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PLEASE NOTE DEADLINES.
NGO Participation
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Representatives of ECOSOC-accredited NGOs may attend all open official meetings of the Commission. Usually, informal consultations on the negotiation of outcomes (decisions and resolutions) are restricted to government delegates. The Chairperson of these closed meetings may allow NGOs to observe some of these consultations during the initial stages of negotiation. Modalities of NGO
participation in CSW sessions |
Only NGOs that are accredited to, and in good
standing with, the Economic
and Social Council (ECOSOC), may attend the annual
sessions of CSW at UN Headquarters.
NGOs without ECOSOC accreditation can,
however, organize and attend parallel events held outside UN premises, for
example in the Church Center. To do so, they should contact
the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, which is a group of New York-based
women’s NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC.
For information on how to apply for ECOSOC
accreditation, please visit the DESA NGO Section website at: http://www.un.org/esa/coordination/ngo.
Invitations to ECOSOC-accredited NGOs were sent
out by e-mail on 20 October 2008. Should an e-mail not reach its destination,
DAW sends the invitation by fax or regular post.
Please note that DAW only sends invitation and confirmation letters to the
organization’s e-mail or postal address or fax numbers that appear in the DESA NGO Section
database of ECOSOC-accredited NGOs. The DESA NGO Section should be notified of
any changes to an
organization’s official e-mail or postal address, or fax or telephone number
at: desangosection@un.org.
In addition, the invitation is included in the DESA
NGO Section’s package that is mailed out in November to all NGOs in
consultative status with ECOSOC.
What
an eligible NGO should do if it has not received the invitation:
- Check with its headquarters to see if the invitation has been received;
- Verify with the DESA NGO
Section whether the organization’s contact information is accurate;
- Send a request to DAW at
the
official CSW e-mail address to have the invitation re-sent to the
e-mail or postal address or fax number in the DESA NGO Section database
once the organization is satisfied that the contact information is
correct.
Pre-registration and registration
Pre-registration
DEADLINE: 9 January 2009
Organizations should pre-register their representatives for CSW53, if possible online at
this webpage, by 9 January 2009.
Organizations pre-registering representatives should
also designate alternate representatives, in particular if attendance at the
session is contingent upon obtaining an entry visa to the United States of
America.
There is currently no limit on the number of representatives each organization may pre-register. However, due to limited space on UN premises, and to security and safety concerns, Security Officers may limit the number of representatives who are allowed to enter conference rooms during the CSW sessions.
Click here to retrieve a forgotten login ID and/or password.
If you have any problems using the online
pre-registration system, please refer to the online
help manual.
Please note:
- Organization login ID and passwords are strictly confidential. NGOs should not give their organization login ID or password to any other organization. Giving an organization login ID and password to another organization would allow the recipient organization to tamper with the data.
- When pre-registration has been done online, please do
not send any duplicate pre-registration forms by fax or regular
post as this will only delay the processing of the information.
- It may take up to three business days
to process pre-registrations as well as subsequent changes.
What should be done when
login fails
Passwords are CASE-SENSITIVE. Please make sure to enter passwords exactly as they appear on the
invitations.
Click here
to retrieve a forgotten password. Passwords will only be e-mailed to the
organization’s official e-mail address in the DESA NGO Section
database.
If this still does not work, please send the organization
login ID number, password, and list of participants to the
official CSW e-mail address, and DAW staff will pre-register them.
Instructions for changing / editing names of representatives who have
already been pre-registered
Organizations can review and change the names of their
pre-registered representatives on-line by logging-in on the login page.
Names and contact details of representatives can be
edited by clicking on the relevant name.
Organizations can also "un-register"
representatives by clicking on the 
(unlist icon) button.
Substitutions/corrections can also be made through a
faxed request to DAW. Please note that a faxed request will only be processed by DAW if the request is made on stationery with the
official NGO letterhead AND includes the organization login ID and password. Please note that delays in processing requests made by fax
may be unavoidable.
Pre-registration questions
All pre-registration-related questions should be sent
to the official CSW e-mail address. The
subject line should read “CSW pre-registration.”
Confirmation of pre-registration
Following the completion of pre-registration, NGO
representatives will be able to download and print their confirmation
letters. These letters are available within
three days of pre-registration.
Please note that the organization login ID and
password are required in order to login (the same ones used for
pre-registration). Once logged in, click on the "representatives" menu option.
If you have any problems using the online pre-registration system,
please refer to the online
help manual.
If the letters can still not be retrieved online,
please send an e-mail containing the organization login ID to the
official CSW e-mail address.
On-site registration
Upon arrival at the United Nations, each NGO
representative should register on site in order to obtain a UN Grounds Pass. Details regarding
on-site registration and issuance of UN Grounds Passes are provided in the
confirmation letter. On-site registration is a pre-requisite to obtaining a UN
grounds pass that is valid for the duration of the session.
Please note that DAW will only accept official
confirmation letters that have been posted on its online pre-registration
system.
Participants are encouraged to submit their visa
applications well in advance, in
accordance with their local United States Consulate requirements, in order to
allow sufficient time for processing.
Information regarding possible accommodation in New
York City can be downloaded here.
