| R2P-CS Network Sends Letter to GA President Jan Eliasson re Peacebuilding Commission |
 |
 |
 |
| Friday, 14 October 2005 09:23 |
|
The Honorable Jan Eliasson General Assembly President United Nations Headquarters New York, NY 10017 Dear Mr. President, We, the under-signed civil society groups, write to you on the urgent matter of determining the mechanisms for civil society participation in the establishment and subsequent functioning of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC). We view the proposed PBC as one of the most important opportunities for real and positive reform at the United Nations to emerge from the recent Summit. As members of civil society, we are prepared to support you, your staff and those governments that are willing to take bold steps in the creation of a balanced and effective PBC. We deem it essential to the success of any future Peacebuilding Commission that all relevant stakeholders are both consulted and granted access to the process establishing the PBC. If the Commission is to live up to the promise of effectively coordinating the institutional structures at the U.N. with relevant stake-holders and in-community peacebuilding efforts, then civil society, as a major stakeholder in building and sustaining peace, should be consulted. Moreover, civil society organizations can play a critical role during the negotiating process by supporting those governments that engage in good-faith negotiations on the PBC and holding those accountable that choose to obstruct any successful process. Civil society organizations with representatives at U.N. Headquarters in New York consider it an essential part of their work to keep their members and colleagues around the world, notably in places that may be directly impacted by the work of a future PBC, informed about decision-making processes that take place at U.N. Headquarters. Therefore, we recommend that you ensure that accredited NGOs have access to all but the most informal negotiations and to all relevant documents. Further, not only do we share information with our colleagues around the world, but we collect invaluable information from them on best-practices and peacebuilding activities in their own communities. We must be able to share this information with decision-makers at the U.N. through distribution of materials at the negotiations. We also recommend that you request your appointed co-chairs to regularly brief members of civil society on the process. We are prepared to take the lead on these steps and self-organize to ensure that our presence is respectful of established procedures and is a positive contribution to the negotiating process. We hope that your assessment of civil society participation during the Summit expressed in your comments at the afternoon session of the High-level Plenary Meeting on 16 September 2005 will inform your decisions on appropriate ways forward. We urge you to take all steps within your purview as President of the General Assembly to establish the means by which the Summit follow-up processes may be transparent and the decision-makers may be as informed as possible. These principles will be essential to the success of any Summit follow-up process and several NGOs will be contacting you regarding the effective contribution of civil society in the establishment of the Human Rights Council. We look forward to further engagement with you on these issues in the near future. Sincerely, Amnesty International Center for Women's Global Leadership Femmes Africa Solidarite Hague Appeal for Peace Human Rights Watch International Confederation of Trade Unions The International Peace Bureau International Save the Children Alliance International Service for Human Rights Quaker United Nations Office Refugees International The Responsibility to Protect Engaging Civil Society Network United Methodist Office for the United Nations Women's Environment and Development Organization Women's International League for Peace and Freedom World Federalist Movement World Vision International The Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) The following organizations are regional initiators for GPPAC: African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) Southern Africa) Canadian Peacebuilding Coordinating Committee (co-initiator, North America) Citizens' Constitutional Forum (the Pacific) European Centre for Conflict Prevention (Northern and Western Europe) Foundation for Tolerance International (Central Asia) Initiatives for International Dialogue (Southeast Asia) International Center on Conflict & Negotiation (the Caucuses) Nairobi Peace Initiative-Africa (Eastern & Central Africa) Nansen Network in the Balkans (the Balkans) Non-Violence International (Western Commonwealth of Independent States) Peace Boat (Northeast Asia) Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (South Asia) Regional Coordination for Economic and Social Research (CRIES) (Latin America & the Caribbean) The Forum for Development, Culture & Dialogue (Middle East & North Africa) West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (West Africa) |