Fiftieth session of The Commission on the Status of Women

27 February to 10 March 2006

 

NGO Participation Information Note

 

Arrangements for NGO representatives attending the fiftieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women have been made as follows:

 

Grounds Passes

 

NGO representatives may pick up their UN grounds passes at the United Nations Visitor’s Lobby (First Avenue and 46th Street). Passes will not be issued unless the Letter of Confirmation and photo identification are presented.

 

All NGOs should enter via the Visitor’s Entrance in the General Assembly Building, at all times, and will be required to pass through the security checkpoint and metal detectors. On the first day of the session, there will be a separate metal detector set up exclusively for NGO representatives attending the fiftieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women.

 

Kindly note that the United Nations grounds passes are to be worn visibly at all times. Please do not lose them.

 

 

Participation  in CSW Sessions

 

The fiftieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women will be held in Conference Room 2. The sessions will normally be scheduled from 10:00a.m. to 1:00p.m. and from 3:00p.m. to 6:00p.m. Monday through Friday.  To ensure a timely start to all sessions, all participants are requested to be seated promptly at 10:00 a.m, and 3:00 p.m.

 

Conference Rooms are located in the basement of Conference Building. NGO representatives with valid passes will be admitted to the Conference Room area through the doors near the United Nations Bookshop and Post Office in the basement, unless they require the use of the elevators. Elevators are located to the left of the Visitor’s Lobby, through the glass door by the Guided Tour desk.

 

NGO representatives may attend all open meetings of the Commission. They may also attend informal consultations subject to the agreement of the chairperson of the informal consultations. Otherwise, informal consultations are for government delegates only.

 

 

 

 

*Oral statements

 

NGO representatives wishing to speak in the general debate or panel discussions on the thematic areas should notify Ms. Tsu-Wei Chang  (CSW50@un.org) 24 hours before the beginning of the session.  The request should include the topic of the statement, identifying the organization(s), the name of the speaker, and the contact address/ phone numbers. Copies of all oral interventions must be submitted in writing; we kindly ask that you please limit your statement to approximately two pages. You should  submit 21 copies of the statement to the registration desk at least half day in advance of the scheduled session.   These copies will be submitted to Conference Services by DAW.

 

The requests will be brought to the attention of the Secretary of the Commission to include on the speakers’ list.  The chairperson decides who can speak, based on time available, with government delegations having priority.  NGO representatives are therefore encouraged to prepare joint statements whenever possible. Preference will be given to individuals speaking on behalf of a number of organizations or caucus.

 

 The daily list of speakers will be posted in Conference Room B.   Since the list is updated frequently in accordance with the proceedings of the meetings, NGOs who have requested to speak should check the list often. 

 

NGO representatives selected to intervene in the discussion will be seated in an area designated for these NGO representatives, and will be expected to keep their interventions brief, exceeding no more than five minutes.

 

*NGO meetings and caucuses

 

Conference Room B has been reserved for NGO representatives to hold caucuses and workshops.  A photocopier has been set up in Conference Room B for the use of NGO representatives attending the fiftieth  session of the Commission on the Status of Women.  NGO representatives are requested to bring their own paper (standard letter size 8½ in. x 11 in.; any other size will jam the machine); please note that paper will not be provided, so please arrange accordingly. As well, it is requested that the photocopier, computers and printers are not to be used while the room is being used for caucuses and workshops..

 

The second floor of the Church Centre Building, located on the corner of 44th Street  and First Avenue,  has been specially reserved by the NGO Committee on the Status of Women to be used by NGO representatives attending the fiftieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women.  Kindly arrange with the NGO Committee on Status of Women to use this space whenever possible.

 

*Parallel Events

 

NGOs that are facilitating workshops or organizing events on United Nations premises are requested to keep strictly to the scheduled time, so that the next programme may start promptly.  Please see the attached schedule of events for further information on the caucuses and workshops.  Any request for changes in the scheduled events should be directed to Tsu-Wei Chang.  Schedule of changes will be posted on the notice board inside Conference Room B.  A daily schedule of events will be distributed at the registration desk, and at the morning briefings in Conference Room 2.  Only those scheduling changes received by 1:00 p.m. each day will be reflected in the next day’s schedule.

 

*Official documents

 

Limited copies of official documents for the fiftieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women have been reserved for NGO representatives.  Those documents will be kept in Conference Room B.  NGO representatives are strongly recommended to take no more than one copy of each official document per organization.  NGO representatives are requested not to ask for official documents at the documentation booths in the Conference Room area, as distribution of documents to NGOs from these points is not authorized.

 

* Programme information

 

The Journal of the United Nations is issued daily.  It contains the daily programme of official meetings in the United Nations, as well as announcements and room numbers.  There will also be a daily programme of events issued jointly by the Division for the Advancement of Women and the Secretary of the Commission on the Status of Women. Additional information can be obtained at the daily briefings for NGOs.

 

An Information and Help Desk for CSW will be set up in the Conference Building Neck area.  It is located in the basement of Conference Building between the Café Austria and the elevators.

 

REMINDERS

 

·        Under no circumstances are demonstrations of any kind permitted on United Nations premises.

 

·        The United Nations is a non-smoking building.

 

·        No food or beverages are to be brought into or consumed in any of the conference rooms, including the Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium.

 

·        No items are to be sold on the premises of the United Nations.

 

·        No luggage is permitted in the United Nations premises, such as carry ons, backpacks. etc. Please make arrangements for storing your luggage prior to arrival at UN Headquarters.

 

·        No items are to be affixed to any walls, doors or painted surfaces by any means, and under any circumstances.  In order to facilitate the sharing of information, there will be a notice board inside Conference Room B;  this is  the only place where NGO representatives may place notices.

 

·        The United Nations will not be responsible for damage or theft of articles.

 

·        Full co-operation with the UN Security Service is expected.

 

·        When in the cafeteria, please do not move tables and chairs into clusters so as to hold impromptu meetings as the cafeteria is strictly for eating purposes.

 

 

Finding your way  around UN Headquarters and the surrounding area

 

Please note that copies of a sketched map of the UN headquarters will be available at the registration Desk.

 

* UN Visitor’s Entrance: 1st Avenue & 46th Street

 

*NGO Resource Center:  In the basement of the Dag Hammarskjold library, there is an NGO resource center. To access the center, use the ……

 

 

*Cafeterias in UN Secretariat:                                                                                            

-         Main cafeteria: South Lobby

Breakfast 8:00 am-10:00 am; Lunch 11:00 am-3:00 pm; Dinner 5:00 pm-8:30 pm

-         Viennese Café: GA-B1            

      8:00 am-6:00 pm

-         Delegates Dining Room: 4th Floor

Lunch served daily: 11:30am to 2:30 pm, reservations: (212) 963-7625

-         Visitor’s coffee shop: GA concourse

 

*Useful United Nations phone numbers:

 

For fire and other emergencies, please go to a public phone and dial 911

 

United Nations Security and Safety Services 24-hour emergency line:  (212) 963-6666

NGO Committee on the Status of Women:   (212) 209-3961

DAW: e.mail csw50@un.org  or leave message at (212) 963-8370

 

 

*Public transportation to the United Nations:

 

Bus : M15, 27, 42, 50, 98, 101, 102, 103, 104

Check map at: http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/manbus.pdf

 

Metro: Grand Central (line 4, 5, 6, 7 and S)

Check map at: http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm

 

*Tourist Information Center in the UN

In front of the main cafeteria, near the Security Guards’ post, there is a Tourist Information Center where you can get information about New York.