December 2020 Fifty-Fourth Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank: Attendance of Civil Society Organizations This document is being disclosed to the public in accordance with ADB’s Access to Information Policy. ABBREVIATIONS ADB – Asian Development Bank CSO – civil society organization NGOC – NGO and Civil Society Center SDCC – Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department Vice-President Bambang Susantono, Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development Director General Woochong Um, Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department (SDCC) Team leader Christopher Morris, Principal Social Development Specialist, SDCC Team members Roselle Rasay, Senior Social Development Officer, SDCC Ma. Catherine Malilay, Senior Operations Assistant, SDCC CONTENTS Page I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. ACCREDITATION PROCESS 1 III. INVITATIONS 2 APPENDIXES 1. Newly Accredited Civil Society Organizations in 2020 and Accredited Civil Society 3 Organizations that have Participated in Recent Annual Meetings (2015–2019) 2. CIvil Society Organizations Accredited Before 2020 that have not Participated in 15 Recent Annual Meetings (2015–2019) I. INTRODUCTION 1. This paper informs the Board of Directors of the process of accreditation for civil society organizations1 (CSOs) to attend the 54th Annual Meeting to be held in Tbilisi, Georgia on 2–5 May 2021. These include foundations, research institutes, academic organizations, faith-based organizations, labor unions, and community-based organizations, among others, that are based in Asian Development Bank (ADB) members. 2. The primary purpose of CSO attendance at ADB Annual Meetings is to create an opportunity for them to learn about ADB’s operations and to engage in dialogue with other participants, including members of the Board of Directors, Management, senior staff, and delegations from ADB members. The CSOs are active in development in Asia and the Pacific and welcome the opportunity to exchange knowledge and views at the Annual Meeting. Most ADB- assisted loan projects involve CSOs in some way—from providing input to consultations on design to facilitating community consultations, conducting surveys, monitoring social aspects, and implementing project components. Due to their involvement, ADB has included a dedicated civil society agenda in the Annual Meeting for the last 26 years. II. ACCREDITATION PROCESS 3. To participate in an Annual Meeting, CSOs must be accredited by ADB prior to the meeting through a process coordinated by the NGO and Civil Society Center (NGOC) of the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department (SDCC). NGOC has prepared two lists: (i) accredited CSOs that have participated in Annual Meetings from 2015 to 2019 plus newly accredited CSOs in 2020 (Appendix 1), and (ii) CSOs accredited before 2020 that have not attended an Annual Meeting during 2015 to 2019 (Appendix 2). 4. Paras. 5–10 explain the accreditation process for (i) previously accredited CSOs, and (ii) CSOs that wish to obtain ADB accreditation to attend the 54th Annual Meeting. A. Accreditation of Civil Society Organizations which have previously attended the Annual Meeting 5. CSOs provided in Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 are deemed to have been accredited by SDCC to attend the 54th Annual Meeting. B. Accreditation for Civil Society Organizations wishing to participate in the Annual Meeting for the first time 6. In addition to those which have previously been accredited and attended, there will be CSOs which will seek first-time accreditation in order to participate in the 54th Annual Meeting. The application form for requesting accreditation will be available on the ADB Annual Meeting website by January 2021. CSOs are required to complete the form and submit supporting papers that provide information about the organization, including a valid certificate of registration. 1 ADB engages primarily with developmental CSOs, a term which includes nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). These are private organizations entirely or largely independent of government, not created for financial or material gain, and addressing concerns such as social and humanitarian issues of development, individual and community welfare and well-being, disadvantage, and poverty, as well as environmental and natural resources protection, management, and improvement. 