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GENERAL
A/CONF.151/26 (Vol. III)
14 August 1992
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
REPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON
ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
(Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992)
Chapter 27
STRENGTHENING THE ROLE OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS:
PARTNERS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMME AREA
Basis for action
27.1. Non-governmental organizations play a vital role in the shaping
and implementation of participatory democracy. Their credibility lies
in the responsible and constructive role they play in society. Formal
and informal organizations, as well as grass-roots movements, should be
recognized as partners in the implementation of Agenda 21. The nature
of the independent role played by non-governmental organizations within
a society calls for real participation; therefore, independence is a
major attribute of non-governmental organizations and is the
precondition of real participation.
27.2. One of the major challenges facing the world community as it
seeks to replace unsustainable development patterns with
environmentally sound and sustainable development is the need to
activate a sense of common purpose on behalf of all sectors of society.
The chances of forging such a sense of purpose will depend on the
willingness of all sectors to participate in genuine social partnership
and dialogue, while recognizing the independent roles, responsibilities
and special capacities of each.
27.3. Non-governmental organizations, including those non-profit
organizations representing groups addressed in the present section of
Agenda 21, possess well-established and diverse experience, expertise
and capacity in fields which will be of particular importance to the
implementation and review of environmentally sound and socially
responsible sustainable development, as envisaged throughout Agenda 21.
The community of non-governmental organizations, therefore, offers a
global network that should be tapped, enabled and strengthened in
support of efforts to achieve these common goals.
27.4. To ensure that the full potential contribution of
non-governmental organizations is realized, the fullest possible
communication and cooperation between international organizations,
national and local governments and non-governmental organizations
should be promoted in institutions mandated, and programmes designed to
carry out Agenda 21. Non-governmental organizations will also need to
foster cooperation and communication among themselves to reinforce
their effectiveness as actors in the implementation of sustainable development.
Objectives
27.5. Society, Governments and international bodies should develop
mechanisms to allow non-governmental organizations to play their
partnership role responsibly and effectively in the process of
environmentally sound and sustainable development.
27.6. With a view to strengthening the role of non-governmental
organizations as social partners, the United Nations system and
Governments should initiate a process, in consultation with
non-governmental organizations, to review formal procedures and
mechanisms for the involvement of these organizations at all levels
from policy-making and decision-making to implementation.
27.7. By 1995, a mutually productive dialogue should be established at
the national level between all Governments and non-governmental
organizations and their self-organized networks to recognize and
strengthen their respective roles in implementing environmentally sound
and sustainable development.
27.8. Governments and international bodies should promote and allow
the participation of non-governmental organizations in the conception,
establishment and evaluation of official mechanisms and formal
procedures designed to review the implementation of Agenda 21 at all
levels.
Activities
27.9. The United Nations system, including international finance and
development agencies, and all intergovernmental organizations and
forums should, in consultation with non-governmental organizations,
take measures to:
(a) Review and report on ways of enhancing existing procedures
and mechanisms by which non-governmental organizations contribute to
policy design, decision-making, implementation and evaluation at the
individual agency level, in inter-agency discussions and in United
Nations conferences;
(b) On the basis of subparagraph (a) above, enhance existing or,
where they do not exist, establish, mechanisms and procedures within
each agency to draw on the expertise and views of non-governmental
organizations in policy and programme design, implementation and
evaluation;
(c) Review levels of financial and administrative support for
non-governmental organizations and the extent and effectiveness of
their involvement in project and programme implementation, with a view
to augmenting their role as social partners;
(d) Design open and effective means of achieving the
participation of non-governmental organizations in the processes
established to review and evaluate the implementation of Agenda 21 at
all levels;
(e) Promote and allow non-governmental organizations and their
self-organized networks to contribute to the review and evaluation of
policies and programmes designed to implement Agenda 21, including
support for developing country non-governmental organizations and their
self-organized networks;
(f) Take into account the findings of non-governmental review
systems and evaluation processes in relevant reports of the
Secretary-General to the General Assembly, and of all pertinent United
Nations organizations and other intergovernmental organizations and
forums concerning implementation of Agenda 21, in accordance with the
review process for Agenda 21;
(g) Provide access for non-governmental organizations to accurate
and timely data and information to promote the effectiveness of their
programmes and activities and their roles in support of sustainable
development.
27.10. Governments should take measures to:
(a) Establish or enhance an existing dialogue with
non-governmental organizations and their self-organized networks
representing various sectors, which could serve to: (i) consider the
rights and responsibilities of these organizations; (ii) efficiently
channel integrated non-governmental inputs to the governmental policy
development process; and (iii) facilitate non-governmental coordination
in implementing national policies at the programme level;
(b) Encourage and enable partnership and dialogue between local
non-governmental organizations and local authorities in activities
aimed at sustainable development;
(c) Involve non-governmental organizations in national mechanisms
or procedures established to carry out Agenda 21, making the best use
of their particular capacities, especially in the fields of education,
poverty alleviation and environmental protection and rehabilitation;
(d) Take into account the findings of non-governmental monitoring
and review mechanisms in the design and evaluation of policies
concerning the implementation of Agenda 21 at all levels;
(e) Review government education systems to identify ways to
include and expand the involvement of non-governmental organizations in
the field of formal and informal education and of public awareness;
(f) Make available and accessible to non-governmental
organizations the data and information necessary for their effective
contribution to research and to the design, implementation and
evaluation of programmes.
Means of implementation
(a) Financing and cost evaluation
27.11. Depending on the outcome of review processes and the evolution
of views as to how best to build partnership and dialogue between
official organizations and groups of non-governmental organizations,
relatively limited but unpredictable, costs will be involved at the
international and national levels in enhancing consultative procedures
and mechanisms. Non-governmental organizations will also require
additional funding in support of their establishment of, improvement of
or contributions to Agenda 21 monitoring systems. These costs will be
significant but cannot be reliably estimated on the basis of existing
information.
(b) Capacity-building
27.12. The organizations of the United Nations system and other
intergovernmental organizations and forums, bilateral programmes and
the private sector, as appropriate, will need to provide increased
financial and administrative support for non-governmental organizations
and their self-organized networks, in particular those based in
developing countries, that contribute to the monitoring and evaluation
of Agenda 21 programmes, and provide training for non-governmental
organizations (and assist them to develop their own training
programmes) at the international and regional levels to enhance their
partnership role in programme design and implementation.
27.13. Governments will need to promulgate or strengthen, subject to
country-specific conditions, any legislative measures necessary to
enable the establishment by non-governmental organizations of
consultative groups, and to ensure the right of non-governmental
organizations to protect the public interest through legal action.
END OF CHAPTER 27
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