NO 99   August — September 2003   CALENDAR

UN UPDATE

NGO AND OTHER NEWS

FOCUS

S-G Urges Security Council Reform GA Debates UN Future SC Approves Resolution Protecting UN Workers GA Devotes High-Level Plenary Session to HIV/AIDS Security Council Separates Tribunals UN Launches Commission on the Private Sector World Investment Report HR Sub-Commission: Corporate Responsibility States Parties to the ICC Meet Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Ratification Urged Conference on Disarmament: Stalemate in 2003 Ottawa Landmine Convention Holds 5th Meeting Ministerial Conference on Transit Transport Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Burundi UNAIDS & Global Fund Sign MoU World Bank Reports on AIDS and Africa ECA Reports on African Economic Growth ECLAC Report Predicts MDGs Won't be Met ECLAC Report Forecasts Modest Recovery Social Panorama of Latin America  ILO: Labour Productivity Around the World  UNODC: Fact Finding Mission in Iraq UNODC: 20th Project in Afghanistan UNODC: Survey on Synthetic Drugs World Habitat Day UNEP/CI Report on Tourism and Biodiversity  POPs Protocol to Enter into Force  UNCCD COP-6 Meets in Havana FAO Sub-Commission on Aquaculture Meets FAO Warns of Forest Fires UNESCO Establishes Trafficking Clearinghouse UN Human Rights Committee 78th Session UNHCR Revises Guidelines on Refugee Women UNHCR Launches Women's Human Rights Website Inter-Agency Task Force on Gender and Trade The Yearbook of the United Nations 2001 UNGLOBE Urges UN to Recognize GayRights

UN/NGO Cooperation Role of Civil Society in Conflict Prevention ASP Receives Funding for Clean-up of Pesticide CIOMS International Ethical Guidelines  Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues NGO Update 2003 Gender Festival Held in Tanzania  FAS: Women Working for Peace in Africa  18th Global Biodiversity Forum Held Number of Orphans Growing Other News World Disaster Report 2003:Ethics in AID

Focus  Implementation of United Nations Millennium Declaration First Ever UN Conference of Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People Held ECOSOC 2003 Substantive Session NGOs Confer on Human Security and Dignity Commission on Human Security Presents Report WTO 5th Ministerial Conference in Cancun 5th International Conference of New or Restored Democracies SIDS Begin Regional Meetings in Preparation for 10-year Review Development Financing and Democratic Governability Publications Online

	UN NGO COOPERATION
TOP	Role of Civil Society in Conflict Prevention
	A meeting on the role of civil society in conflict prevention was held at UN headquarters in New York on 4 September 2003 as a follow-up initiative to the General Assembly resolution on the prevention of armed conflict (A/RES/57/337). Organized by General Assembly President Jan Kavan (Czech Republic) and co-chaired by Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Danilo Türk, the discussion explored the future role of civil society in the process of preventing armed conflict, emphasizing its dynamic on-the-ground experience, and its growing potential for informing the timing and nature of international intervention. In opening remarks, both Mr. Kavan and Mr. Türk emphasized the importance of partnership with NGOs in the development and implementation of non-violent means for addressing conflicts and expressed support for the convening of an international conference on the subject at UN headquarters in 2005. Speaking from his considerable experience in conflict resolution processes, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland outlined lessons he considered crucial to resolving conflict. “There can be no peace without the participation and will of the parties and populations involved,” he said, stressing that civil society participation was fundamental. “As we have seen from recent examples, peace cannot be imposed.”  Representatives of several regional organizations also contributed to the discussions. Andres Serbin from the Coordinadora Regional de Investigaciones Economicas y Sociales (CRIES) said that civil society organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean were approaching security issues in the context of human rights and democratization, giving more and more priority to economic and social issues as inter-State conflicts in the region declined. Emmanuel Bombande from the West Africa Network for Peace-building (WANEP) in Ghana said that in his region most post-1960s conflicts had begun internally and then spilled over into neighbouring countries, engulfing entire communities. The role of civil society had therefore been to understand the dynamics of such conflicts and to complement State action. In States on the verge of collapse, such as Liberia, Mr. Bombande said that civil society groups had sought to cope with the structural and moral vacuum by meeting basic needs and engaging women. Paul Van Tongeren of the Netherlands-based European Centre for Conflict Prevention updated participants on the 2005 International Conference on Conflict Prevention, noting that the preparatory phase of the process had just concluded and that the second phase, which involves organizing regional conferences in 12 regions, had begun. The regional conferences are expected to prepare draft regional action agendas, which will then be integrated at the end of 2004 into one global agenda.  