IDPC Advocacy Note - Civil Society Engagement - UN High Level Segment 2009

Civil society engagement in during the lead up to the UN High Level Segment has been for the first time a properly structured programmed of NGO involvement put in place by the 'Beyond 2008' initiative. Nine regional seminars were held through the first half of 2008, and 300 delegates drawn from these events gathered in Vienna in July 2008 to put together a NGO consensus declaration for presentation to the CND. The declaration was circulated to all members of the CND and followed up with a formal letter to the Chairwoman of the CND suggesting ways that civil society could make a constructive contribution to the 2009 CND and its High Level Segment. The response has been deeply disappointing with very few member states pushing for a more inclusive approach to civil society engagement in the UN High Level Segment and the 52nd Session of the CND. This advocacy note gives the IDPC perspective on the continued failings of the CND to provide meaningful mechanisms for respectful and constructive engagement with civil society.