By Ambassador Dr. Dieter Kastrup
Mission of Germany
The Permanent Representative of Germany presents his compliments to the Secretary General and wishes to respond to the request of the Secretary General contained in the Note verbale of 26 February 1999 (reference NGOPT2/1). In its capacity as Presidency of the European Union, Germany has the honour to transmit the views of the European Union on the Secretary General's Report A/53/170 entitled "Arrangements and practices for the interaction of non-governmental organizations in all activities of the United Nations System".
First of all, the European Union wishes to highlight the central role of non-governmental organizations as independent actors within civil society and essential partners for government and the international community. Non-governmental organisations are the eloquent voice of core groups of society on all levels, local, national and international, and they constitute a rich resource of knowledge and experience derived from their engagement in practical work.
Moreover, people-centered and participatory development, democracy, good governance and respect for human rights as central goals emanating from World Conferences and Summits of the 1990s can hardly be achieved without full participation of civil society and in particular non-governmental organisations in the planning, design decision-making, implementation and monitoring of policies and practical measures in all spheres of life. In short, while the responsibilies of governments, intergovernmental organisations like the United Nations and non-governmental organisations differ, all these actors depend on mutual respect for and constructive interaction with each other.
Within the realm of the United Nations, it is therefore a welcome development that NGOs established themselves as a major driving force behind the World Conferences and Summits of the last decade, both in their conception and implementation, and that they are recognized as indispensable partners in UN activities in the field. The Secretary General's report A/53/170 provides ample proof of the great variety of ways and means for NGO involvement in the United Nations system. At the same time, a strengthening and broadening of mechanisms for interaction with NGOs and civil society will be needed. In this context, the additional steps suggested by the Secretary General in the paragraphs 72 to 76 of the report would certainly be welcome.
For the immediate future, the European Union is of the opinion that the question of participation of non-governmental organisations in the General Assembly deserves primary attention and should be concluded during the forthcoming 54th session of the General Assembly. A number of important considerations should be borne in mind in this regard. Existing practices of the General Assembly in terms of NGO participation, for instance in its respective committees, should be reaffirmed. Furthermore, the Union looks forward to broadening participation of NGOs beyond existing practice, including through access to a number of seats in an appropriately designated area of the General Assembly Hall as proposed in paragraph 77 of the report. With respect to Special Sessions of the General Assembly dedicated to the follow-up of major United Nations conferences and and summits, the General Assembly could consider establishing special arrangements for NGO-participation which would apply to all Special Sessions of this nature.
Active participation of non-governmental organisations presupposes their ability to gain access to information about the activities of the United Nations system in a timely manner. European Union countries have been traditional supporters of efforts in this regard. The United Nations should especially use electronic and other cost-effective means for making information available to non-governmental organisations, the public and civil society at large. It would be desirable to examine if current projects for updating the Optical Disk System might also be used to allow NGO access to it. However, NGOs should not be subjected to user-fees for ODS which might create an obstacle to access by e.g. grassroots non-governmental organisations, especially from developing countries.
The European Union fully subscribes to wide geographical representation in the UN. NGOs from all regions should have the opportunity to participate in the work of the United Nations. In fact, as the report of the Secretary General shows, a lot of progress has already been made in this regard through a variety of measures, inter alia supported by financial contributions from Member States. Many international NGOs also represent constituencies from all regions. The European Union believes that existing mechanisms for enhancing participation of NGOs from underrepresented regions, such as the system of the United Nations Non-governmental Liaison Service described in paragraph 68 of the report, could be further developed.
The European Union would be grateful if its views could be reflected in the Secretary General's report on NGO participation which will be submitted to the 54th General Assembly in autumn 1999.
Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.
