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Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
Currently, the United Nations
has granted consultative status to 3187 Non-Governmental Organizations.
This status allows NGOs to attend certain sessions of the General Assembly
and Economic and Social Council, permitting them to represent and advocate
the special interests that they support.
At SSUNS 2009, NGOs are represented on most of our committees. Delegates
representing NGOs will take on an advocacy role, demonstrating the interests
of their organization on the committee to which they are assigned.
Preparing to Represent a NGO
NGO delegates should prepare for the conference in a similar way that
they would for a member state role.
As a starting point, delegates should read the background guide for
their committee, which can be found under the committees list on the
SSUNS website. Delegates should visit the website of their NGO and thoroughly
understand the mandate and goals of the organization. They should have
a grasp of the committees on which the NGO is represented in the United
Nations and the positions it has taken on those committees. Finally,
delegates should understand the topics for their particular committee
and their NGO's position on these topics.
Delegates representing an NGO should be prepared to write a position
paper for their committee. Further guidelines on writing a position
paper may be found under the position paper section on the SSUNS website.
Position papers are due Thursday, October 29th 2009.
NGO delegates are strongly encouraged to use the message board prior
to attending the conference. This will allow for the sharing of information
between delegates representing the same NGO and also those from different
NGOs sitting on the same committee.
NGO Rights at SSUNS
Non-Governmental Organizations have unique rights at SSUNS which are
different from the regular rights of member states. Primarily, they
are not allowed to draft or be signatories to resolutions, or to vote
on substantive matters. They may vote on procedural matters in committee
session (such as motions to change the speaking time, enter a moderated
caucus, etc). Because they cannot actively draft resolutions or vote
on substantive matters, NGOs have special privileges at the conference.
These privileges include:
(1) Oral statements to the committee
Delegates representing NGOs may bypass the Secondary Speaker's List
in order to make an oral statement to the committee communicating their
position and interest on an agenda topic. A representative of an NGO
must submit a written appeal to his or her Chair explaining the topic
and intention of the proposed statement. If the speech topic is approved,
the Chair will then interrupt the normal flow of debate to introduce
the NGO at his or her discretion.
(2) Circulate written statements to their fellow delegates
Delegates representing NGOs may submit a written statement of no more
than one thousand words to the Dais for distribution to the committee.
The written statement should address the position and work of the NGO,
either on the general topic at hand or on the debate between member-states.
The Chair will determine if the material is appropriate for general
distribution within the committee. NGOs are strongly encouraged to work
together on these pronouncements.
(3) Access to the press via NGO-specific press conferences
SSUNS will facilitate press conferences between delegates representing
NGOs and journalists from The International Citizen. NGOs will
be able to come together on global topics and/or crisis situations to
issue unified statements, lobby governments, and keep the press informed
of major developments taking place within their respective committees.
NGOs at SSUNS
The following seven NGOs will be represented at SSUNS 2009:
International Committee of the Red Cross
Amnesty International
International Crisis Group
Habitat International Coalition
International Council of Women
International Centre for Trade
and Sustainable Development
International Peace Bureau
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