Pre-sessional roundtable discussions
In preparation for each session of CSW, the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, which is a group of New York-based women’s NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC, collaborates with the Division for the Advancement of Women to organize roundtable discussions at UN headquarters in New York on the themes to be considered by the CSW.
This year’s roundtables are expected to take place in
February. The dates and venue of these roundtables will be announced in the UN
Journal.
Written statements to CSW may be submitted by ECOSOC-accredited NGOs on the thematic issues considered by CSW in accordance with ECOSOC resolution 1996/31. These statements are submitted months prior to any session in order to allow time for processing and issuance of the statements as official United Nations documents for the Commission.
DEADLINE:
21 November 2008 for individual statements and 28 November 2008 for joint
statements
Submission of written statements
- Written statements shall be submitted in one of the official languages of the United Nations (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish). Organizations wishing to submit their statement in more than one official language must specify which language version is the original, and which other language versions are to be used as references for translation;
- Statements by organizations in general
consultative status should not exceed 2000 words; statements by
organizations in special consultative status should not exceed
1500 words;
- Please note
that the word count should include the required title and agenda item;
Please use attached sample
- The list of signatories (all of whom must be
ECOSOC-accredited organizations) should appear in alphabetical order;
- The names of organizations should be written as they
appear on the DESA NGO Section’s database;
- Statements should be submitted in their final form.
Once submitted they will immediately enter the processing procedure;
- Statements should be written in a Times New Roman text
font, size 12.
- Statements should be submitted as Word documents with
‘NGO name written statement’ as the filename; and
- Statements should be e-mailed to the
official CSW e-mail address, with 'Written statement / Name of NGO' in
the subject line.
General discussion
Oral statements may be made during the general
discussion by a limited number of NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC. The
number of oral statements to be delivered at the session will depend on the
time available.
Oral statements should not exceed three minutes.
In an effort to bring broad-based views of the NGO
community to the intergovernmental process, preference is given to NGOs
speaking on behalf of groups of organizations, caucuses, or coalitions. NGO
representatives are therefore encouraged to prepare joint oral statements.
NGOs wishing to speak during the general discussion should submit a request to the official CSW e-mail address no later than 27 February 2009.
Requests should clearly indicate:
- the topic(s) covered by the statement (in summary form)
- the organization(s)
- the name of the speaker
- the speaker's e-mail contact address
- the speaker's local (New York) telephone contact number
Procedural details
will be posted at a later date.
Interactive panels
NGOs wishing to speak during the interactive panels should submit a request to the official CSW e-mail address no later than 27 February 2009.
Interventions should not exceed three minutes.
These interventions should NOT be in the form of
prepared statements and NGOs are therefore not required to submit copies of
such interventions. Interventions must be focused on the issue being
considered. Inputs on other issues will not be accomodated. Theses
interventions may take the form of comments or questions to the experts on the
panels.
DEADLINE: 9 January 2009
Parallel events held on UN premises
Parallel events may be organized on UN premises during the
CSW session by Permanent Missions, UN entities and ECOSOC-accredited NGOs
collaborating with Member States or UN entities.
The sponsoring Permanent Mission or UN entity should request
rooms and equipment through the Parallel
Event Request System for Permanent Missions and UN entities. The sponsoring
Permanent Mission or UN entity assumes responsibility for paying any expenses
related to the event, and should be present at the event.
Parallel events held in the Church Center and other locations
Parallel events organized by NGOs take place outside UN premises, usually in the Church Center (located at the intersection of 44th Street and First Avenue, across from the UN Secretariat building). NGOs, both with and without ECOSOC accreditation, may organize and attend these events. No equipment (computers, projectors, etc) will be provided. NGOs organizing the events can however bring their own equipment.
The scheduling of NGO-organized parallel events in the Church Center is the responsibility of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, which is a group of New York-based women’s NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC. Please do not contact DAW with queries related to scheduling.
The procedure to request a parallel event differs depending on whether an NGO is accredited with ECOSOC or not.
ECOSOC-accredited NGOs wishing to organize a parallel event during the CSW session should do so via the Parallel Event Request System for NGOs, using the organization login ID and password indicated in the invitation letter.
Requests
should be submitted by 9 January 2009, using one form per
event.
For any problem with the online Parallel Event Request system, please
refer to the online help manual.
Non-ECOSOC-accredited NGOs should send their requests directly to the NGO Committee on the Status of Women.
Calendar of parallel events
A calendar of all
parallel events organized by Permanent
Missions, UN entities, and NGOs is posted on the DAW web site
one week prior to the CSW session, and
updated regularly.
If NGOs organize parallel events in venues other than
the Church Center, the organizer is encouraged to inform both DAW and the NGO
Committee on the Status of Women in order to have the events listed in the
calendar of events.
Questions
on parallel events organized by NGOs
All questions on NGO-sponsored events should be
directed to the NGO Committee on the Status of Women and NOT to DAW.
The NGO Committee on the Status of Women
708
3rd Ave. 5th Floor, Room 101
New York, NY 10017
Fax number: +1 (212) 209-7161
Focal point contact: Ms. Vivian Pender
E-mail address: info@ngocsw.org
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