United Nations Wire Alert

Thursday, May 11, 2000

MILLENNIUM SUMMIT: Concerns Voiced About Cost; Format Decided

The UN's Administrative and Budget Committee said yesterday that September's Millennium Summit in New York could cost $1.4 million, prompting serious reservations from some speakers about the projected cost.

One representative said the projected budget reflects badly on the UN secretariat and objected to it being provided only at the "eleventh hour." Another representative said resources requested for the summit should not be used to pay for activities that member states had decided not to approve during their budget debates last year.

The committee decided to reconsider the proposed summit cost before the end of its session, which is scheduled to conclude on 2 June.

General Assembly Decides Summit Structure

Meanwhile, the UN General Assembly yesterday adopted a resolution on the structure and format of the summit.

The summit will consist of six plenary sessions and four interactive roundtable discussions on the role of the United Nations in the 21st century. The General Assembly said it will meet the week of 22 May to discuss Secretary-General Kofi Annan's report on the summit.

The Millennium Forum

Schedule

The Millennium Forum process includes not only the consultations of civil society representatives at the main Forum meeting in New York 22-26 May 2000 at the United Nations, but also the consultations that are and will be held at the many and diverse meetings and gatherings of civil society around the world in the lead-up period to the Forum -- and in its follow-up.

Some of these meetings have been planned specifically in conjunction with the Forum. Others have been planned independently and are being linked to the Forum. Non-Governmental Organizations were also invited to participate in the UN Millennium Assembly Regional Forums.

Indeed, there has in recent years been a blossoming of worldwide civil society and many meetings were, in fact, planned in advance of the Forum. The Hague Appeal for Peace, which was held 11-15 May 1999 in The Netherlands, for example, was well underway in its planning process before the Millennium Forum.

Yet, in a demonstration of the unique ability of civil society to collaborate and consult while at the same time retaining its individually distinct and diverse components, the organizers of the Hague Appeal for Peace have agreed to feed the results of their meeting into the Millennium Forum. The same thing is happening with many other meetings and gatherings of civil society.

Other past events include the 1999 Seoul International Conference of NGOs; the Central Asian Millennium Forum; the Millennium Forum -- Germany; and the World Civil Society Conference in Montreal.

Please note that NGOs and civil society are encouraged to organize and hold local, regional, national, and continental events around the world. To list your event here, please contact the Secretariat at its email address: mngof@bic.org. Please write "Event listing for Website" in the subject header.

The following schedule of events lists some of the major upcoming meetings, dates and deadlines in the Millennium Forum process:

22 April 2000 -- Earth Day. Events held around the world. Link to: http://www.earthday.net/ Contact Peter Drekmeier, Executive Director, or Denis Hayes, 91 Marion Street, Seattle, WA 98104. Ph. 206-405-1773.

26-29 April 2000 -- The Peace and Developoment Network, a local network of Peace and human rights organisations working in Kenya, will hold their Annual General Meeting in Nakuru, Kenya. For more information, contact Alex Nyago, Research & Information Officer, Peacenet, email: peacenet@nbnet.co.ke

3 May 2000 -- General Meeting of Millennium Forum Planning Consultative Council, Steering Committee, and Co-Convenors of the six major sub-themes -- New York. To be held at The UN Church Center, 777 UN Plaza, eighth floor, on Wednesday, 3-5 p.m. The Agenda will include updates on: the accreditation process; the funding of participants from the global South; the tentative program of the Forum; the status of the statements on the six major sub-themes; and an appeal for volunteers for the last three weeks before the Forum. Contact the Forum's Secretariat for more information or by email: mngof@bic.org

11-21 May 2000 -- 8th ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CONFLICT RESOLUTION (ICR) in St. Petersburg, Russia. For more information, contact: Steve Olweean, Director, Common Bond Institute, 12170 S. Pine Ayr Drive, Climax, Michigan, 49034, USA Ph/Fax: 616-665-9393 E-mail: solweean@aol.com

18-20 May 2000 -- "Re-imagining Politics & Society at the Millennium: Creating a Caring, Ethical & Sustainable World," New York, a conference sponsored by the Foundation for Ethics and Meaning. Riverside Church. For more information, follow this link. ->

18-19 May 2000 -- "WOMEN AT THE EDGE: The Practice of Leadership" conference in St. Petersburg, Russia. For more information, contact: Steve Olweean, Director, Common Bond Institute, 12170 S. Pine Ayr Drive, Climax, Michigan, 49034, USA Ph/Fax: 616-665-9393 E-mail: solweean@aol.com

20 May 2000 -- Teach-in on "The Hague Agenda for Peace and Justice for the 21st Century" -- New York. To be held from 10 am - 1 pm at Labbouise Hall, UNICEF House (44th Street and First Avenue). For more information, follow this link or contact Gouri Sadhwani, Director, The Hague Appeal for Peace, email: gourihap99@igc.org, phone 212-687-2623.

22-26 May 2000 -- The main meeting of the Millennium Forum in New York. Follow this link for information on how to get involved. ->

24 May 2000 -- Teach-in on "The Hague Agenda for Peace and Justice for the 21st Century" -- New York. To be held from 7-9 pm at Labbouise Hall, UNICEF House (44th Street and First Avenue). For more information, follow this link or contact Gouri Sadhwani, Director, The Hague Appeal for Peace, email: gourihap99@igc.org, phone 212-687-2623.

5 June 2000 -- World Environment Day. Events around the world.

5-9 June 2000 - Beijing +5 Review - New York -- Special Session of the General Assembly to review the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women and of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. For more information, link to: Womenwatch

June 2000 -- The "Gran Foro" - a global forum for the practice of peace, to be held in Costa Rica, at the UN University of Peace. Contact: Catherine Margerin, President of Milenio, 163 Fairmount St, San Francisco, CA 94131 USA; Phone: 1-415-206-0262; Fax: 1-415-206-9620; email: milenio@igc.apc.org ; Web Site: www.milenio.org.

21-30 July 2000 -- Young General Assembly - Adelaide, Australia -- Delegates under 18 will meet in a founding session of the Young General Assembly representing youth organizations worldwide to discuss how young people can implement the outcomes of the Millennium Forum. Contact Ellen Brogren, 151 N. Ellsworth Ave, Suite 6, San Mateo, CA 94401. Ph/Fax1-650-340-8940. Email: peaceways@igc.apc.org .

9 August 2000 -- International Day of the World's Indigenous People. Events around the world.

6 September 2000 -- Opening day of the United Nations Millennium Summit. For more information, link to UN Millennium Summit.

3-10 September 2000 -- Forum 2000, organized by the State of the World Forum, in New York at the New York Hilton and Towers. For further information contact The State of the World Forum, Telephone: (USA). 415 561 2345, Fax: (USA) 415 561 2323, or email info@worldforum.org. Link to: www.worldforum.org

September 2000 -- A Conference of Presiding Officers of National Parliaments will be held at the United Nations, Geneva. Sponsored by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU, which "works for peace and cooperation among peoples and for the firm establishment of representative democracy." To be held during Millennium Summit. 1211 Geneva 19,.Switzerland. Ph. (4122)- 9194150 .