| Nongovernmental
Organizations (NGO) demonstrated a united front
at the third preparatory meeting for the World
Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) at UN
headquarters in New York.
Stakeholder
Forum for Our Common Future, an NGO that works towards
uniting the other stakeholders of WSSD, held a press
conference to field questions from the cynical press.
Representatives of the Stakeholder Forum, Robert Whitfield
and Minu Hemmati were asked questions such as, why
was their particular NGO necessary? There are many
other organizations attempting to combine the efforts
of other NGOs. Hemmati said the Stakeholder Forum created
a place for stakeholders to discuss the issues. "This
is a neutral space where every voice is equal," she
said.
A
representative of the International Council
for Local Initiative
(ICLEI), Kaarin Taipale
jumped to the Stakeholder Forum's defense when
she said that the NGO community is very disorganized
and marginalized. Being a part of a Forum such
as this gives them the opportunity to have a
united voice. "If we do not catch this moment
of dialogue between governments and NGOs we will
loose it," she said.
Hemmati informed the press that in the Stakeholder
forum, action is taken only after discussion
with all of the groups. They are holding a conference
simultaneously with WSSD in Johannesburg, called
the Implementation Conference to lay the foundations
for a collaborative stakeholder implementation
of sustainable development.
The
Stakeholder Forum calls this a "stepping
stone" to attaining stakeholder participation
in sustainable development. They have chosen
four areas of highest concern, energy, food security,
freshwater and public health and HIV/AIDS, to
focus on. These areas were chosen after evaluating
their relationship to good governance, corporate
and stakeholder accountability and seeing if
progress in these areas would contribute of poverty
eradication.
After these areas were chosen the Forum tried
to pin-point the sectors that needed to be focused
on the most. They also evaluated what partnerships
would benefit these areas the most.
When asked why these partnerships were being
separated, as opposed to looking at the problem
as a whole, Hemmati said it was only for practical
reasons.
Hemmati's colleague said that even though the
Stakeholder Forum was started in the fall of
2001 they have done a considerable amount of
work. In December, he said, the Forum formulated
a concept. This was then discussed at second
preparatory meeting of the WSSD, held in New
York City in January. This month discussion is
still taking place and an action plan has been
formulated.
The next step, Whitfield said would be discussing
the implementation of this action plan and who
should be involved. And finally the financing
of this action plan would be discussed. For this,
the involvement of governments and the UN would
be of importance.
Hemmati said a reporting and monitoring mechanism
is needed. A concrete plan has not been formulated
to this effect but one suggestion to for the
Commission on Sustainable Development to act
as this body.
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