex of the International Forums and Congresses in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on Saturday, 26 November and Sunday, 27 November 2016, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on both days. The Complex is comprised of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Building (address: 143 Chandybil Avenue, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, 744000), where the main meetings will be held, and the Concert Hall building (address: 144 Archabil Avenue, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, 744000), where the United Nations Accreditation Centre is located. 4. A draft programme of the Conference is available on the Conference website: sustainabledevelopment.un.org/Global-Sustainable-Transport-Conference-2016 5. An announcement has been published in the Journal of the United Nations, providing relevant website links. The programme of meetings can be accessed on the above website and will be made available for delegations at the Documentation Centre at the Conference venue. This will include details such as daily activities, titles, times and locations of meetings. Side events 6. Participating stakeholders will be able to organize briefings, seminars, workshops and panel discussions, in parallel to the proceedings of the plenary meetings and thematic discussions of the Global Sustainable Transport Conference. 7. All applications for side events must be received online. Full application details and guidelines for organizing side events are available on the Conference website: (https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/Global-Sustainable-Transport-Conference-2016). The 17/11/2016 deadline for receiving applications for side events was 5 November 2016. Organizers are encouraged to ensure regional and gender balance when programming side events. For further information on side events, please contact Mr. Zvetolyub Basmajiev ([email protected]). III. Secretariat of the Conference 8. The Division for Sustainable Development of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) will serve as the Conference Secretariat. The Conference Secretariat can be contacted at sustainabledevelopment.un.org/contact. Additional information is also available on the Conference website. 9. The Assistant Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management will serve as the Secretary of the Conference. IV. Opening of the Conference, seating arrangements, statements, interpretation and documentation 10. The opening ceremony of the Conference will take place on Saturday 26 November at 10 a.m. and will be held in the Plenary Hall (Hall 1). At the opening of the Conference and subsequent plenary meetings, the delegations of each Member State of the United Nations participating in the Conference and those of the Holy See, the State of Palestine and the European Union, will be assigned four seats: two delegate and two adviser seats. In addition, seating will be assigned for other participants at the Conference. Participants are encouraged to be seated by 9:45 a.m. for the opening ceremony. 11. At the thematic roundtable discussions, delegations of each Member State of the United Nations participating in the Conference and those of the Holy See, the State of Palestine and the European Union, will be assigned four seats: two delegate and two adviser seats. In addition, seating will be assigned for other participants at the Conference 12. Delegations will be seated in English alphabetical order. 13. The six official languages of the Conference are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. Interpretation in Turkmen will also be available for the plenary meetings and thematic discussions. Interventions made in any of the (6) official languages of the United Nations, as well as in Turkmen, will be interpreted into the official languages. Any speaker may also make a statement in a language other than the official languages. In such cases, the delegation in question must provide either an interpreter from the non-official language, or a written text of the statement in one of the official language to be read out by a United Nations interpreter. When a written text is provided, the delegation concerned should make available to the interpreter someone who knows the language in which the statement is to be delivered and the official language into which it has been translated, to guide the interpreter through the translated text and to ensure synchronization between the speaker and the interpreter. The interpreted version of the statement or the written text submitted in one of official languages will be considered by the Secretariat to represent the official text of the statement and will be used by United Nations interpreters as the basis for interpretation into the other official languages. The interpreter or the guide provided by the delegation should be brought by the delegation to the conference officers’ desk inside the Plenary Hall (Hall 1) 30 minutes prior to the delivery of the statement. 2 17/11/2016 14. For Member States of the United Nations and observers in the sessions and work of the General Assembly and the work of all international conferences convened under its auspices, inscription in the list of speakers for the plenary meetings and the thematic roundtable discussions shall be on a first-come, first-served basis and in accordance with customary protocol, whereby precedence is given to Heads of State or Governments, followed by other Heads of Delegation. 15. In addition to representatives of Member States of the United Nationsparticipating in the Conference, representatives of the following may, time permitting, make a statement in the general debate: (a) non-member States as well as intergovernmental organizations and other entities that have received a standing invitation to participate as observers in the sessions and work of the General Assembly and the work of all international conferences convened under its auspices; (b) specialized agencies and related organizations; and (c) interested United Nations organs. The representatives of non-governmental organizations and the private sector may also be added to the list of speakers. 16. Participants wishing to inscribe in the list of speakers for the Plenary Meetings and the thematic round table discussions should contact the General Assembly and Economic Affairs Division (Mr. Victor Leu (e-mail: [email protected]; tel. +1 (212) 963-1531). 17. To enable maximum participation within the limited time available, it is proposed that a time limit of five minutes be established for each statement in the Plenary. 18. A document counter and pigeonholes for delegations will be located outside the Plenary Hall, where conference related documentation will be available. Distribution of conference related documentation will be limited to two sets per delegation, and delegations are encouraged to bring their own mobile devices to access conference related material from the website of the Conference. All conference related documentation will be available on the Conference website. Print on-demand service will be provided for those delegations needing extra hard copies. Delegations are required to bring 30 copies of their statement to the conference officers’ desk in the meeting room. For Member States of the United Nations and observers of the General Assembly, inscription in the list of speakers shall be on a first-come, first-served basis and in accordance with customary protocol, whereby precedence is given to Heads of State or Government, followed by other Heads of Delegation. For other registered stakeholder participants, the speaking arrangements will be coordinated by the DESA Division for Sustainable Development. V. Access and accreditation 19. The Conference will be convened as an initiative and under the chairmanship of the Secretary- General of the United Nations. It will be held at the highest level, including Heads of States or Government. Details on access and accreditation (request for a conference pass) for different categories of participants are available below. 20. Access to the Conference site and conference rooms will require presentation of a valid conference pass issued by the United Nations. Delegates holding a conference pass are subject to screening at the main entrance to the Conference venue. VIP groups, including