Points made during the interactive discussion included the suggestion that not all NGOs and civil society groups had necessarily contributed positively to conflict prevention and post-conflict stabilization. Speakers emphasized that a proper balance should be achieved between regional and local ownership of such processes on the one hand, and participation of the international community on the other. As to what the UN could do to better engage civil society, Mr. Türk said the Secretary-General had been asked to submit a comprehensive report to the General Assembly which will address some of the issues not explored in the 2001 report, noting that questions relating to civil society should be developed more, and CSOs should assist the Secretariat with concerns and ideas to be included in the report. Mary Anderson of the Collaborative for Development Action said that strategic analysis was required for each individual conflict. However, she noted, many lessons had been learned and there was no reason why at this point civil society actors such as international development agencies should exacerbate conflict. Ms. Anderson emphasized that civil society represented one nexus where policies, such as those adopted at the UN, could be translated into action. Contact: International Secretariat, European Centre for Conflict Prevention, Korte Elisabethstraat 6, PO Box 14069, 3508 SC Utrecht, Netherlands, telephone +31-30/242 7777, fax +31-30/236 9268, e-mail <info@conflict-prevention.net>, website (www.conflict-prevention.net).
TOP	ASP Receives Funding Clean-up of Pesticides
	The Africa Stockpiles Programme (ASP)—a partnership between international organizations, NGOs, governments, industry, and multi-lateral funds, and whose objective is to clear all obsolete pesticide stocks from Africa in an environmentally sound manner and to put in place measures to prevent their recurrence—announced that it has received a commitment of up to US$30 million from CropLife International, a plant science industry trade association, for the Programme’s clean-up of an estimated 50,000 tons of obsolete pesticides and contaminated soil which have stockpiled throughout Africa. The ASP programme is expected to take 12-15 years to complete, with the 2003-2006 Phase One involving about 15 countries.  Commenting on the Programme, Ian Johnson, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development, said “We cannot ignore the benefits that appropriate pesticide use has had on agriculture, economic development, and public nutrition, however, we must also acknowledge that misused and obsolete pesticides now pose a clear and present danger to the health and nutrition of the Africa population. The World Bank is dedicated to the clean-up across the continent, and very much appreciates CropLife International’s commitment.” Christian Verschueren, Director General of CropLife International, said “The challenge presented to us all by the ASP will clearly require significant collaborative effort and cooperation. We look forward to a continuing collaboration with the World Bank and the other ASP partners in the Programme, with the hope that this initiative will establish a new model for public-private partnerships as a framework for multi-stakeholder relations in the future.” ASP Partners include: the African Development Bank, the Basel Convention Secretariat, CropLife International, the Global Environment Facility, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the Pesticides Action Network Africa, the Pesticide Action Network UK, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Food & Agricultural Organization (FAO), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the United Nations Institute for Training & Research (UNITAR), the World Bank, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the African Union, Belgium, Canada, the European Union, France, Japan, Norway, and Sweden. More information can be found online (www.africastockpiles.org).
TOP	CIOMS: International Ethical Guidelines
	The Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) has released its International Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research Involving Human Subjects, prepared in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO). The new text supersedes the 1993 Guidelines and is the third in the series of biomedical-research ethical guidelines issued by CIOMS since 1982. Its core consists of 21 guidelines with commentaries.  The 2002 Guidelines relate mainly to ethical justification and scientific validity of research; ethical review; informed consent; vulnerability of individuals, groups, communities and populations; women as research subjects; equity regarding burdens and benefits; choice of control in clinical trials; confidentiality; compensation for injury; strengthening of national or local capacity for ethical review; and obligations of sponsors to provide health-care services. Their scope reflects the changes, the advances and the controversies that have characterized biomedical research ethics in the last two decades, and are designed to be of use to countries in defining national policies on the ethics of biomedical research involving human subjects, applying ethical standards in local circumstances, and establishing or improving ethical review mechanisms. A particular aim is to reflect the conditions and the needs of low-resource countries, and the implications for multinational or transnational research in which they may be partners. CIOMS is an international NGO in official relations with the WHO and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).  Contact: Juhana E. Idänpään-Heikkilä, Secretary-General, CIOMS, c/o World Health Organization, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/791 3467, fax +41-22/791 3111, e-mail <cioms@who.int>, website (www.cioms.ch).
