CIEL Facilitates the 2005 UNEP North American Regional Civil Society Consultation

On 28 October 2005, CIEL Senior Attorney Glenn Wiser served as Facilitator for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) North American Regional Civil Society Consultation in Washington, DC. Sixty representatives of 41 organizations participated in this year's Consultation, which was convened by the UNEP Regional Office of North America (RONA) and hosted by the United Nations Foundation (UNF).

These regional civil society consultations are intended to provide input into the upcoming 9th Special Session of the UNEP Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GC/GMEF) to be held in February 2006, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The GC/GMEF is an annual meeting of the world's environment ministers. The 2006 GC/GMEF will focus on three main policy issues: energy and the environment, chemicals management, and tourism and the environment. Immediately preceding the GC/GMEF will be a Global Civil Society Forum (GCSF), which will present an opportunity to integrate the perspective and experience of civil society into the ensuing discussions at the GC/GMEF.

The purpose of the 28 October Consultation was to brief North American civil society organizations on the three main policy issues and to enable a discussion among civil society that would result in a set of recommendations to include in a North American Regional Civil Society Statement. This Consultation was one of a series of regional civil society consultations that UNEP convened in preparation for the GC/GMEF and the GCSF.

To read the North American Regional Civil Society Statement, please click here.

To read the Facilitator's Summary of the North American Consultation, please click here.