In January 2017, WFUNA began hosting monthly dialogues for Presidents of the UN Security Council and Civil Society to allow for greater access to the work of the Security Council and to promote openness and transparency within the UN system. In 2017, dialogues were held with the Permanent Representatives of Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, France, Italy and Japan, and the Deputy Permanent Representative of Ethiopia.

In 2018, WFUNA continued this initiative, holding dialogues with the Permanent Representatives of Kazakhstan, Peru, Poland and Sweden, as well as the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Netherlands.

In 2019, WFUNA held dialogues with the Special Envoy to the UNSC of the Dominican Republican, the Permanent Representatives of Equatorial Guinea, France, Germany, Indonesia, Peru, Poland and South Africa, and with the Deputy Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom.

In 2020, WFUNA held CSO Dialogues with Permanent Representatives of Viet Nam, Belgium, China, Dominican Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Niger, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and South Africa.

In 2021, WFUNA held CSO Dialogues with the Permanent Representatives of Tunisia, the United Kingdom, Viet Nam, Estonia, France, Ireland and Kenya, and the Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States.

In 2022, WFUNA held CSO Dialogues with the Permanent Representative of Norway, the United Kingdom, and Albania, and Brazil. 

Transparency & Accountability at the UNSC

Each month, UN Security Council Presidents discuss their Programme of Work, priorities for the month, challenges ahead, and key considerations for their presidency. Civil society organizations in attendance are invited to take the floor to inquire about specific issues as related to the UNSC, and, in particular, that month’s Programme of Work.

In addition, the Dialogues are livestreamed on UN WebTV, as well as on Twitter through the hashtag #MeetUNSCPres, providing civil society organizations not based in New York an opportunity to engage online and submit questions, further connecting UNSC Presidency-Civil Society Dialogues with wider networks. This public dialogue series is open to all UN-accredited civil society organizations, including those not affiliated with other New York-based groups.

The Dialogues are held during the first or second week of the nation’s Council Presidency, at UNHQ in New York for an hour and a half, and are moderated by the Secretary-General of WFUNA or the Senior Peace and Security Officer.

Gay_Rosenblum_Kumar

The Response

Gay Rosenblum-Kumar

UN Representative, Nonviolent Peaceforce/Peace Direct

 “I want to congratulate you and thank you for the South Sudan mandate renewal which has some important new language on protection of civilians, community engagement, consulting with civil society, and commitment to more reporting on POCs.

You may remember at a joint meeting similar to this, you connected me both to your mission experts on South Sudan who I spoke with and I believe this helped introduce the new language, and I see this as a real example of NGO-State cooperation, so thank you.”

Upcoming CSO Dialogue

Upcoming CSO Dialogue

Stay tuned for more information about the upcoming Civil Society Dialogue.

Send us a question at unsc@wfuna.org.

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CSO Dialogue Photo Gallery

Photo Gallery

We’ve compiled some of the best photos from our series of civil society dialogues with Presidents of the UN Security Council.

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM PAST EVENTS