DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS UN CIVIL SOCIETY FOCAL POINTS MOBILIZE CITIZENS

WORLDWIDE IN SUPPORT OF UN AGENDA, AS ANNUAL MEETING CLOSES AT HEADQUARTERS

Following is the text of remarks by UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro at the conclusion of the annual meeting of UN Civil Society Focal Points in New York, 10 July:

I am honoured to join you today.  I am also delighted to see such a wide representation of civil society focal points from United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, as well as from the international financial institutions.

Let me thank the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service for organizing this gathering and for bringing all of you together.  I trust you have all benefited from this opportunity to exchange ideas, share best practices and highlight successful ways to engage with civil society organizations.

Today, such engagement has become vital to the work of the United Nations -- from peace and security to socio-economic development, from humanitarian assistance to human rights.  Our civil society partners help advance this agenda in myriad ways:  they bring expertise and information on current and emerging issues -- be it climate change, poverty eradication or rural development.  This expertise often provides important new thinking and research on matters of global importance.

They bring outstanding outreach capacity, with the potential to mobilize citizens around the world in support of issues on the United Nations’ agenda.  Credible civil society organizations possess legitimacy, embodying as they do the aspirations of the people of the world.  The United Nations must always be guided by these aspirations if it is to truly reflect the first phrase of the Charter, “We the Peoples”, and if it is to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.

The Member States of the United Nations have increasingly come to realize the key role of civil society organizations in addressing the challenges faced by the international community.  They have done so in the series of global conferences and summits held over the past two decades.  They have done so in the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals -- our common vision for a better world by 2015.

They did so again just last month in Vienna at the seventh Global Forum on Reinventing Government.  The Global Forum, which was hosted for the first time by the United Nations, called on Member States to support the participation of civil society as a full partner in governance, so that people’s trust in government institutions can be rekindled.

You -- as our civil society focal points -- play a particularly important role in nurturing and deepening the partnerships between non-governmental organizations and the institutions of global governance.  You are an essential link between the United Nations and civil society organizations.

You provide a channel through which the innovative ideas and dynamism of the non-governmental organization community can cross into and positively impact the work of the United Nations.  And you are a vital resource for increasing the understanding of non-governmental organizations about the unique nature -- and the sometimes bewildering intricacies -- of the United Nations system.

I know that your job is challenging and at times frustrating.  Meaningful engagement with non-governmental organizations takes time, energy, patience and mutual respect.  But you should never lose sight of the fact that your work as focal points is critical to advancing progress towards our shared goals.

On behalf of the United Nations, I thank you for your efforts, and I wish you all the best in your work over the coming year.

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For information media • not an official record