SPECIAL SESSION: NGO participation at follow up event [nomination]

Summary: Nomination process for NGO participation to the Special Session follow up event to take place in New York on 11 and 12 December 2007.

Event date: 11 – 12 December 2007
Location: UN Headquarters, New York

A commemorative high-level plenary meeting devoted to the follow-up to the outcome of the special session on children was recently announced in accordance with General Assembly resolution 61/272.

The event will consist of a high level plenary discussion, open to NGO representatives, and two thematic round table discussions for which 20 NGO representatives will be nominated to take part in. One NGO representative with ECOSOC consultative status will also be chosen to address the plenary.

At the request of the President of the General Assembly, UNICEF has formed a Task Force to assist in the identification of the 20 NGO representatives who will participate in the round tables, and the representative of one NGO who will address the closing plenary meeting.

The Task Force includes the following NGO representatives selected on the basis of the key coordinating roles that they and the organisations they represent played at the time of the Special Session on Children, in May 2002:

• Ms Jo Becker, Human Rights Watch, Co-Convener of the Child Rights Caucus for the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children, 2002
• Mr Bill Bell, Save the Children, Co-Convener of the Child Rights Caucus for the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children, 2002 
• Mr Lennart Reinius, Plan, Sweden, Chair of the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child;
• Mr Miquel de Paladella, Coordinator, Global Movement for Children;
• Ms Jackie Shapiro, Zonta International, Co-Chair of the NGO Committee for UNICEF;
• Ms. Elisabeth Shuman, SOS Kinderdorf, Co-Chair of the NGO Committee for UNICEF.

Selection criteria for NGO representatives for the round tables

Selection will be determined by the President of the General Assembly, in consultation with Member States, on the basis of recommendations by the Task Force, and according to the following criteria:

• Broad substantive expertise and/or experience in implementation of the declaration and plan of action of A World Fit for Children, (General Assembly resolution S-27/2 of 11 October 2002); 
• Representation of organisations/network(s) with a broad constituency, and operating at the local, national or international level; 
• Gender, geographic and sectoral balance, with attention paid to racial, ethnic, intergenerational and religious diversity;
• Significant representation from developing countries, indigenous peoples and under-represented regions or groups;
• Fluency in one of the six official languages used at the United Nations.

DEADLINE: Friday 14 September 2007

Email the nomination form to: [email protected]; or
by Fax: +1 212 303 7992

Further information

Applicants will be advised by the beginning of October if they have been selected

Please ensure that nominees are aware of the US visa application process and timetable. If a visa is necessary, it is best to apply for it at least a month before the intended date of arrival in the US

Funding may be available for speakers and active participants from developing countries. Requests for funding may be made, using the Nomination form.

Further information about the event: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=13931

**Note** Information and the nomination form for child and youth participants will be available shortly at this link: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=13931