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INTGLIM and the World Summit on Sustainable Development

For Johannesburg 2002, INTGLIM is focusing on the issue of  global governance for the environment and sustainable development. INTGLIM is also serving as a legal and institutional issues caucus addressing issues of NGO access and NGO participation in the Summit.  Click here to learn more about INTGLIM's activities in the WSSD. 

INTGLIM and the Rio Earth Summit

INTGLIM has been working on legal and institutional issues in the context of the UN for over a decade. It was formed as a legal and institutional issues caucus in 1991 at the end of the second Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) meeting for the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro. During the 1992 Earth Summit, the task group served as the primary non-governmental (NGO) caucus that developed the proposal, and generated support for, the establishment of a Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD).

Making the goal of more effective communications between NGOs from all regions a priority, INTGLIM coordinated the first NGO-Government Dialogues and NGO Plenary sessions held during the fourth UNCED PrepCom. While normally not taking positions on specifics issues, INTGLIM was given a mandate by NGOs during the Earth Summit to advocate rights of access and participation for NGOs in the follow-up to the Earth Summit at the UN including national, regional and grassroots NGOs accredited for UNCED.

Since 1992, INTGLIM has continued to convene meetings and briefings on legal and institutional issues, and on related topics in the CSD and general UN reform processes. INTGLIM has remained especially active on the issue of NGO access. In recent years, INTGLIM has helped organize informal NGO committees on the 6th and 5th Committees of the UN General Assembly, and an international coalition to support the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

INTGLIM is co-chaired by the International Secretariat of the World Federalist Movement (WFM) and the Center for Development of International Law (CDIL).  WFM and CDIL look at a broad spectrum of international democracy issues and offer the advantage of a general approach.  This perspective has value in the context of discussions of an international architecture for environmental governance that will be addressed at Johannesburg in 2002.

In preparation for WSSD, INTGLIM is focusing on global environmental and sustainable development governance. As a follow up to INTGLIMís survey and subsequent report prepared for Rio +5, Renewing the Sprit of Rio, The CSD, Agenda 21 and the Earth Summit + 5  (1997), the task group will highlight the roles of UNEP, the CSD and other UN forums in the context of an international architecture for sustainable development and the environment.

INTGLIM's Goals

• Outreach to NGOs North and South in order to build a network of NGOs engaging in discussion on legal and institutional issues including SDG-IEG

Educate NGOs on legal and institutional issues for WSSD

• Inform and promote discussion amongst NGOs on SDG-IEG policy proposals and options for intergovernmental processes on SDG-IEG after Johannesburg
• Facilitate cross-sectoral linkages and communication between NGOs on legal and institutional issues
• Facilitate NGO consultation and contributions to intergovernmental processes on SDG-IEG including informing NGOs how they can become involved in official processes
• Promote broad, long-term consideration for all possible options for SDG-IEG and promote the launch of a multi-year intergovernmental process on SDG-IEG
• Contribute to discussions on revitalizing ECOSOC and coordination between ECOSOC Commissions
• Address how global governance for the environment and sustainable development can function to meet targets identified in the Millennium Declaration
• Address issues of national capacity building, legislation and implementation
• Ensure the intergovernmental process remains open and transparent in order to ensure that resulting institutional architecture is based on democratic principles and reflects a transparent, democratic and participatory model of global governance