Apply to speak at the Informal Consultations with NGOs on the agenda and work of the Second Committee - 22 October 2015

The following email has been received from Jeffery Huffines, NGO Major Group Organizing Partner and CIVICUS UN Representative (NY)  

TO NGOS, MAJOR GROUPS & OTHER STAKEHOLDERS 

We received a briefing this afternoon on the Second Committee GA 70th Session by Irena Zubcevic, Senior SD Officer of DESA/DSD; Lotta Tahtinen, Stakeholder Engagement Programme Coordinator, and Alberto Padova, Officer in Charge of DESA/NGO Branch. The briefing was followed by an informal consultation of participating NGOs about our advocacy priorities for the Second Committee as well as for the Third and Fifth Committees. We agreed to continue meeting together on a weekly basis every Wednesday, 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm, while the GA Committees negotiate resolutions relevant to the 2030 Agenda through the end of December. We will circulate today's notes and venue/webex info for next Wednesday's meeting shortly.

Meanwhile, per below, we hasten to inform you that Mr. Padova of NGO Branch advised that for the first time the Chair of the Second Committee will convene an informal consultation with ECOSOC NGOs on Thursday, 22 October, 10 am - 1 pm, CR 2 at UNHQ. Please find attached and below a concept note and  application for speakers (deadline 13 October 2015). A summary of the proceedings will then be made available to Member States in advance of the draft GA resolutions to be tabled later this month to be  negotiated in November & December. 

The NGO consultations will follow a consultation among Member States scheduled for Friday, 9 October, 3 - 6 pm, where they will discuss how the methods of work of the GA Second Committee may be harmonized with the objectives of the 2030 Agenda, together with  the agendas of ECOSOC and GA Third Committee, to eliminate overlaps and duplication. Based upon the results of the Member States consultation on Friday, a discussion paper by DESA will be prepared in preparation  for the consultation with ECOSOC NGOs on 22 October. 

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Application Deadline: 13 October 2015

His Excellency Mr. Andrej Logar, Chairperson of the 70th General Assembly Second Committee and Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the United Nations, is convening informal consultations with NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC on the agenda and work of the Second Committee on 22 October 2015, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM in Conference Room 2, at the United Nations Headquarters.

This innovative step in the Second Committee represents a unique opportunity for civil society to share its distinctive perspective and concrete inputs to Member States’ deliberations on the Committee’s agenda and work in order to better respond to the challenges of implementing the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.

This nomination process seeks candidates as speakers to address either of the following questions:

1. How can the Second Committee ensure that its work is in line with the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development?
2. How should the agenda of the Second Committee look like in the coming years?

All candidates must be representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council and authorized to speak on behalf of their organization. Due to the technical nature of the discussions, all candidates should be familiar with the discussions regarding the Post-2015 process, as well as the work of the Second Committee, in order to provide substantive inputs into the discussion.

Submit applications to speak here.

For more information about the informal consultations, please refer to the concept note attached.

You can also provide brief and concrete written contributions, which will be posted on CSONet. 

Submit written contributions to: ngobranch@gmail.com. The deadline for submitting written contributions is 19 October 2015.