Civil Society participation in policy debate is essential for achieving inclusive and sustainable development. At today's well-attended briefing, UNCTAD representatives shared information on the Civil Society Forum and the Women in Development day, events of the upcoming UNCTAD XIII Conference.
There is no discussion of inclusive development without the inclusion of the Civil Society. In this light, it is encouraging to see strong interest of Civil Society at UNCTAD XIII, to take place 21-26 April in Doha, Qatar. In addition to the 200 organizations with observer status with UNCTAD, more than 140 have applied for accreditation to the Conference, reported Ms. Amel Haffouz, in charge of UNCTAD's Civil Society outreach.
She went on to speak about the ongoing preparatory activities for the Civil Society Forum, taking place 17-26 April as part of the Conference. The preparations involve concerted efforts of UNCTAD, NHRC (the host civil society organization in Doha), the UN-NGLS as well as members of an International Civil Society Steering Group for UNCTAD XIII. The Forum will produce a Civil Society Declaration, to be presented at the opening plenary of the Committee of the Whole of the Conference.
Ms. Haffouz also announced the hearing with Civil Society organizations, scheduled for 7 March in Geneva. The hearing will be an opportunity for organizations to provide inputs into the Conference negotiating text, which will be finalized and adopted in Doha, and serve as the mandate for UNCTAD for the four coming years.
At the briefing, Ms. Irene Musselli, of UNCTAD's Gender and Development team, introduced the Women in Development event, to be held at UNCTAD XIII. It will be one of the highlight events on the Conference, chaired by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser of Qatar. The event will aim at taking the gender dimension to a new level of prominence in discussion and formulation of development policies. The day will also feature the award ceremony of the third Empretec Women in Business Awards.
Mr. Richard Kozul-Wright of UNCTAD opened the proceedings with a presentation of the Secretary-General's Report to UNCTAD XIII, and of the theme of the Conference - "Development-centred globalization: Towards inclusive and sustainable growth and development".
