1 October, 2008
CIVIL SOCIETY PARTICIPATION IN THE DOHA GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY FORUM AND THE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW CONFERENCE ON FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT
Civil Society preparations for participation in the International Review Conference on Financing for Development and for the organization of a Civil Society Forum just prior to the Conference are just getting off the ground. The communication below is meant to give the current status of preparations to interested NGOs and CSOs. Relevant updates will be provided as soon as they come to hand. PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS WIDELY TO YOUR NETWORKS
1. General Information
The International Review Conference on Financing for Development will be held in Doha, Qatar from 29 November to 2 December, 2008.
The Doha NGO Group on Financing for Development (DNG) will host a Global Civil Society Forum in Doha from 26 to 27 November, 2008. An International Planning Committee (the DNG-IPC)[1] has been set up to coordinate the planning of the Civil Society Forum, as well as civil society participation in the official Review Conference.
The DNG-IPC will work closely with the following actors in the coordination and planning of the Civil Society Forum:
The Permanent Mission of Qatar to the United Nations
The Qatari National Organizing Committee for the International Review Conference on Financing for Development
The UN Financing for Development Office (FfDO)
The UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS)
The Doha NGO Group on Financing for Development (DNG)
2. Status of Preparations for the Civil Society Forum
The DNG-IPC estimates that about 500 to 700 civil society delegates will participate in the Civil Society Forum.
The Qatari National Organizing Committee has made a number of commitments with respect to supporting the Civil Society Forum. The Committee will make available Conference facilities at a Hotel (to be determined), for the holding of the Civil Society Forum. This will include rooms for plenary and break-out sessions and self-organized events, as well as a CSO Resource Room equipped with computers, printers and internet access.
A block booking of room reservations will be made for civil society participants at the same hotel. The National Organizing Committee has agreed to fund the participation of a certain number of participants from the south. The DNG-IPC will work closely with the FfDO and NGLS for the purpose of selecting these participants. Other civil society delegates will be self-funded, or will have to seek their own funding for travel and hotel accommodation.
3. Accreditation to the CS Forum, Doha, 26 to 27 November, 2008 – Application process
Only organizations accredited to ECOSOC or to the FfD process will be eligible to register to participate in the CS Forum and the Doha Review Conference. The Lists of accredited NGOs can be found at the Civil Society Accreditation web page of the FfD website. The UN Financing for Development Office (FfDO) is tasked with presenting the Qatari National Organizing Committee with the List of participants for the CS Forum. The DNG must therefore work closely with the FfDO on the registration process. (Organizations without accreditation had up to 31 August, 2008 to apply for accreditation).
Non-accredited organizations can, however, seek the sponsorship of an accredited partner organization, in order to participate in the CS Forum.
4. Registration procedures for Organizations not accredited to ECOSOC or to the FfD Process
Persons from organizations not accredited to ECOSOC or the FfD Process wishing to register for the Civil Society Forum and Doha Review Conference must provide information about their Sponsoring Organization in Part 2 of the Registration Form—Organization Details. They must further upload a letter from the Sponsoring Organization in Part 5 of the Form—Supporting Documentation.
Part 4—Contributions to the FfD Process—gives the opportunity for persons from non-accredited organizations to provide information about their own organization’s engagement with FfD processes and themes.
5. Registration procedures for Organizations accredited to ECOSOC or to the FfD Process
Persons from organizations accredited to ECOSOC or the FfD Process must provide details about their organization in Part 2 of the Registration Form—Organization Details. They must further upload a letter from their organization in Part 5 of the Form—Supporting Documentation.
Part 4—Contributions to the FfD Process—gives them the opportunity to provide information about their own engagement with FfD processes and themes.
6. Program for the Civil Society Forum
The design and format of the Program for the two-day Civil Society Forum will be discussed among the DNG-IPC and the DNG. A two-day Forum is envisaged, from 26 to 27 November, with registration starting in the afternoon of 26 November, followed by a Reception in the evening of 26 November. In addition to plenary and break-out sessions on the thematic Chapters of the Monterrey Consensus, the Program will allow for self organized events. The relevant information on the Program will be communicated to interested civil society networks in due course.
7. Information on Visas for Qatar
The National Organizing Committee has promised that information will soon be available on the Qatari web page for the International Review Conference on Financing for Development informing prospective delegates to the CS Forum and the official Conference about which country nationals require visas, and which countries have a Qatari Consulate. (Currently, the web page is very much “a work in progress”). The Qatari government will work to ensure that where needed, their consulates in various countries provide visas to those registered to participate in the CS Forum. Where consulates do not exist, arrangements will be made for registered participants to get their visas at the airport in Doha.
8. Civil Society participation in the International Review Conference on Financing for Development - Doha, 29 November to 2 December, 2008
As with the CS Forum, only organizations accredited to ECOSOC or to the FfD process will be eligible to register to participate in the Doha Review Conference. The registration form will serve the purpose of selecting CS delegates to the official Review Conference. The procedures highlighted in Section 4 of this note indicate how persons not accredited to ECOSOC or to the FfD Process can register to participate in the Doha Events. 200 observer seats will be allocated to CSOs at the Doha Review Conference on Financing for Development. 42 CSOs will be selected to speak at the official Roundtables of the Conference. CS participants will be informed of their status as follows:
· Round Table Speaker in the Doha Review Conference and/or
· Observer delegate to the Doha Review Conference and/or
· Delegate to the CS Forum.
The Qatari Organizing Committee will provide additional support for a number of CSO delegates from the south, registered to participate in the official Review Conference.
9. Note on useful web-links
Information on the Doha FfD Review Conference and Preparatory Process can be found in the monthly newsletter "The Road to Doha", published by the Financing for Development Office and NGLS. The August 2008 Issue is available online at:
http://www.un.org/esa/ffd/newsletter/index.htm
where you can also download previous issues, as well as subscribe to receive future issues of the newsletter.
General information on financing for development and the Doha FfD Preparatory Process can be found at: http://www.un.org/esa/ffd/.
The Online Registration form referenced in this Fact Sheet can be found at www.un-ngls.org/ffd
[1] Doha NGO Group - International Planning Committee (DNG-IPC)
John Foster – Third World Institue-Social Watch
Rosa Lizarde – Women’s Working Group on Financing for Development
John Ruthrauff – INTERACTION
Eva Friedlander – International Women’s Anthropology Conference
Lydy Nacpil – Jubilee South
Philo Morris – Medical Mission Sisters
Gemma Adaba – International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
Matt Simonds - International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
Ziad Abdel Samad – Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND)
Kinda Mohamedieh - Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND)
