Civil Society Organizations at COP10 01/11/2011 - More than 200 representatives from the civil society organizations participated actively at the 10th session of the Conference of the Parties held in Changwon, Republic of Korea from 10 to 21 October 2011 bringing the voice of the local communities to the attention of the decision makers. more...

Statement by the representatives of the CSOs Mr. Byon Hyon Kwn, representative of the Korean Civil Society Organization Future Forest, delivered an statement on the occasion of the Opening Ceremony of the tenth session of the Conference of the Parties more...

Sustainable Land Management Business Forum 24/08/2011 - On the occasion of the forthcoming tenth session of the COP, the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Gyeongnam Province are organizing the launching of the Sustainable Land Management Business Forum with the aim of raising awareness on the importance of land issues within the private sector and encourage its active involvement in the implementation of the Convention. The launching of the Forum will take place on 17 - 18 October 2011, on the sidelines of the High-Level Segment of the COP. more...

CSO COP 10 Blog Launched 17/08/2011 - The Korean CSO Network to Combat Desertification has launched today a Blog with relevant information regarding the forthcoming COP 10. This is a new approach that has been made by the Korean counterparts with the aim of supporting the involvement of the CSOs in COP 10. In the site you will find their principal objectives, the members of the Network and details about the UNCCD CSO preparatory meeting, which will be held at Changwon Football Center, Changwon city, Republic of Korea, from 7th to 9th October 2011. More information can be found in the website.

Call for expression of interest 15/08/2011 - The UN General Assembly decided to organize a one-day high-level meeting on the theme “Addressing desertification, land degradation and drought in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication” with the aim of implementing the UNCCD Strategy. This High Level Meeting will be held on 20th September 2011. The Secretariat would highly appreciate to receive from those organizations interested in participating written proposals indicating what would be their contribution to the event. Proposals should be sent to cso@unccd.int. more...

Stories from local communities The secretariat launches a new project related to the CSOs in the UNCCD Civil Society website. The new section will portray interviews with Civil Society Organizations which are actively involved in the UNCCD process. The final aim of the initiative is promoting the activities carried out by the CSOs around the world to combat desertification, land degradation and drought and to show that solutions are possible more...

Our work together with civil society partners

"Our times demand a new definition of leadership - global leadership. They demand a new constellation of international cooperation - governments, civil society and the private sector, working together for a collective global good."

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Speech at World Economic Forum
Davos, Switzerland (29 January 2009)

All through the United Nations system, an increasingly global civil society participates in proactive and engaged ways to the work of UN offices, programmes and agencies, making the UN both a counterpart and a witness to its contribution. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other civil society organizations (CSOs) are more and more UN system partners and constitute a valuable link for the UN to civil society and "people out there".

CSOs play a key role at major United Nations Conferences, they are indispensable partners for UN efforts at the country level, and they are consulted on UN policy and programme matters. The UNCCD is committed to enhancing the participation and active involvement in the implementation process, on a regular basis, of representatives from CSOs accredited to the Conference of the Parties at its meetings and conferences.

The Facilitation, Capacity Building and Monitoring of Implementation unit (FCMI), through its CSO Officer, oversees and facilitates partnerships with accredited CSOs, and provides them with services aimed at enhancing their involvement in this intergovernmental process. The regular interaction with and feedback from the CSOs is essential to ensure that such services are effective and timely.
Over 900 CSOs are accredited to the UNCCD Conference of the Parties and the secretariat maintains a database of accredited CSOs. The vast majority of these organizations are NGOs; there are also institutions, foundations, associations, local government bodies, trade unions, cooperatives and private sector entities at various levels.

Once accredited to the COP, CSOs can apply for support to attend as observers the UNCCD meetings: the Conference of the Parties (COP) and its subsidiary bodies, the Committee for the Reveiw of the Implementation (CRIC) and the Committee on Science and Technology (CST).

" Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. "

Margaret Mead
(Anthropologist and Ethnologist, 1901-1978)

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