1 November was the official close of the call for submissions to the compilation document for Rio+20. A total of 488 contributions were received from Major Groups. CIVICUS, ANPED, and CI, the three NGO Major Group Operating Partners, did not submit a consensus input so that all NGO issues could be taken into account in a fair and equitable manner. However, in parallel, the NGO Operating Partners have separately submitted their own contributions. CIVICUS' submission consisted of specific civil society recommendations before, during, and after the Summit to ensure effective multi-stakeholder participation.
With the 2nd Intersessional Meeting of the UNCSD fast approaching on 15 December, CIVICUS is currently finalising logistics for a side event which will be co-organised with the Stakeholder Forum, UN-NGLS, Social Watch, Vitae Civilis, and Citizens Network for Sustainable Development, entitled “Civil Society Engagement in Sustainable Development Governance.” In the lead up to the intersessional, CIVICUS is also working jointly with ANPED to create a matrix overview of all NGO inputs submitted on 1 November, and plans to launch the first edition of a co-signed Rio+20 newsletter that will provide information from NGO Major Group Operating Partners activities and other news relevant to the process. Submissions to the newsletter will be actively sought from NGOs to ensure that voices are appropriately represented.
