the un corner

 

dianova's first meeting with the conference of ngo's (congo)

As a new member of the Conference of NGOs in a Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CONGO), Dianova International representatives were recently invited to CONGO headquarters in Geneva in order to become better acquainted with the organization, to meet their Geneva staff and to discuss matters of mutual interest.

CONGO is an independent, non-profit association of NGOs whose mission is to facilitate NGO participation in UN debates and decision making.

Quoting from the CONGO web site.

“CONGO's roots go back to the engagement of NGOs in the founding of the United Nations and, in that context, to their commitment to the concept behind the words ‘We the peoples’ - the first words of the UN Charter. The UN made provision in 1948, shortly after its creation, for civil society inputs into its deliberations on issues of global relevance and importance. It encouraged non-governmental organizations to request consultative status through a ‘Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations’ established by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Some forty international NGOs were the first ones to receive consultative status. They quickly formed an association called the ‘Conference of NGOs in Consultative Status with ECOSOC’ or, in short, ‘CONGO’.

“Since then it has relentlessly worked to ensure that NGO voices are heard throughout the international arena. CONGO's role in mobilizing NGOs to form the first worldwide NGO forum on human rights in 1968, its role in conceiving forms of NGO participation in UN world conferences and its advocacy on behalf of NGOs at UN Headquarters highlight CONGO's chief objectives, which are to ensure that NGOs be present when governments discuss issues of global concern at the United Nations and to facilitate NGO discussions on such issues."

More information available at:

http://www.ngocongo.org/index.php (in English, Spanish and French.)