UIHJ at the United Nations sixtieth birthday !

Just alike the National Chamber of Judicials officers of France (Chambre nationale des huissiers de justice de France), this worthy institution also reached this year its 60th years of existence. Not less than 3000 representatives of NGO were present in the immense room of the United Nations where beyond 1,070 various organizations came from over 121 countries were duly represented. The UNO is not, nor was never a world government. However sometimes, peoples uses the expression "Parliament of humanity" because it was created in the name of the people of the world and to serve them.

Nearly 3,000 NGO representatives and other civil society partners underscore their support for the work of the Organization in its 60th year, especially its efforts to eradicate poverty, promote human rights and enhance collective human security through multilateral cooperation and deeper partnerships with the civil society.

The 58th Annual DPI/NGO Conference is yearly organized in partnership between the United Nations Department of Public Information and its associated NGOs, with the participation of the NGOs in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), many of whom are represented by the Conference of NGOs from CONGO. A range of other civil society organizations are being invited to participate in what will be the largest gathering of civil society actors immediately prior to the September Summit (14 - 16 September 2005).

This gathering was an interactive, activist Conference, born of a determination to fully implement the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It was an opportunity for NGOs to present their expectations for the outcomes of the Millennium+5 Summit, which is looked to as a potentially pivotal event in the process of implementation of the MDGs and revitalization of the United Nations as well. It will certainly underscore their specific commitments to the MDG process to 2015 and beyond.

The Conference draws its agenda from the Secretary-General's report In Larger Freedom: Towards Development, Security and Human Rights for All, which outlines the agenda for the September Summit. The agenda revolves around three inextricable goals: the promotion of peace and security, development and human rights. The agenda calls for action to strengthen the United Nations to meet these goals through renewal and reforms that are widely supported by the international community and civil society. The report cites key problems and reforms to be tackled through multilateral cooperation at the international, regional, national and local levels.

Throughout the three-day Conference, participants did had multiple opportunities to dialogue with a variety of stakeholders to voice their views, expand their networks and interact with Member States on the eve of the Summit. In addition to seven plenary sessions, there was the 30 Midday NGO Interactive Workshops featuring the participation of civil society, United Nations and government representatives. The President of the 59th Session of the General Assembly has been asked to oversee an interactive dialogue between representatives of Member States, parliamentarians and civil society participants on the final day of the Conference happened on September 9th.

« You must be the guarantors of the institutional reform » declared KOFI ANNAN at the DPI/NGO closure conference on September 9th. He terminated by these words on the occasion of this sixtieth birthday of the United Nations : « Once more, we have to recognize the wisdom of its founders, who, in Article 71 of the Charter, envisaged consultations with ONG. Narrow exchanges with the civil society were then considered to be essential for the good health of the Organization and the wellbeing of the people. It is as true today as then - and perhaps still more now ».