DECISIONS OF THE COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ACTING AS THE PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR THE WORLD SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, AT ITS ORGANIZATIONAL SESSION
(30 April - 2 May 2001)

DECISION 1: Progress in the preparatory activities at the local, national, regional and international levels as well as by major groups

The Commission on Sustainable Development, acting as the preparatory committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development,

Recalling the General Assembly resolution 55/199, which laid the terms of reference for the preparatory process for the Summit, and emphasising the need for an open, participatory and fully transparent preparatory process at the local, national, sub-regional, regional and international levels,

Welcoming the commencement of local and national preparations for the Summit in a large number of countries through setting up national preparatory committees with participation of all relevant parts of government and stakeholders, undertaking national assessments and initiating other preparatory activities as outlined in the report of the Secretary General E/CN.17/2001/PC/23,

Underscoring the importance of mobilising high-level political leadership at the national level in order to ensure effective preparations for the Summit and further implementation of Agenda 21 and strengthening global partnership for sustainable development,

Welcoming the initiatives of a number of governments to host regional roundtables of eminent persons, as well as other meetings of experts and stakeholders in support of Summit preparations, and further welcomes preparatory activities and initiatives launched and planned by the major groups as a contribution to the Summit and its preparatory process.

Expressing its appreciation to the Secretary-General for a series of reports, prepared on the basis of contributions from the task managers from the United Nations system (E/CN.17/2001/PC/2 - 21), which contain information contributing to assessments of progress achieved since UNCED in all thematic areas of Agenda 21 and the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, and which aim at facilitating national and regional reviews and assessments,

Welcoming the initiatives of a number of organisations of the UN system, such as WHO's World Health Report, UNEP's GEO3, UNDP Poverty and Environment Initiative, World Bank's World Development Report, FAO's World Food Summit-Five Years Later, and IFAD's Rural Poverty Report 2001, among others, which are aimed at enriching UN system's contribution to the preparatory process for the Summit.

Recognising the importance of the reports of all intergovernmental processes relevant to the Summit to be fully considered in the preparatory process.

1. Calls upon countries who have not yet started their national preparations for the Summit to do so as soon as possible,

2. Invites the UN Resident Co-ordinators to facilitate co-ordinated support from the UN system to country-level preparations for the Summit, and urges bilateral and multilateral donors to support preparatory activities in developing countries as well as countries with economies in transition as a matter of priority,

3. Underlines the critical importance of regional preparations for the Summit in the ECA, ESCAP, ESCWA, ECLAC and ECE regions, which are to occur in the period of August-November 2001, and which will formulate regional platforms that would provide a regional assessment of the implementation of Agenda 21, outline key policy issues, priorities and follow-up actions and provide substantial inputs to the preparatory process for the Summit, along with forward looking examination of what should be achieved in the next decade with regard to areas they identify as priorities and to determine how each region will contribute to and what it will need from the international community in terms of the means of implementation; and to forward their views on international co-operation for sustainable development at the regional and global levels.

4. Welcomes the preparatory work undertaken by the Secretariat in co-operation with the United Nations Environment Programme, United Nations Regional Commissions, United Nations Development Programme and other international organisations, in particular in the preparations for regional and sub-regional preparatory meetings, and calls upon all relevant international organisations to actively support such meetings, as well as an inter-regional preparatory meeting for the Small Island Developing States, within the context of intergovernmental frameworks;

5. Welcomes the efforts of South Africa and Indonesia as the host countries of the Summit and of the final ministerial session of the Preparatory Committee, respectively, towards effective preparations of these meetings, and encourages other countries, in particular donor counties, to actively support these efforts.

6. Invites the Secretary-General, in preparation of his comprehensive report for the first substantive session of the Preparatory Committee, to take fully into account the views expressed by the participants in the Committee's organisational session, as well as the results of national, sub-regional, regional and inter-regional preparatory activities, including by major groups as identified in Agenda 21, for the Summit, and, on this basis, to indicate, inter alia, possible main themes, which could be addressed by the Preparatory Committee and be in the focus of the Summit, bearing in mind the need to reflect the fact that economic development, social development and environmental protection are interdependent and mutually reinforcing components of sustainable development and should be treated in a balanced manner, and the need for concrete proposals aimed at facilitating the operationalization and implementation of sustainable development pursuant to Agenda 21 at all levels, and the need to address cross-sectoral issues and means of implementation in an integrated and comprehensive manner..

