UN General Assembly Special Session - Guidelines for NGO participation
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Guidelines for NGOs participation in the United Nations General As-
sembly Special Session (UNGASS)on HIV and AIDS, 25-27 June 2001
[Issued by UNAIDS - 18 January 2001]
I have the pleasure to inform you that the United Nations General As-
sembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS will take place at the United Na-
tions Headquarters in New York from 25 June through 27 June 2001. The
Special Session will aim to intensify international action to combat
HIV/AIDS and to secure a global political commitment and the re-
sources needed.
In its resolution 55/13, adopted on 16 November 2000, the General As-
sembly (see: www.unaids.org) recognizes the importance of the contri-
bution of civil society actors in the response to the epidemic at all
levels, and underlines the need for the active involvement of civil
society representatives in the preparatory process and the special
session.
The resolution invited the President of the General Assembly, in con-
sultation with Member States, to propose appropriate arrangements for
the involvement of NGOs in the Special Session. UNAIDS will keep you
informed about such arrangements as soon as they are determined.
NGOs who wish to participate in the preparatory process and the Spe-
cial Session itself need to apply for accreditation. The accredita-
tion process is as follows:
1. Accreditation of NGOs with ECOSOC status or Members of the Pro-
gramme Coordination Board (PCB) of UNAIDS
Non-governmental organizations having consultative status with the
United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and are inter-
ested in participating in the session, or are members of the Pro-
gramme Coordination Board of UNAIDS, should indicate to the Secre-
tariat not later than 31 January 2001 the name of their organization
and representative (s) to the Special Session.
Information should be sent to:
United Nations
Department for Economic and Social Affairs/NGO Section, DC1-1482
New York, N.Y., USA
Fax: +1-212-963-9248
mailto:DESANGOsection@un.org
A copy should also be sent to:
NGO Unit - Department of External Relations
UNAIDS
20 Avenue Appia
CH-1211 Geneva 27
Fax: +41-22-791-4188
mailto:ungass-cso@unaids.org
2. Participation of NGOs without ECOSOC or PCB status
In its resolution 55/13, the General Assembly also makes provisions
for the participation of other civil society actors who are actively
involved in HIV/AIDS-related work. The UNAIDS secretariat has been
requested to prepare a list of relevant civil society actors by 15
February 2001, for consideration by Member States, on a non-objection
basis during the preparatory process, for final decision by the Gen-
eral Assembly. Such civil society actors would include associations
of people living with HIV/AIDS, non-governmental organizations and
the business sector.
Organizations which would like to participate must meet the following
requirements:
a) Be a legitimate organization with the ability to provide documen-
tation as follows:
i) Purpose of the organization;
ii) Information identifying the programmes and activities of the or-
ganization in HIV/AIDS relevant issues, indicating in which country
or countries they are carried out;
iii) Confirmation of the activities or the organization at the na-
tional, regional or international levels;
iv) Copies of annual or other reports of the organization, with fi-
nancial statements and a list of financial sources and contributions,
including governmental contributions;
v) A list of members of the governing body of the organization and
their countries of nationality;
vi) A description of membership of the organization, indicating the
total number of members, the names of organizations that are members
and their geographical distribution;
vii) A copy of constitution and/or by-laws of the organization.
b) This information should be submitted in one of the two working
languages of the United Nations, English or French.
In order to facilitate the compilation of the required list of NGOs
to be considered for participation in the session, organizations
meeting these requirements, should send this information to:
NGO Unit - Department of External Relations
UNAIDS
20 Avenue Appia
CH-1211 Geneva 27
Fax: +41-22-791-4188
mailto:ungass-cso@unaids.org
A copy should also be sent to:
United Nations
Department for Economic and Social Affairs/NGO Section, DC1-1482
New York, N.Y., USA
Fax: +1-212-963-9248
mailto:DESANGOsection@un.org
All applications should be received in Geneva not later than 31 Janu-
ary 2001 to be considered. As mentioned above, a list will be submit-
ted to the President of the General Assembly by 15 February 2001 for
consideration. Please note that only NGOs that have been approved for
accreditation by Member States will receive a letter of invitation by
the end of February 2001.
Kindly note that no financial support can be provided by the United
Nations for participation.
For any further information on the Special Session of the General As-
sembly on HIV/AIDS, please visit regularly the UNAIDS website at:
http://www.unaids.org
Yours sincerely,
Kathleen Cravero
Deputy Executive Director
UNAIDS