The first Asian Civil Society Forum (ACSF) was
held in Bangkok, Thailand from December 9 to 13, 2002 under the
theme "UN-NGO Partnerships for Democratic Governance in Asia : Building
Capacities and Networks for Human Rights and Sustainable Development." It was a
pilot project of CONGO (Conference
of NGOs in consultative relationship with UN) in its effort to reach out to
NGOs in the South, particularly in Asia and
furthering partnerships with UN for common goals.
ACSF 2002 was convened and facilitated by CONGO
Working Group on Asia in partnership with major UN bodies dealing with NGOs
such as UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA),
Department of Public Information (DPI)
and Non-Governmental Liaison
Service (NGLS) as well as UN regional bodies such as UN Economic Social
Commission in Asia and Pacific Region (ESCAP), UN Development Program (UNDP)
and UN Environment Program (UNEP). It was locally hosted by Asian Forum for
Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) based in Bangkok.
About 400 participants mainly from NGOs working
in the field of human rights and sustainable development participated in the Forum
and the final statement which identified key challenges and tasks of NGOs in
the region was adopted. (For more detailed info is available at http://www.acsf.net, http://www.ngocongo.org
or NGLS Roundup No. 100)
The ACSF 2002 was a timely occasion where key global
issues such as Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were introduced in
mainstream civil society organizations in Asia, and
regional framework of proactive dialogue for better understanding and
cooperation among NGOs across sectors was created.
The proposed ACSF 2004 is a main follow-up to
the ACSF 2002 and at the same time a regional preparatory process and forum for
the "NGO Forum for Millennium+5" in 2005. It also serves as a main follow-up
meeting to the Asian NGOsĄŻ consultation meeting on UN-civil society relations (Bangkok, Oct. 22-23, 2003) by UN
High-level Panel on UN-Civil Society Relations.
The ACSF 2004 aims to
discuss and identify key common challenges for NGOs
engaged in advocacy
at inter-governmental processes at the regional and
global levels
facilitate proactive cross-sectoral dialogue among
civil society organizations in Asia
at different levels : local, national,
regional and global levels
enhance Asian NGOs' advocacy capacity through
information-sharing and networking
assess the implementation of MDGs in Asia and provide
regional input
into the Millennium+5 process
discuss the implications and impact of the UN General
Assembly resolution
on the report of the High-level Panel on UN-civil
society relations
>>
Background
Paper of ACSF 2002
>>
Final
Statement of ACSF 2002
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