7. Invites the Secretariat to include in the documentation to be provided to the next session of the Preparatory Committee information on:

a) trends in and constraints to the implementation of Agenda 21 at all levels, based on, inter alia, national reports/country profiles and assessments submitted to the CSD;

b) actions undertaken by the UN system and other international organisations and international financial institutions and the GEF, in assisting developing countries to implement Agenda 21;

c) progress made concerning the contribution of major groups in the implementation of Agenda 21 since UNCED;

d) implementation of the main decisions and recommendations of the CSD in the 1993-2001 period.

8. Invites all inter-governmental processes relevant to the Summit, including the International Environmental Governance process launched by the Governing Council of UNEP, to submit their progress reports/results to the Preparatory Committee at its second session and their final results to the third session, so that they can be fully considered in the preparatory process.

9. Decides that the preparatory process will also take into account the results of the Millennium Assembly, the International Conference on Financing for Development, the Third UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries, the meetings of the Conferences of Parties of the UNCED-related and other relevant global conventions, and the replenishment of the GEF.

10. Further decides that the preparations for the Summit at all levels should take into account, as appropriate, progress in the implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States.

11. Encourages further preparatory initiatives by major groups, particularly those which would result in new partnerships and commitments to sustainable development.

12. Underscores the importance of pro-active public information campaign, at national and international levels, to promote the Summit and its outcome with a view to raising awareness at all levels regarding the significance of sustainable development, and invites the Secretary-General to inform the next session of the Preparatory Committee on progress achieved in this regard.

13. Expresses its appreciation to governments and other donors who contributed to the Trust Fund to facilitate preparations for the Summit and to support participation in the preparatory meetings and in the Summit of representatives of developing countries, and urges other donors to make their voluntary contributions in support of these activities, as well as in support of participation of representatives from major groups from developing countries, as soon as possible.

14. Invites the Bureau of the Preparatory Committee to play an active and important role in the intergovernmental preparations for the Summit and to seek to mobilise political support at the highest possible level in both developed and developing countries while pursuing the support of all heads of international organisations within the UN system and international financial institutions, and the GEF; and to actively support the role of the Committee in monitoring with a view to considering the reports of all relevant intergovernmental processes.

DECISION 2: Specific modalities of future sessions of the Preparatory Committee

The Commission on Sustainable Development, acting as the preparatory committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, decides, taking into account provisions of paragraphs 15, 16 and 17 of the General Assembly resolution 55/199 on the following modalities of its future meetings:

Second preparatory session

1. The second preparatory session will take place in New York from 28 January to 8 February 2002. During this session the preparatory committee shall undertake the comprehensive review and assessment of progress achieved in the implementation of Agenda 21 and the other outcomes of UNCED as well as of the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 on the basis of the results of national assessments and sub-regional, regional and inter-regional preparatory meetings, the documentation to be prepared by the Secretary-General in collaboration with the task managers and other inputs from relevant international organisations, as well as on the basis of contributions from major groups. In order to implement this task the session will have the following organisation of work.

2. During the first part of the session the committee will consider:

(a) Results of national assessments.

(b) Results of sub-regional, regional and inter-regional preparatory meetings.

(c) progress reports/results of all intergovernmental processes relevant to the Summit, including progress report on the International Environmental Governance process.

(d) Report of the Secretary-General and other inputs from the Secretariat

(e) inputs from relevant international organisations, international financial institutions and the GEF

(f) contributions from major groups, organised in a form of a multi-stakeholder dialogue.