TOP	Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
	Nominations for Members of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues for January 2005-December 2007 are now open and will close on 1 March 2004. The Permanent Forum serves as an advisory body to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) with a mandate to discuss indigenous issues relating to economic and social development, culture, environment, education, health and human rights. The Permanent Forum holds annual sessions of ten working days. A recent curriculum vitae of the nominee for membership must be submitted for consideration by the President of the Economic and Social Council. Information should also be submitted on the nominating organization(s). The principles of geographic distribution and gender balance should be taken into account.  Send relevant correspondence to: Office of the Under-Secretary-General, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), UN DC-2 Room No. 2314, New York NY 10017, USA. More information on the Permanent Forum can be found online (www.un.org/esa/socdev/pfii).
	NGO UPDATE
TOP	2003 Gender Festival Held in Tanzania
	The 2003 Gender Festival (GF), sponsored by the Feminist Activist Coalition (FemAct) and hosted by the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP), was held from 3-6 September 2003 in Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania). The event, which takes place every two years, brings together mainly African gender activists and civil society representatives working in policy, programme, technical and service delivery and other areas to take stock of achievements and constraints, and to foster joint action plans to further the civil society development agenda.  With over 1,000 participants, the theme of this year’s festival was “Gender, Democracy and Development: An Alternative World is Possible.” Sub-themes included the growth and challenges of feminist activism in Tanzania; alternative politics and participatory development; alternative sustainable development; environmentally-friendly development processes; the challenges of organizing alternative thinking and action; the challenges of activism in a context of growing religious fundamentalism; child and youth-friendly development; and women’s leadership and activism. Opening the conference, gender activists accused developed countries of “bad governance” as regards the global trading system. “Unfair trade rules, unjust and unsustainable debts are the major constraints towards African development,” Ugandan legislator Winnie Byanyima said. “All these stem from a system of global governance that favours rich countries and marginalizes poor ones.”  Speakers also critiqued multilateral institutions like the UN, the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank as being dominated by a handful of countries, whose decisions are not transparent and exclude the poor. “These organizations are rarely accountable for their actions to those who are affected most by their decisions,” Ms. Byanyima observed. Fenella Mukangara, TGNP Chair, noted that within Tanzania itself, globalization had caused a shift in thinking about development from a social welfare perspective to a more neo-liberal approach. “Alternative thinking in this context remains a challenge,” she said, expressing hope that the festival would provide the opportunity for exploring alternatives to current trade and development models. “We should ask ourselves, what role, if any, can we play in the struggle for a fair system of global economic and political governance?” Dr. Byanyima asked. “We have no choice as African women and activists but to engage deeply and lead the global women’s movement, linking it with other social movements in this struggle for a just international order.” Contact: Gender Resource Centre, PO Box 8921, Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania, telephone +255-22/244 3205, fax +255-22/244 3244, e-mail <tgnp@tgnp.co.tz>, website (www.tgnp.co.tz).
TOP	FAS: Women Working for Peace in Africa
	Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS), a women’s NGO working for peace in Africa, has recently released a report entitled Mainstreaming Gender & Women’s Effective Participation in the African Union (AU) and NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa’s Development), undertaken in conjunction with the African Women Committee on Peace and Development (AWCPD). Thanks to the efforts of these organizations and other networks, the AU adopted a decision on gender parity within the Commission of the African Union that in turn led to the election of five women commissioners of the ten commissioners in total for the African Union. Information in the report is compiled from two meetings organized by FAS and AWCPD in South Africa in June 2002 and in Senegal in April 2003, both of which focused on the need to mobilize civil society and women’s organizations. The meetings also worked on devising strategies for a strong coordination mechanism that will allow women’s participation in decision-making processes for peace and development, and ensuring gender mainstreaming in the design and implementation of all programmes and structures of the African Union (AU) and its specialized mechanisms, including NEPAD and the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa. The report is part of a series highlighting women’s best practices in peace-building in Africa. Other titles in the series include: The Voice of African Women to the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance; Engendering the Peace Process in West Africa, Mano River; Linking HIV/AIDS to Women’s Peace Advocacy; and Engendering the Peace Process in Burundi. The reports are available in English and French. Femmes Africa Solidarité was created in 1996 and has been working to foster, strengthen and promote the leading role of women in the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts in Africa. Contact: Bineta Diop, Executive Director, Femmes Africa Solidarité, 8 rue du Vieux-Billard, 1211 Geneva 11, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/328 8050, fax +41-22/328 8052, e-mail <info@fasngo.org>, website (www.fasngo.org).
