Call for Participation

CSD Outreach Session on Transport, Chemicals, Waste Management, Mining and Sustainable Consumption and Production

The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT) is organizing an outreach session with civil society representatives to inform the Canadian participation at the 18th Session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-18). The outreach will take place by way of teleconference on February 25th from 13:00 – 16:00 (EST).

As you may know, the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UN CSD) was created to monitor progress in the implementation of Agenda 21 and other outcomes of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. It also provides policy guidance for new action to promote sustainable development around the world. Although its recommendations are not legally binding, the CSD has become a useful international forum for consensus-building on sustainable development issues. It meets annually in New York and its discussions usually focus on a selected number of key themes. More information on CSD-18 is available at the UN CSD website: www.un.org/esa/dsd/csd/csd_csd18.shtml.

CSD-18 will be held in New York from May 3 - 14, 2010 and will focus on the themes of Transport, Chemicals, Waste Management, Mining and Sustainable Consumption and Production. The Government of Canada’s thematic profiles for CSD-18 can be viewed online at: www.un.org/esa/dsd/dsd_aofw_ni/ni_natiinfo_canada.shtml.

Your organization’s participation in the outreach session will provide the opportunity to contribute to a well-established international process. It will also provide the opportunity to discuss Canadian priorities, which at the federal level, are being developed through an interdepartmental committee composed of lead federal departments. Participation on this teleconference will help ensure:

• an inclusive discussion with representatives of civil society in order to inform the priority issues that Canada could advance at CSD-18;
• information sharing regarding the government of Canada’s planned activities at CSD-18, and 
• encouragement of stakeholders’ participation at CSD-18 including via side events, partnerships and through the submission of case studies to profile key Canadian activities with respect to the CSD-18 themes.

In order to ensure that the appropriate representatives are notified, DFAIT asks that you forward the names and contact information of people responsible for these files within your organization.  Kindly RSVP with the names of officials who are able to participate in the call by February 15 to Giuseppina Iezzi (Giuseppina.Iezzi@international.gc.ca) and copy Sarah Heiberg (sarah@cen-rce.org). The teleconference details and a document outlining the Government of Canada’s thematic profile of CSD-18 themes will be circulated to confirmed participants in advance of the February 25th session.

If you have any questions on the CSD, please contact Philippe Charest, Senior Policy Advisor and National Focal Point for the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, at 613 996 1927 or via email at Philippe.Charest@international.gc.ca.