3. On the basis of the above, the Chairman of the Preparatory Committee would prepare a draft document, for further consideration by the Committee. This draft document would initially focus on:

1. major accomplishments and lessons learned in the implementation of Agenda 21;
2. major constraints hindering the implementation of Agenda 21, propose specific time-bound measures to be undertaken, and institutional and financial requirements, and identify the sources of such support;

4. The results of Committee's deliberations on this document will be transmitted to the third session of the Preparatory Committee

Third preparatory session

5. The third preparatory session will take place in New York from 25 March to 5 April 2002. During this session the Committee will continue consideration of the Chairman's paper transmitted from its second session, together with other inputs to the preparatory process, as appropriate. This would allow the Committee, in addition to the issues outlined in paragraph 3 above to address ways of strengthening the institutional framework for sustainable development and evaluate and define the role and programme of work of the Commission on Sustainable Development.

6. As decided by the General Assembly in its resolution 55/199, the preparatory committee during the third preparatory session shall agree on the text of a document containing the results of the review and assessment, as well as conclusions and recommendations for further action. This document will be transmitted to the final preparatory session for information and to the Summit for information and formal adoption. In addition, there should be a proposal regarding the provisional agenda and possible main themes for the Summit based on the results of the preparatory activities carried out the national, sub-regional and international levels, taking into account also the input of major groups.

 Fourth and final preparatory session

7. The fourth and final preparatory session will be held at the ministerial level in Indonesia from 27 May-7 June 2002. This session, drawing upon the agreed text of a document referred to in paragraph 6 above, shall prepare a concise and focused document that should emphasise the need for a global partnership to achieve the objectives of sustainable development, reconfirm the need for an integrated and strategically focused approach to the implementation of Agenda 21, and address the new challenges and opportunities that have emerged since UNCED within the framework of Agenda 21. As underscored by the UN General Assembly the document submitted for further consideration and adoption at the Summit should reinvigorate, at the highest political level, the global commitment to a North-South partnership and a higher level of international solidarity to the accelerated implementation of Agenda 21 and the promotion of sustainable development;

8. In order to facilitate this goal this session of the preparatory committee would include:

1. a two-day multi-stakeholder dialogue segment to be held during the early part of the session.
2. a three day High-Level Segment at the Ministerial level to be held towards the end of the session.

9. The Committee invites the Bureau to conduct transparent open-ended consultations in a timely manner on matters related to preparations for each of the forthcoming sessions of the Preparatory Committee.

DECISION 3: Tentative organisation of work during the World Summit on Sustainable Development

1. The Commission on Sustainable Development, acting as the preparatory committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, recommends that the Summit should take place in Johannesburg, South Africa from 2-11 September 2002, with participation at the level of Heads of States or Government during the period of 9-11 September, and that the Summit would have the following tentative organisation of work:

Period of 2-6 September 2002

Plenary

Consideration of organisational issues by the Plenary, as required, followed by:

A series of partnership events involving non-governmental organisations and other major groups accredited to the Summit. The details and topics of these events will be recommended by the Bureau of the Preparatory Committee through transparent open-ended consultations.

The Main Committee

The Main Committee will meet in parallel with the plenary in order to consider all outstanding matters related to the draft final documents of the Summit.

Period of 9-11 September 2002

Plenary

General debate among Heads of State or Government.

A short multi-stakeholder event involving the highest level of representation from both major groups and Governments. The details and topics of this event will be recommended by the Bureau of the Preparatory Committee through transparent open-ended consultations.

Adoption of final documents.

Roundtables

Several roundtables at the level of Heads of State or Government will be organised in parallel with the general debate. Organisational modalities of these roundtables would build on positive experience gained during the Millennium General Assembly. The details and topics of these roundtables will be recommended by the Bureau of the preparatory committee through transparent open-ended consultations.

2. The Committee invites the Bureau to conduct transparent open-ended consultations in a timely manner on matters related to preparations for the Summit.

3. The Committee noted with interest that in conjunction with the Summit the following additional events would be arranged by the Host Government:

a) Ceremonies which will precede the official opening and follow the official closing of the Summit;

b) An exhibition of sustainable development best practices and technologies to which all States are invited to encourage the broadest participation of all accredited non-governmental organisations and other major groups.

