UN SYSTEM ENGAGEMENT WITH NGOs, CIVIL SOCIETY, THE PRIVATE SECTOR, AND OTHER ACTORS A COMPENDIUM UNITED NATIONS NON-GOVERNMENTAL LIAISON SERVICE GERMAN FEDERAL MINISTRY FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT 2005 UN SYSTEM ENGAGEMENT WITH NGOS, CIVIL SOCIETY, THE PRIVATE SECTOR, AND OTHER ACTORS A COMPENDIUM The United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS) GERMAN FEDERAL MINISTRY FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT UNITED NATIONS New York and Geneva, 2005 The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of the United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS), or any other part of the United Nations system. The designations used do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of NGLS or any part of the United Nations system concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. This publication is for non-governmental and civil society organizations and others interested in the institutions, policies, and activities of the UN system and the issues on the UN’s agenda, including development, human rights, peace and disarmament. Organizations are welcome to use them in their own work and information activities. Please credit NGLS and provide a copy. UNCTAD/NGLS/2005/2 Published in October 2005 by UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS) Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Room DC1-1106, United Nations, New York NY 10017, United States TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface v Introduction vii PART I : United Nations Offices DDA: Department for Disarmament Affairs 4 DESA: Department of Economic and Social Affairs 6 DAW: Division for the Advancement of Women 8 DESC: Division for ECOSOC Support and Coordination 10 DSPD: Division for Social Policy and Development 12 UNPFII: Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues 14 DSD: Division for Sustainable Development 16 FFD: Financing for Development Office 19 Population Division 21 UNFF: Secretariat of the UN Forum on Forests 23 DPKO: Department of Peacekeeping Operations 25 DPA: Department of Political Affairs 29 DPI: Department of Public Information 31 OCHA: Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 34 OSAA: Office of the Special Advisor for Africa 41 UNFIP: UN Fund for International Partnerships 44 United Nations Global Compact Office 47 PART II : UN Agencies, Programmes and Funds, and Specialized Agencies FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization 54 IFAD: International Fund for Agricultural Development 62 ILO: International Labour Organization 70 ITU: International Telecommunication Union 76 OHCHR: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights 80 UNAIDS: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS 88 iii UN SYSTEM ENGAGEMENT WITH NGOS, CIVIL SOCIETY, THE PRIVATE SECTOR, AND OTHER ACTORS UNCTAD: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 95 UNDP: United Nations Development Programme 104 UNEP: United Nations Environment Programme 111 UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 118 UNFPA: United Nations Population Fund 129 UNHCR: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 138 UNICEF: United Nations Children’s Fund 146 UNIDO: United Nations Industrial Development Organization 152 UNIFEM: United Nations Development Fund for Women 161 UN-HABITAT: United Nations Human Settlements Programme 170 UNODC: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 180 WFP: World Food Programme 186 WHO: World Health Organization 192 WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization 198 WMO: World Meteorological Organization 204 World Bank 207 PART III : UN Treaty Bodies—Rio Conventions Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 219 Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) 222 Secretariat of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) 226 UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS) 230 Annex I 236 Excerpt from ECOSOC Resolution 1996/31 on Consultative Relationship between the United Nations and Non-governmental Organizations Annex II 242 Description of the DPI Accreditation Process and Criteria Annex III 243 Guidelines on Cooperation between the United Nations and the Business Community Acronyms 245 iv PREFACE By Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development The United Nations has a vital role to play in meeting the challenges facing humankind across the globe and developing the international goals that have been set. The United Nations is indispensable for strengthening the structures for building peace and promoting development. We must consolidate the global consensus of the past few years on the need to protect the foundations of human existence in a sustainable way and make real improvements to the conditions in which the poor, in particular, are living and combine it with a consensus on global human security. The institutional reforms this demands and the struggle to achieve the goals of the Millennium Declaration not only form part of the same strategy but are also intimately linked in terms of substance. Winning and keeping prosperity, democracy and security will require a joint effort. Global human security and development hinge on our strengthening the imperative of collective action and boldly tackling cross-cutting issues. While the division of responsibilities must of course not be diluted, there can be no doubt that the challenges facing humankind cannot be met, or at least not as effectively, by individual governments and the community of States alone, without the active involvement of civil society, non- governmental organizations, the private sector, and other committed players. So their active participation and, where needed, critical dialogue, are welcome. v UN SYSTEM ENGAGEMENT WITH NGOS, CIVIL SOCIETY, THE PRIVATE SECTOR, AND OTHER ACTORS This Compendium makes an important contribution towards explaining the broad system of United Nations Offices, Agencies, Programmes and Funds, and Specialized Agencies as well as UN Treaty Bodies. In addition, it provides information about the opportunities and procedures for the participation of non-governmental players in United Nations processes. In view of the tremendous tasks with which humankind is faced, and in view of the multi-faceted potential offered by a vast variety of good-willed players, I wish this Compendium wide circulation. May it help combine the forces needed to make this world a more peaceful place and to strengthen each individual’s right to freedom from want, freedom from fear and freedom to live in dignity. vi INTRODUCTION By Tony Hill Coordinator United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service Over the past fifteen years the UN system’s relations with non- governmental and other external actors have undergone a significant change, both broadening to include a wide range of external actors such as NGOs, CSOs, Indigenous Peoples, private sector entities, local authorities and parliamentarians, and deepening in the sense of greater participation of external actors in the various activities of the UN system, including governance in the broadest sense, global policy- setting, dialogues and hearings, implementation of outcomes, monitoring and evaluation. This publication, the latest in NGLS’s series of Guides, Handbooks and Directories on the United Nations system, focuses on how the Offices, Agencies, Programmes, Funds and Conventions of the UN system engage with this much wider array of external actors. With individual entries for many of the individual UN bodies and entities, this Compendium seeks to provide information on the kinds of activities that represent this engagement, the policy frameworks which guide this engagement, the coordinates of the offices/staff/focal points that manage this engagement and further sources of online information related to this topic. vii UN SYSTEM ENGAGEMENT WITH NGOS, CIVIL SOCIETY, THE PRIVATE SECTOR, AND OTHER ACTORS This Compendium seeks to demystify the way that the UN system works and provides entry points for NGOs, CSOs and others that wish to constructively engage on the issues on the UN system’s global agenda. We hope that this will be particularly useful for developing-country NGOs that see at the national level and at first hand, the impact, or not, of international organizations and internationally decided policy frameworks. Since NGLS’s outreach capacity will allow the Compendium to reach thousands of NGOs across the world, we see this publication, with its wealth of information sources and resources, as part of a response to the challenge recognized by the Secretary-General’s Panel of Eminent Persons on UN-Civil Society Relations, of connecting better the global to the regional, national and local levels. This Compendium was compiled in close cooperation with all of the UN entities that figure in it. While not fully comprehensive it does cover the activities of over 30 UN entities. As always, we consider this a work in progress in which subsequent editions will be updated and expanded to provide a more fully comprehensive picture of this very important dimension of the life of the UN system. In the meantime we hope this Compendium proves to be a useful resource and tool for those outside and inside the UN system who wish to know more about the UN system’s relations with external constituencies. We would welcome any comments, observations and suggestions from those that read, use and become familiar with the content of this volume. I would like to take this opportunity