Below is the information for CSOs attending (COP15) in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from 9 to 20 May 2022.
General information on the fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) can be found on UNCCD website: https://www.unccd.int/cop15
The Secretariat has mobilized funds, to financially support the participation of CSO representatives from Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. In response to the call for applications launched in March, 61 applications were received. The funds mobilized by the secretariat allow for the support of 25 people, including the 5 members of the CSO panel, the secretariat and the panel then had to select the beneficiaries considering the criteria of geographical balance, gender parity, balance between people already supported and newcomers.
REGISTRATION
- All participants to the COP15 must register online: https://indico.un.org/event/1000768/overview
- A COVID vaccine certificate is requested for the registration.
- Following your registration, an official and nominative invitation letter will be sent to you automatically.
INFORMATION FOR ATENDEES
- We invite you to read the document “information to participants”: https://www.unccd.int/official-documentscop-15-abidjan-cote-divoire-2022/iccdcop15inf1 (available in 5 UN languages)
It contains useful information to prepare your participation in the COP, including a list of hotels in Abidjan from which collective transportation to the COP venue will be organized.
- Other logistical information about COP15 is also available on the host country website: https://unccd-cop15.org/
PREPARATORY DOCUMENTS & AGENDA
All official preparatory documents for COP15, CST15 and CRIC20, which will be reviewed and discussed by the Parties, are now online on the UNCCD website in the 5 UN languages: https://www.unccd.int/official-documents/cop-15-abidjan-cote-divoire-2022
- The main topics on the agenda of COP15 will be drought, land security, migration, sand and dust storms, gender, and youth.
- Please note that this year, the high-level segment will be held at the beginning of the COP, bringing together political leaders from countries for discussions aimed at advancing policy content and new topics in the implementation of the UNCCD. The scoping note for the high-level segment is online: https://www.unccd.int/official-documentscop-15-abidjan-cote-divoire-2022/iccdcop15inf2
- Two open dialogue sessions will take place on May 12 and 17. They will allow civil society organizations to express themselves, in plenary, in front of the Parties’ delegations.
- At different moments of the COP agenda, civil society organizations will have the opportunity to express themselves through statements.
CSO MEETINGS
To ensure a coordinated preparation of the civil society, the CSO panel invites you to reply to this survey: https://framaforms.org/cop15-unccd-cso-participation-1649240007
The CSO panel also plans to organize different meetings, before and during the COP:
- A preparatory webinar, open to all accredited CSOs, on 26th of April 2022 at 15:00 CET, to inform the community about the COP agenda, and to start discussing how to work collectively around the follow-up of the COP agenda topics, the preparation of open dialogue sessions and civil society statements. You will find the draft agenda enclosed.
- An onsite CSO meeting in Abidjan on Sunday, May 8 (eve of the COP) for an inter-knowledge and networking of CSOs present at the COP. The meeting will allow us to organize working groups on the preparation of joint statements, ECO newsletters and open dialogue sessions. We invite you to plan to arrive in Abidjan on Saturday, May 7, if possible.
- Daily meetings throughout the COP, each morning in a dedicated room, before the start of the day’s work. These meetings will ensure the coordination and follow-up of our collective work.
We are listening to any question you may have in view of your involvement in the preparation and participation to the COP15.