2 7. NGOC screens requests for accreditation in accordance with the principles and criteria for engaging CSOs, in the Cooperation between ADB and NGOs (the Policy).2 In the Policy, NGOs are defined as independent of government, and not created for financial or material gain. Recognizing the diversity of civil society, the Policy states that ADB’s engagement will focus primarily on developmental organizations which address social and humanitarian issues of development, individual and community welfare and well-being, disadvantage, and poverty, as well as environmental and natural resources protection, management, and improvement. Important criteria for engagement include the organization’s legal status and credibility, among others. Based on these, NGOC will endeavor to confirm that the CSO (i) operates legally in an ADB member, (ii) is independent of the state and has not been created for profit-making purposes, and (iii) engages in activities related to development policy and practice relevant to ADB operations. 8. If the CSO satisfies these three criteria, NGOC will forward a recommendation for accreditation to the Director General of SDCC for endorsement. If the CSO does not satisfy the three criteria, NGOC will inform the CSO of which screening criteria it has not met and seek clarification from the CSO on this. 9. The accreditation process for new CSOs will not proceed unless the CSO has been successfully screened by NGOC and subsequently endorsed by the Director General of SDCC. 10. Should members of the Board of Directors wish to invite other CSOs to participate in the 54th Annual Meeting, they may forward those names to NGOC for assessment against the three criteria cited in para. 7. To allow sufficient time to undertake screening procedures and issue invitations, the names and contact information for CSOs recommended by members of the Board of Directors should be submitted to NGOC through the Office of the Secretary by 15 February 2021. III. INVITATIONS 11. All ADB-accredited CSOs may participate in the 54th Annual Meeting. If needed, NGOC may set a limit on the number of representatives from each CSO. Starting in January 2021, NGOC will send out an e-mail invitation (using the contact details provided to ADB through a centralized database) to representatives of the ADB-accredited CSOs listed in Appendix 1 as well as to first time CSOs that have successfully completed the accreditation process. As in previous years, CSO representatives register online using a password in their invitation letter. 12. Representatives of accredited CSOs may also send a request for an invitation to NGOC following instructions that will be posted on the ADB Annual Meeting website. Upon such request, and subject to any limit on the number of representatives for the CSO, NGOC will send the invitation to the CSO representative(s). 2 ADB. 1998. Cooperation between Asian Development Bank and Nongovernment Organizations. Manila. Appendix 1 3 NEWLY ACCREDITED CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS IN 2020 AND ACCREDITED CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE PARTICIPATED IN RECENT ANNUAL MEETINGS (2015–2019) A. NEWLY ACCREDITED CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS IN 2020 Member Name of Civil Society Organization Bangladesh Global Economist Forum India Association for Promotion Sustainable Development Korea, Republic of World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGo) Nepal Oak Mountain Institute Nepal Research for Environment Forest Agriculture and Development Nepal Nepal Social Development Base Nepal Pakistan Social Welfare Society Lakhanwal Gujrat Philippines Lanao Aquatic and Marine Fisheries Center for Community Development, Inc. B. ACCREDITED CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE PARTICIPATED IN RECENT ANNUAL MEETINGS (2015–2019) Member Name of Civil Society Organization Afghanistan AIESEC Armenia AIESEC Armenia NGO Forum on ADB Armenia Outsource2Armenia Development Foundation Australia AIESEC Australia Oxfam Australia Australia NGO Forum on ADB Australia Oxfam International Australia Plan International Australia PSI Australia ASSIST Australia PSI - Public Services Association Australia The Nature Conservancy Australia Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA Australia WWF Australia Azerbaijan AIESEC Azerbaijan Center for Economic and Social Development (CESD) Azerbaijan Defense league of labor rights of the citizens Azerbaijan Legal Analysis and Research Public Association Azerbaijan Oil Workers Rights Protection Organization Azerbaijan Youth Organization of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons Azerbaijan "Clean World" Public unity of help to women 4 Appendix 1 Member Name of Civil Society Organization Azerbaijan "World of Law" Public unity of legal propaganda Azerbaijan “Ashiq Shamshir” Cultural Center Public Union Azerbaijan “Azerbaijan Journalists Network” Public Union Azerbaijan “Azerbaijan Law Reform Centre” Public Union Azerbaijan “ELS- Independent Investigations Center” Public Association Azerbaijan “Eternal Fire” Public Association for Cultural Relations Azerbaijan “International Society of Persons with Disability” Public Association Azerbaijan “New Life” Humanitarian and Social Support Public Union Azerbaijan “Saglam muhit” support to the youth development public union