TOP	18th Global Biodiversity Forum Held
	The 18th session of the Global Biodiversity Forum (GBF) was convened by IUCN—The World Conservation Union—and some 30 other institutions from 5-7 September 2003 in Cancun (Mexico). Held immediately prior to the 5th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the GBF sent a strong message to governments about “the urgent need to mitigate the negative impacts of the current trading system on the closely entwined fates of local communities, to which we all belong, and the ecosystem upon which our livelihoods depend.”  According to organizers, the overall objective of the Forum was to provide a platform for the trade and biodiversity communities to consider how the pursuit of their respective goals and objectives might complement or hinder each other. As Mark Halle of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in Canada noted, “efforts to discuss the inter-linkages between trade and biodiversity have to date remained scattered with little interaction between the communities involved. However, the recent broadening of the WTO agenda to cover more and more aspects that directly impact peoples’ livelihoods has made understanding the intersections between trade and biodiversity increasingly important as advocates in one area find their work impacted by activities in another.” The Forum brought together 140 participants from over 40 countries. Emphasis was given to three key issues: trade and sustainable livelihoods; risk, precaution and biosecurity; and the relationship between the WTO Agreement on Trade-related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).  The linkages between trade policy, trade rules and sustainable livelihoods, as well as the potential of sustainable trade initiatives as tools for poverty alleviation and environmental conservation were the focus of the workshop on trade and sustainable livelihoods.  The workshop on risk, precaution and biosecurity brought together participants working on issues related to trade, biotechnology and invasive alien species (IAS). Ranging from the contamination of native maize varieties in Mexico to the threats posed by species carried in ballast water, the discussions raised a number of broader issues, such as precaution, transparency, the relationship between the environmental and trade regimes, and flexibility for decision making. Participants from the biotechnology and IAS communities recognized the importance of learning from each other’s experiences and joining their efforts to address the overarching issue of trade as it might foster or alleviate biodiversity loss and ultimately the pursuit of sustainable development. Participants from a broad range of groups discussed the link between the TRIPs Agreement and the CBD, calling for the protection of traditional knowledge and biological and cultural diversity in the face of trade liberalization. Deliberations were held on prior informed consent in access agreements; access and benefit-sharing regimes; options for the protection of traditional knowledge; and the mandate of paragraph 19 of the WTO’s Doha Ministerial Declaration, which instructs Members to examine, among others, the TRIPs-CBD relationship and the protection of traditional knowledge and folklore. There was controversy over the legitimacy and appropriateness of any regime that protects intellectual property over life forms. Some participants felt that the best solution was to reform the TRIPs Agreement in light of the CBD, in an effort to find synergies and mutual support, while others were of the view that granting intellectual property rights (IPRs) over life forms was incompatible with the conservation of biological and cultural diversity. Contact: IUCN—The World Conservation Union, Rue Mauverney 28, 1196 Gland, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/999 0216, fax +41-22/999 0025, website (www.gbf.ch).