DECISION 4: Provisional Rules of Procedure of the World Summit for Sustainable Development

The Commission on Sustainable Development, acting as the preparatory committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development,

1. Recommends that the General Assembly at its fifty sixth session adopt the provisional rules of procedure of the World Summit on Sustainable Development as contained in the Annex to document E/CN.17/2001/PC/24, with the following modifications:

Rule 15 (a) should read: "Provide simultaneous interpretation of speeches made at the meetings".

Rule 65 should read: "Representatives designated by associate members of the regional commissions listed in the footnote may participate as observers, without the right to vote, in the deliberations of the Summit, the Main Committee and, as appropriate, any other committee or working group"

The footnote to Rule 65 should read: American Samoa, Anguilla, Aruba, British Virgin Islands, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Guam, Monserrat, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, Niue, Puerto Rico, United States Virgin Islands.

2. The Commission further recommends that the number of Vice-Presidents of the Summit in Rule 6 should be 25 and that a footnote be added to Rule 6 after the work "Vice-Presidents" as follows: "Five from the each of the following groups: African States; Asian States, Eastern European States; Latin American and Caribbean States; Western European and other States".

DECISION 5:  Arrangements for accreditation and participation in the preparatory process and in the Summit of relevant non-governmental organisations and other major groups

The Commission on Sustainable Development, acting as the preparatory committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, pursuant to General Assembly resolution 55/199, decides on the following arrangements for accreditation and participation in the preparatory process and in the Summit of relevant non-governmental organisations and other major groups:

A. Registration and accreditation

1. The major groups that are currently in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council as non-governmental organisations (including those on the roster through the list of the Commission on Sustainable Development) and that wish to attend and contribute to the World Summit on Sustainable Development and its preparatory committee meetings must inform the Secretariat and register to participate. Accredited non-governmental organisations need not register for each preparatory committee meeting separately.

2. Those non-governmental organisations and other major groups currently not in consultative status but wishing to attend and contribute to the Summit and its preparatory process may apply to the Secretariat for that purpose. The application requires the submission of the following information:

(a) Name of the organisation and pertinent contact information, such as address, main contact, etc.;

(b) Purpose of the organisation;

(c) Programmes and activities of the organisation in areas relevant to the subject of the World Summit and indicating in which country, or countries, they are carried out;

(d) Confirmation of the activities of the organisation at the national, regional or international levels;

(e) Copies of annual or other reports of the organisation, with financial statements and a list of financial sources and contributions, including governmental contributions;

(f) A list of the members of the governing body of the organisation and their countries of nationality (for international organisations);

(g) A description of the membership of the organisation, indicating the total number of members, the names of organisations that are members and their geographical distribution;

(h) A copy of the constitution and/or by-laws of the organisation;

(i) A completed pre-registration form prepared by the World Summit secretariat.

3. The deadline for submitting accreditation applications is four weeks before the start of each preparatory committee meeting. Applications should be submitted to the Secretariat. The secretariat, with support from United Nations Non-governmental Liaison Service and relevant others, as appropriate, will review the relevance of the work of the applicants on the basis of their background and involvement in sustainable development issues, particularly in the follow-up process to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. If the evaluation shows, on the basis of the information provided, that the applicant organisation is competent and its activities relevant to the work of the World Summit, the secretariat will make recommendations to the preparatory committee for its decision on the accreditation of those non-governmental organisations and other major groups. In cases where such recommendation is not made, the Summit secretariat will make available to the preparatory committee the reasons for not doing so. The Secretariat will submit its recommendations to the preparatory committee two weeks before the start of each committee meeting.

4. A non-governmental or other major group organisation that has been granted accreditation to attend a session of the preparatory committee may attend all of its future sessions and the Summit itself.

