55th
Annual DPI/NGO Conference
Held at UN Headquarters in New York |
On
September 9-11, 2002, over 2000 representatives of non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) accredited to the United Nations
gathered from 81 countries around the world to attend
the 55th Annual NGO Conference organized by the UN Department
of Public Information (DPI). This year's conference,
on the theme of "Rebuilding Societies Emerging
from Conflict: A Shared Responsibility," featured
a roster of distinguished presenters to discuss the
varied issues relating to recovery and reconciliation
in post-conflict societies, and the 'critical' role
of NGOs in building a firm foundation of peace in each
society, as emphasized by UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan in his message to NGO delegates.
The conference's opening session in the
UN General Assembly on the morning of September 9th
began with a welcome to NGO representatives from UN
Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public
Information Shashi Tharoor, followed by addresses from
Mr. Han Seung-soo, President of the 56th Session of
the UN General Assembly; UN Deputy Secretary-General
Louise Frechette; Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, Special Representative
of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan; and UN
High Commissioner for Human Rights and former President
of Ireland Mary Robinson.
Morning
and afternoon sessions over the following three days
focused on such topics as "Re-establishing the
Rule of Law and Encouraging Good Governance," "Restoring
Social Services: Identifying Priorities," "The
Challenge of Rebuilding Economies," "The Process
of Reconciliation," and "Demobilizing the
War Machines: Making Peace Last," with panels of
experts from the UN, the government sector, international
agencies such as the World Bank, the press, and various
NGOs.
Each day, NGO delegates
also had a wide variety of side-events during the lunchtime
break between sessions. Among these were: "Enforcing
International Human Rights Law in Societies Emerging
from Conflict: A Religious and Ethical Perspective"
presented by the World Conference on Religion and Peace
(WCRP) and other religious NGOs; "UN and NGOs:
Building Successful Partnerships;" "Breaking
the Cycle of Violence, Training in Non-violence and
the Culture of Peace" presented by the Anuvrat
Global Organization and Art of Living Foundation; "Rebuilding
Societies: A New Approach" presented by the Findhorn
Foundation, the Lifebridge Foundation, and five other
NGOs; "Media: Who Shapes the News in the Post-Conflict
World?;" and Coming Out of the Dark: The Role of
Faith in Recovering from Conflict."
This year's conference drew 709 NGOs to
attend the New York event, seven of which were from
Japan (one each from Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Osaka and Yokohama,
and three from Tokyo). The International Shinto Foundation,
one of the NGOs headquartered in Tokyo, was represented
by Mr. Paul H. Sherbow and Ms. Hiroko Sugimoto from
its New York Center.
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