Forty-seventh session of
The Commission on the Status
of Women
3 to 14 March 2003
NGO Participation
Information Note
Arrangements for NGO representatives attending the forty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women have been made as follows:
NGO representatives may pick up their UN ground passes on 3 March at the United Nations Visitor’s Lobby (First Avenue and 46th Street). The Registration Desk will be open on Friday, 28 February from 10:00a.m. to 4:00p.m. Tuesday to Thursday 4 to 6 March, from 9:30a.m. to 4:00p.m. and Monday to Thursday, 10 to 13 March, from 9:30a.m. to 4:00p.m. Please note that the desk will be closed every day between 12:30 to 2:00p.m. and registration will end at 12:30 p.m. on Fridays, 7 March and 14 March. Passes will not be issued unless the Letter of Confirmation and Photo identification are presented.
Temporary pass holders (this excludes regular pass holders of ECOSOC and DPI NGOs) should enter via the Visitor’s Entrance in the General Assembly Building, at all times, and will be required to pass through the magnetometers. On the first day of the commission session, there will be a separate magnetometer set up exclusively for NGO representatives attending the forty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women.
Kindly note that the United Nations grounds passes are to be worn visibly at all time. Please do not lose them.
The forty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women will be held in Conference Room 2. The Commission session will normally be scheduled from 10:00a.m. to 1:00p.m. and from 3:00p.m. to 6:00p.m. every day. All participants are to be seated promptly at 10:00 a.m.
Conference Rooms are located in the basement of Conference Building. NGO representatives with valid passes will be admitted to the Conference Room area through the doors near the United Nations Bookshop and Post Office in the basement, unless they require the use of elevator. Elevators are located to the left of the Visitor’s Lobby, through the glass door by the Guided Tour desk.
NGO representatives may attend all open meetings of the Commission. They may also attend informal consultations subject to the agreement of the chairperson of the informal consultations. Informal consultations are for government delegates only.
NGO representatives wishing to speak in the general debate should notify Ms. Tsu-Wei Chang well in advance. The requests will be brought to the attention of the Secretary of the Commission to include on the speakers’ list. The chairperson decides who can speak, based on time available, with governments delegations having priority. NGO representatives are therefore encouraged to prepare joint statements whenever possible.
During the panel discussions on the thematic areas, NGO representatives may be called upon to speak. NGO representatives wishing to particpate during the panel discussions should submit their names to Ms. Tsu-Wei Chang 24 hours before the beginning of the panel discussion. Preference will be given to individuals speaking on behalf of a number of organizations or caucus. NGO representatives selected to intervene in the discussion will be seated in an area designated for these NGO representatives and will be expected to keep their interventions brief exceeding no more than five minutes.
Conference Room B has been reserved for NGO representatives to hold caucuses and workshops. A photocopier has been set up in Conference Room B for the use of NGO representatives attending the forty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women. No paper will be provided and NGO representatives are requested to bring their own paper in letter size (American size) since any other size will jam the machine. The photocopier, computers and printers are not to be used while the room is being used for caucuses and workshops.
Please note that the second floor of the Church Centre Building on the corner of 44th street and First Avenue has been reserved by the NGO Committee on the Status of Women to be used by NGO representatives attending the forty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women. Kindly arrange to use this space whenever possible.
NGOs who are facilitating workshops or organizing events on United Nations premises are requested to keep strictly to the scheduled time so that the next programme may start promptly. Please see the attached schedule of events for further information on the caucuses and workshops. Any request for changes in the scheduled events should be directed to Tsu-Wei Chang. Schedule of changes will be posted on the notice board inside Conference Room B. A daily schedule of events will be distributed at the registration desk and at the morning briefings in Conference Room 2. Only those scheduling changes received by 1:00 p.m. each day will be reflected in the next day’s schedule.
Limited copies of official documents for the forty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women have been reserved for NGO representatives. Those documents will be kept in Conference Room B. NGO representatives are strongly recommended to take no more than one copy of each official document per organization. NGO representatives are requested not to ask for official documents at the documentation booths in Conference Room area, as distribution of documents to NGOs from these points is not authorized.
When in the cafeteria, please do not move tables and chairs into clusters so as to hold your own impromptu meetings as the cafeteria is strictly for eating purposes.
The Journal of the United Nations is issued daily. It contains the daily programme of official meetings in the United Nations as well as announcements and room numbers. There will also be a daily programme of events issued jointly by the Division for the Advancement of Women and the Secretary of the Commission on the Status of Women. Information can also be obtained at the daily briefings for NGOs.
Under no circumstances are demonstrations of any kind permitted on United Nations premises.
No food or beverages are to be brought into or consumed in any of the conference rooms, this includes the Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium.
No items are to be sold on the premises of the United Nations.
No luggage is permitted in the United Nations premises.
No items are to be affixed to any walls, doors or painted surfaces by any means. There will be a notice board inside Conference Room B. This will be the only place where NGO representatives may place notices.
The United Nations will not be responsible for damage or theft of articles.
Co-operation with the UN Security Service is therefore encouraged.
When materials are brought into or removed from the premises measures must be taken to ensure that the floors, walls, doorframes, etc of the area are not damaged, e.g., no heavy loads should be dragged across the floor; dollies should have rubber, not metal wheels.