Relationship between the United Nations and Civil Society

The report of the "Panel of Eminent Persons on civil Society and UN Relationships", which was established by the United Nations' Secretary-General Kofi Annan to advise on improving the involvement of civil society organisations in the work of the UN, has been published. Juan Mayr is member of the panel and former minister of environment in Columbia. In December 2003, he was guest of honour in Berlin. Juan Mayr had asked Ecologic and the Heinrich Boell Foundation to organise a dialogue with non-governmental organisations in the fields of environment, development, and human rights.

In his report to the 57th General Assembly, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi A. Annan, highlighted the engagement of civil society as an aspect of the UN Reform process. In February 2003 the Secretary-General appointed Mr. Fernando Enrique Cardoso, former President of Brazil, to chair a panel of 12 individuals with backgrounds that span across governmental and non-governmental sectors.

The Panel's main task is to produce a set of practical recommendations for the Secretary-General on how the UN's relationship with civil society, as well as with private sector and parliaments, could be improved. At the first meeting in June 2003, the Panel agreed on a work programme that emphasizes an open, transparent and consultative process. An important aspect of the work program is dialogue on many occasions with representatives of civil society and experts.

The consultation meeting in Berlin was organised jointly by Ecologic Institute and the Heinrich-Boell-Foundation. The consultation was held on Saturday, 13 December 2003, with 18 participants from 8 countries as representatives of international non-governmental organizations, experts from think tanks and academic institutions, and officials from German federal ministries. The participants covered human rights, environment and sustainable development, trade, development, capacity building and good governance.