ABOUT THE ENVISIONED DRAFT PROPOSAL FOR A UN NGO GA ENTITY – FROM 2012 TO 2025:

The below 2012 envisioned draft proposal for a United Nations Non-Governmental Organizations General Assembly #UNNGOGA, initially was intended to bring the NGO DPI Executive Committee, along with the CONGO side-by-side for this vision with a motto, NGOs are under the roof of UN General Assembly #UNGA.

I still remember the frustration that caused a meeting and presentation request from the former NGO DPI Exe. Comm., despite all my efforts, including attending a meeting, which failed without any result at that time. Needless to say, it caused disappointment in pursuing it further.

In 2018, it was revised-updated, and posted it to www.unngoga.org website, which the site was hacked, and I lost the last updated version.
 Regardless, on the above referred two occasions, I presented it to the Cabinet of the 67th Session of the UNGA (2012) and later on also to the Cabinet of the 73 Session of the UNGA (2018). 
Each time, I received a “golden advice,” which was, “Get on this a member state to support.“

Perhaps I was too naive to believe that I needed to bring the UN-associated and affiliated NGOs together as first, then the draft proposal should be supported by the UN NGO Community so that it can have more impact!

That turned out to be my misperception!


Yet, I did not forget that “golden advice” that will be the target for its revised version for 2025!


Especially before COVID-19, there were frequent discussions about the shrinking spaces for the NGOs/CSOs at the United Nations HQ in NYC.

As if that had played a role through COVID-19 against all NGOs to prepare us for shrinking spaces far more than ever. During the last year or two, that followed as little as a minimum number of programs that are designed for NGOs at the U.N., except the 2024 UN Civil Society Conference in Nairobi, Kenya (May 9-10, 2024).

For instance, when The Light Millennium was associated with the—then—UNDPI in 2005, there were Weekly Thursday Briefings, and all associated NGO representatives were encouraged to join the Planning Committees of the [formerly] UN.DPI/NGO Conference(s) in that respective year, which is now #UNCSC since 2019, and onward.
In the following years, this was drastically shifted, in particular, starting during the 2008 UN. DPI NGO Conference, which has continued until the very recent one, was slightly more open and flexible but also was pre-determined as well. 
In particular, after the huge negative impact of COVID-19, despite already near to 5 years passing, yet there are no weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly NGO Briefings so far!
I cannot help but ask the following question:
What has happened to the United Nations as one of the pillars is NGOs/CSOs?

In this context, we need to bring back the Weekly Briefing, if not, then Bi-Weekly NGO Briefings toward more active engagement and support the UN vision and programs along with acting as a bridge with the respected communities and networks.


With this in mind, I look for opportunities to collaborate for updating the below envisioned draft of the 2012/13. At this time, the first target as not to the #NGOsatUN but the member states who might be interesting to sponsoring this concept after all.

In a nutshell, whether as a seed NGO or a well-established and funded one with offices or branches in all parts of the world, together, we should be represented under the UNGA Roof as one unified entity that should have a seat at the UNGA Hall as well, which is also not necessarily to be merged with the existing NGO bodies at the UN premises but independently yet to come together as one when it comes to be represented and a regular seat at the UNGA Hall.
As my resolution for 2025, I hope to update this draft to be presented to the targeted member states in 2025.

– Bircan Ünver, LMGlobal.Org – December 16, 2024

The full version of the below draft is available via Lightmillennium.org website:

Date: November 26, 2012


ESTIMATED TIMELINE:

First meeting towards formation: In Feb. 2013

Official formation in Fall or Winter 2013.

Launching the very first UN NGO General Assembly in October or November 2014.



“Like my predecessors, I will work with civil society representatives. With notable exceptions, however, we have not yet found an efficient way to draw upon the tremendous capacities of the world’s public policy institutes and think tanks. As President, I intend to launch several initiatives to harness their wisdom and experience.”

• H.E. S.E. M. Vuk Jeremić, President of the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, taken from the “Address to the General Assembly on the occasion” of the opening of its 67th Session on 18 September 2012.
  
  “WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED”
• “To practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors and
• to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and
• to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and
• to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples.”
• Preamble, The Charter of the United Nations, 26 June 1945, San Francisco.

For the posted full text of the 2012/2013 Envisioned & Expanded Initial Draft, please click on this link.

A PROPOSAL FOR FORMING A NEW PYRAMID: UNITED NATIONS NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION – 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY – UN-NGOGA: 

UN-NGOGA is aimed to be formed by the entire [formerly, DPI-associated NGOs], UN-Department of Global Communications associated and the ECOSOC affiliated NGOs to bring all of the UN NGO Family under the UNGA Roof and as a single representative body within the UN System with an overarching aim working also with the counterpart of the UN-General Assembly.

UN-NGOGA will be independent of the DPI-NGO Executive Committee and CONGO, yet aims to transform both capacity and experience and create a new synergy for global pressing and emerging issues. 

KEY COMPONENTS:

1) The Executive Committee of Non-Governmental Organizations Associated with the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI-NGO-EXE-COMM):
The Executive Committee was founded to promote a closer working relationship between the UN and NGOs associated with UN DPI and acts as a liaison between the NGO community and the UN. (Taken from its website: http://ngodpiexecom.org/about/ – Its name has changed and website as well to www.gnec.ngo)


2) The Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations – CONGO: For over 60 years, The Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations has been actively promoting the involvement of NGOs in the working of the United Nations.
(Taken from its website: http://www.ngocongo.org/)

The above-mentioned two main bodies will jointly form the UN-NGOGA. It will unite both DPI and the ECOSOS-associated NGOs under the roof of the UN-NGOGA to work closely with the UN-General Assembly and support UN-GA resolutions and themes as a counterpart of the UN-GA towards the implementation of the MDG#8 on the UN-General Assembly level and within the entire UN system as well as world-wide. Also, working closely with the member states, intergovernmental organizations, and private sector at one highest representative level initiative on behalf of the NGOs, it will build up and present more than 3,500 thousand UN-associated NGOs over the coming years. (The author of this proposal has registered the following domain name for this purpose: http://www.unngoga.org.)