TOP	Number of Aids Orphans Growing
	The number of children in sub-Saharan countries orphaned and infected with HIV could rise dramatically without improved treatment for AIDS, Razia Babot, a University of Natal researcher warned at the 7th Southern African Network of AIDS Service Organizations (SANASO) conference held in Lusaka (Zambia) from 5-8 August 2003. “With absolutely no treatment there will be 20 million AIDS orphans in sub-Saharan Africa by 2010,” she said. The conference sought to help bring about social change through mobilizing different sectors including people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, NGOs, community-based organizations (CBOs), faith-based organizations (FBOs), the media, legal and civil rights groups, the business community and government representatives. Case studies of both successful and unsuccessful approaches were presented at the conference so that best practices can be replicated and unsuccessful approaches avoided in Southern African countries. According to UN figures, by the end of 2001, 250,000 children under age 15 in South Africa were living with HIV/AIDS and 660,000 had been orphaned by the disease. Speaking on the opening day Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa said that his country was struggling to cope with 620,000 AIDS orphans. Mr. Mwanawasa added that he had learned “the figure will go up to 974,000 by the year 2014.” Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo unveiled a new HIV/AIDS policy designed to remove stigma, promote community response, and which could lead to a new law protecting the civil rights of those affected by the disease in Nigeria. The new policy views HIV/AIDS not just as a health issue but also a development issue. Mr. Obasanjo said that elected officials as well as civil servants had a duty to actively fight HIV/AIDS and set an example for the country’s more than 120 million people, three million of which are infected with HIV/AIDS. Mr. Obasanjo also indicated that with 800,000 children affected by the disease, the policy will address their needs as well as the needs of women. Although extended families across Africa have helped care for AIDS orphans, family networks are increasingly under strain, leaving hundreds of thousands of orphans to fend for themselves.  Contact: Southern African Network of AIDS Service Organizations (SANASO), PO Box 6690, Harare, Zimbabwe, telephone +263-4/745748, fax +263-4/745749, e-mail <sanaso@mango.zw>, website (www.sanaso.org.zw).
	OTHER NEWS
TOP	World Disaster Report 2003: Ethics in AID
	According to a report by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, international efforts to curb global terrorism are posing major ethical dilemmas which threaten the legitimacy of humanitarian agencies. World Disasters Report 2003: Focus on Ethics in Aid highlights the increasing shift by donors and humanitarian agencies towards high profile aid efforts in politically strategic conflicts such as Iraq and Afghanistan, while chronic emergencies in countries such as Angola, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) receive little attention. “We are facing a real inequity in global humanitarian practice where many of the world’s wars and disasters have become forgotten emergencies. If the aid community and donors are committed to providing aid on an impartial basis they must act on their principles and intervene where the needs are most acute,” says Juan Manuel Suárez del Toro, President of the International Federation.  The report examines how military forces are assuming a greater humanitarian role in conflicts where western geo-strategic interests are at stake. Many humanitarians fear that regime change in places like Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq has blurred the lines between civilian and military humanitarian assistance which could result in aid workers losing their impartial status and being targeted or even killed. The report suggests that aid agencies themselves are partially responsible for failing to attract attention to some of the world’s more chronic emergencies. Poor data gathering, information sharing and collaboration between agencies has meant that the true scale of suffering in many crises has been ignored by the international community and in some cases the wrong kind of aid has been provided. The report points to a survey carried out by the International Rescue Committee between 1998-2003 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that reports an estimated 3.3 million people had died, most from easily treatable diseases. Yet while programmes in 2000 to build and promote peace in DRC attracted US$250 million, donor funding for “life-saving” humanitarian aid only amounted to US$37 million.  The report is critical of international agencies that undermine rather than build the capacity of local NGOs and national authorities when they arrive in the wake of disasters. Since the fall of the Taliban the arrival of over 350 international aid agencies in Afghanistan has driven up local rents, inflated salaries and drawn away skilled and experienced Afghans from the government and vital public services.  Humanitarian principles are also at stake as the rights and welfare of migrants come increasingly under threat. Up to 50 million forced migrants and internally displaced people remain invisible-unprotected by aid or law. The report draws attention to the wider “asylum crisis” facing the world today where too much money is spent keeping asylum seekers out of the North and not enough is spent on helping them in the South.  “If we are to truly respect human dignity and save more lives through our actions, humanitarians must become more accountable. We must also take the lead in providing greater moral leadership and guidance to the multitude of different players now involved in humanitarian action so that the needs of the most vulnerable are truly provided for,” Mr. Suárez del Toro stressed. Contact: Denis McClean, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, PO Box 372, CH-1211 Geneva 19, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/730 4428, fax +41-22/733 0395, e-mail <secretariat@ifrc.org>, website (www.ifrc.org/ index.asp).
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