Chairperson's summary of the multi-stakeholder dialogue
Friday, 2 May 2003
Introduction
As part of the eleventh session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), both governments and Major Groups* were encouraged to contribute to an interactive multi-stakeholder dialogue session. The discussions were candid and enriching, and reflected serious attempts by all parties to enhance the participation of Major Groups in activities of the CSD.
The deliberations sought to cover four key areas:
- Participation and representation of Major Groups in CSD meetings.
- Contributions of Major Groups to the implementation of Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPoI).
- Future work programme, organisation and methods of work of the CSD.
- Accountability and responsibility of Major Groups in implementation.
A key theme emerging from the dialogue was the renewed commitment to addressing sustainable development within a multilateral framework, as well as the central role of the human-centered and rights-based approaches to sustainable development.
Participation and representation of Major Groups
There was recognition that the CSD was one of the few forums within the United Nations (UN) that allowed a diversity of stakeholder groups to effectively participate and contribute to a major multilateral process. Many participants asked for participation from other sectors of stakeholders and governments as well. The Trade Unions stressed the need for more balanced participation reflecting the three dimensions of sustainable development.
The CSD was asked to give considerations to the broadening of participation to include groups like consumers, faith-based groups, parliamentarians and the media. There was a convergence on the need to include vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities and the elderly, as well to recognise the important role played by educators in the future work of the CSD. The Women's group also emphasised the importance of appropriate gender balance in all CSD meetings.
Several delegations expressed strong concern at the small numbers of stakeholders from the South forming part of Major Group delegations to the CSD. In order to address this imbalance, there were calls and pledges by both Northern and Southern delegations to avail resources from better resourced organisations and donor agencies to support the participation for major groups from developing counties in order to foster a more geographically balanced representation of Major Groups at future CSD meetings.
There was support for the inclusion of major group representatives in national delegations as a mechanism to enhance their participation in the work of the CSD. Several countries reported that they regularly included major groups in their delegations with constructive results and encouraged others to do the same. Major Groups welcomed this proposal but also supported the CSD practice of selecting major group participants through self-organised mechanisms to assure transparency. The accountability of participants to their local constituencies, however, remained crucial.
Youth emphasised the importance of the political contribution of youth in decision-making, especially at a national level. In many developing countries youth are a significant political constituency, and can exercise leadership by actively participating in the political debates within their own countries.
It was emphasised that all parties had an obligation in ensuring that appropriate Major Group representation was considered and accommodated in the CSD.
Contributions of Major Groups to the implementation of Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation
There was consensus that the implementation of the JPOI was not the responsibility of governments alone but that stakeholders have a crucial role to play in implementation. The Business community said that they considered voluntary partnerships as a key instrument to mobilise business's support for achieving the CSD's objectives. Business prioritised job creation, providing services and developing innovative technologies as key contributions from their sector.
Scientific and technological communities stressed their dual role as providers of authoritative scientific information for decision-making as well as educators of the public. There was a need for an international commitment to narrow the knowledge divide between developed and developing countries through international support for and investment in the knowledge generation capacities of developing countries. The role of indigenous knowledge and its complementary to scientific knowledge was noted. The scientific community noted the need for a balance between public and private sector funding for research.
Local government emphasised the need for more resources to be allocated towards local level initiatives. The considerable work being done by local authorities in implementing Agenda 21 was noted.
The issue of trade-distorting agricultural subsidies was raised and noted as a serious constraint on the achievement of sustainable development goals.
Future work programme, organisation and methods of work of the CSD
Major Groups' comments indicated support for the proposed two-year cycle of the new Work Programme, and for water and energy as priority areas for the first two cycles. Farmers drew specific attention to the importance of linking water to food security issues. There was also general support for the proposed regional implementation forums, which were seen as ways to increase major group participation in the monitoring and implementation efforts.
Several Major Groups proposed the inclusion of stakeholders in expert groups or sub-committees that may be created in the future work of the CSD. While some of these mechanisms could involve specific major group sectors, such as Scientists, others could be of a multi-stakeholder nature. Calls were made for Major Group participation in all steps of the implementation process from developing programmes to monitoring their progress.
Indigenous People and NGOs proposed a rights-based approach, the use of prior informed consent and respect for cultural diversity as general principles that should be underlying the future work of the CSD. Gender issues and gender equity needs to be mainstreamed into the future work of the CSD. A gender analysis of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation was requested.
The need to strengthen stakeholder networks, particularly at the country, regional and sub-regional levels is important to take concerted effort on issues related to implementation targets of the Johannesburg programme of implementation.
Accountability and responsibility of Major Groups in implementation
There was a need for a special arrangement that allowed for civil society or Major Groups to report to the CSD. As the CSD was moving towards a more implementation-oriented focus, it needed to ensure that non-State actors were also brought into the implementation framework. For instance the Women's groups made concrete suggestions that the CSD should develop indicators and reporting mechanisms to demonstrate the mainstreaming of gender issues in the CSD. Delegations supported the participation of all stakeholders in monitoring and assessment and emphasised the value of using sustainable development indicators.
The Chair thanked all the participants for the maturity and deep thought they had given to the issues at hand and assured participants that the contents of the dialogue would be brought to the attention of the ensuing CSD11 deliberations.
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