B. Participation modalities during the sessions of the preparatory committee

5. Representatives of accredited non-governmental organisations and other major groups will participate in the preparatory process in the same way they have participated in the meetings of the Commission on Sustainable Development. Major groups that have obtained accreditation may be given an opportunity briefly to address the preparatory committee and its subsidiary bodies. If the number of requests to speak is too numerous, the preparatory committee will ask the major groups to organise themselves into issue-based constituencies, such as caucuses or coalitions, with each constituency speaking through a spokesperson. Accredited non-governmental organisations and other major groups may, at their own expense, make written presentation in the official languages of the United Nations during the preparatory process, as they deem appropriate. Those written presentations will not be issued as official documents unless they are in accordance with United Nations rules and procedures.

6. Based on the practices of the Commission on Sustainable Development, a number of multi-stakeholder dialogue segments will be organised as part of the preparatory committee meetings. Dialogue starter papers from major groups will be requested in the form of reviews of progress and future action necessary under the relevant major group chapters of Agenda 21. The planned multi-stakeholder dialogues include:

(a) In the early part of the second preparatory committee meeting, a two-day multi-stakeholder dialogue with representatives from all nine major groups will be organised. The focus of the dialogue will be aligned with the issues that are on the agenda of the preparatory meeting — that is, a comprehensive review and assessment of progress achieved in implementation of Agenda 21 and the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21. The purpose of this dialogue will be to provide an opportunity to representatives of major groups to share their views on the progress achieved. The outcome of this dialogue will be a Chair’s summary, which will be submitted to the preparatory committee and incorporated into its records;

(b) In the early part of the fouth preparatory committee meeting, a two-day multi-stakeholder dialogue with representatives from all nine major groups will be organised. The focus of this dialogue will be aligned with the issues that are on the agenda of this meeting — that is, need for a global partnership to achieve the objectives of sustainable development, reconfirming the need for an integrated and strategically focused approach to the implementation of Agenda 21, and addressing the main challenges and opportunities faced by the international community in this regard. The purpose of this second dialogue will be to provide opportunities to representatives of major groups to contribute their views on future actions and priorities. The outcome of this dialogue will be a Chair’s summary, which will be submitted to the preparatory committee and incorporated into its records.

7. As in the meetings of the Commission, major group organisations will have an opportunity to organise various informal side events and briefings to exchange views with Governments. The Secretariat will facilitate and co-ordinate these activities under the guidance of the Bureau of the preparatory committee.

C. Preliminary modalities for participation in the Summit

8. Accredited non-governmental organisations and other major groups will have direct access to the official Summit venue. For security and safety reasons, on some days of the Summit, a limit on the number of major group participants may need to be established. Once the Summit programme is defined, the Secretariat will inform the major groups regarding these arrangements. Participation in the work of the Main Committee will function on the same basis as at the annual sessions of the Commission.

9. Recognising the limited time available, a small, but representative number of representatives of accredited non-governmental organisations and other major groups will be invited to address the Summit part of the plenary after the statements made by the governmental representatives. The individual speakers will be identified through the self-organised mechanisms of the major groups, in co-ordination with the President of the Summit, through the Secretariat.

10. A short multi-stakeholder event is planned for the Summit. This event will be designed to involve the highest level of representation from both major groups and Governments. Selection of the participants in the multi-stake-holder event other than the governmental representatives should be from the non-governmental organizations and other major groups accredited to the Summit. The focus would be for Governments and major groups to exchange and publicly announce the specific commitments they have made for the next phase of work in sustainable development. In the case of major groups, commitments and targets are expected to emerge from national, regional and international consultations of major group organisations. A record of the commitments announced and shared would be made and released as part of the Summit outcomes.

11. In addition, plenary sessions during the first week of the Summit will be organised as a series of partnership events with accredited non-governmental organisations and other major groups. These could be in the form of dialogues and may include those of a multi-stakeholder nature. The details and topics of these dialogues will be recommended by the Bureau of the preparatory committee.

12. Other stakeholder events and activities are also expected to take place such as informal roundtables with major groups and Governments on specific issues, parallel events and various side events.

C. Funding

13. The Summit secretariat will facilitate the funding of participants from major groups from developing countries and countries-in-transition in the multi-stakeholder dialogues during the preparatory meetings and the Summit.

14. Interested donor governments and other donors are encouraged to provide voluntary contributions to the Trust Fund in support of this process.