PREFACE:


The initial (11/25/2012) and this revised and expanded draft proposal (11/15-26/2012) for a Bi-Annual UN-NGO GENERAL ASSEMBLY are based on my seven years of observations of the works and practices of the UN-DPI/NGO Executive Committee and NGOs in the UN at large.

Based on that experience, I’ve concluded that the DPI/NGO Executive Committee’s structure, works, and practices are mainly power-centered rather than participatory. Despite the way the DPI/NGO Executive Committee operates, its structure might be allegorically considered something similar to the UN Security Council rather than to the General Assembly! It appears that this is the case for the CONGO as well.

The newly envisioned NGO General Assembly’s institutional structure will be inspired, designed, and adopted from the UN-GA, and it could/will be formed as a new initiative in collaboration with the DPI/NGO Executive Committee and CONGO, which will also be in line with the mandate of the DPI and ECOSOC at large. UN-NGOGA will have its own independent governing body from the DPI/NGO Executive Committee and the CONGO, which will be formed by an equal number of representations from both entities.

At the same time, it will also operate and practice with interdependent mechanisms and principles in conjunction with the UN-GA’s overarching goal and mission. It will apply practices for uniting, synergizing, and transforming all UN-associated NGOs through UN-NGOGA for the support of the resolutions, themes, works, and programs of the UN-GA as one single united and empowered body. With equal importance, UN-NGOGA aims to be credited by the UNGA during the UN-GA Annual sessions on the representative level as one voice on behalf of all NGOs, as well as within the entire UN System as a “true and unified partner, and one of the key active, participatory, effective, and indispensable components.” This means that it will be a part of the negotiations and decision-making mechanism with a voting capacity, on which “true democracy and freedom” practices depend.

VISION: 


UN-NGOGA aims to be one of the “direct, true, counted, empowered, credited, needed, and indispensable” components and mandatory mechanisms of the UN-GA and UN System at large. It will act as a mirror of the UN to the world as well as devoted advocators on the grassroots level in every corner of the world. 

To bring all the United Nations-associated NGOs under one single roof to distinguish them as indispensable components of negotiations, decision-making, and voting processes within the UN System.



DEFINITION:


Bi-Annual UN-NGO General Assembly formation and gathering is envisioned as a new and independent initiative that will be formed as a joint effort by all the DPI and ECOSOC-associated NGOs to the United Nations with an equal capacity and ground. A “Formation Committee” will be formed, and it will seek the DPI, ECOSOC, and UN-GA’s initial support for its formation process and the implementation of its vision and principles.
Consequently, NGO-GA will take decisive action for channeling its full capacity as one united and synergized body for the implementation and realization of the UN Charter, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Millennium Development Goals, as well as disseminating relevant resolutions and programs locally and globally. The UN-NGOGA’s envisioned general frameworks and references include:

I. The UN NGO General Assembly will consist of all the NGO Members of the United Nations.

II. Each NGO may have up to six representatives (including two youth) in the UN NGO General Assembly. However, each Member NGO will have one vote capacity.

III. “The Formation Committee” will have 20 to 30 NGO reps (such as 10 or 15 DPI & 10 or 15 ECOSOC associated).

IV. The UN-NGOGA aims to work in conjunction with the UN-GA to contribute, disseminate, and promote the works, resolutions, and themes of the UN-GA worldwide. V. Will provide a ground for effective collaboration, support, and partnerships at all levels within the UN System, including non-associated CSOs, educational institutions, and the private sector.

VI. Aims to create a new mechanism both within the UN System and worldwide towards the implementation of the MDG#8 as a daily basis practice, development, and implementation of “Global Partnerships” in all levels locally, regionally, and internationally.

VII. To seek and develop partnerships and direct engagement of educational institutions, including elementary to high schools and universities, for developing collaborative programs, projects, and initiatives relevant to this mandate.

VIII. Encouraging Youth involvement and delegating responsibilities in its governing body and related subcommittees will be one of its core tasks, which will also be reflected on the representative level for any undertaken collaborative and supportive work with the UN-GA. IX.
Non-associated Civil Society Organizations (CSO) involvement will be strongly encouraged through associated NGOs in the form of collaboration, sponsorship, and/or partnerships in the works and programs of the UN-NGOGA.

NEED or PROBLEM?



Although NGOs are often indicated as one of the most crucial components of the UN’s Visions, programs, and works since 1948, the NGOs have not been presented at the UN-GA as one entity or under the DPI or ECOSOS-associated NGOs. Despite many levels of indication and references to the NGOs and CSOs at all levels of the UN for several decades, there has not been effective coordination and unity within the DPI and ECOSOS-associated NGOs or any encouragement by the UN or Member State levels! Consequently, there has not been a decisive implementation and action plan stating that the NGOs are indispensable stakeholders of all the UN Visions and Programs as equal partners with the UN, Member States, Intergovernmental organizations, and the private sector. If the UN and Member States don’t fully encourage it and remove or lessen the obstacles –from smallest to largest, all associated NGOs within the UN System– how can the MDG#8: Global Partnership be accomplished, in particular, when the NGOS at large have very limited access, capacity, and/or privilege within the UN System?



— For the posted full text of the 2012/2013 Envisioned & Expanded Initial Draft, please click on this link.