Panel on Civil Society
The Panel has concluded its work and launched its final report on 21 June 2004 at UN Headquarters in New York and in Geneva. The following links provide copies of the Report and press materials from the launch event.
- Report of the Secretary-General in response to the report of the Panel of Eminent Persons on United Nations-Civil Society Relations [A/59/354 - PDF, 73K]
- Report of the Panel of Eminent Persons on United Nations-Civil Society Relations [A/58/817 - PDF, 292K] and Correction [A/58/817/Corr.1 - PDF, 21K]
Secretary-General's Panel of Eminent Persons on Civil Society and UN Relationships
In his report to the 57th General Assembly [A/57/387 - PDF, 175K], the Secretary-General highlighted the engagement of civil society as an aspect of the UN Reform process and announced that he would "assemble a group of eminent persons representing a variety of perspectives and experiences to review past and current practices and recommend improvements for the future in order to make the interaction between civil society and the United Nations more meaningful." In February 2003 the Secretary-General appointed Mr. Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former President of Brazil, to chair a panel of individuals with backgrounds that span across governmental and non-governmental sectors: Ambassador Bagher Asadi (Iran), Dr. Manuel Castells (Spain), Ms. Birgitta Dahl (Sweden), Ms. Peggy Dulany (USA), Ambassador Andre Erdos (Hungary), Mr. Juan Mayr (Columbia), Ms. Malini Mehra (India), Mr. Kumi Naidoo (South Africa), Ms. Mary Racelis (the Philippines), Mr. Prakash Ratilal (Mozambique), and Ms. Aminata Traore (Mali). (Bios)
The Panel's main task was to produce a set of practical recommendations for the Secretary-General
on how the UN's relationship with civil society, as well as with private sector and parliaments,
could be improved (see the Terms of Reference). At the first meeting in June 2003, the Panel agreed
on a Work Program that emphasized an open, transparent and consultative process. The final report
of the Panel was released as document A/58/817 [PDF, 292K] and launched on 21 June 2004 in New York and Geneva.
For further information contact civilsocietypanel@un.org