 |
|
 |
Above:
the Committee of the Whole's contact group met throughout the
day in various rooms, under the chairmanship of Martti Lujanden (Finland). |
 In
the beezeways...
NGOs reacted
to today�s ruling to exclude them from the drafting committee with unequivocal
disappointment. Some NGO representatives said they now felt unwelcome,
and would have to decide if they would continue participating in the Habitat
process. Others spoke of how hard it will now be to �sell� both the UNGASS
and the Habitat process to their constituencies and donors, and feared
that their participation might be further jeopardized by the inability
to secure resources for their continued involvement. Others complained
that they had lost their last chance to contribute to the text of the
draft declaration, since negotiations at the General Assembly in New York
are always done behind closed doors. Yet others urged their colleagues
to maintain a spirit of calm, compromise and innovation, imploring them
not to �create another Seattle.� Many were looking forward to hearing
the outcomes of Thursday�s briefing session between the US delegation
and American NGOs.
Above right: at the UN compound at Gigiri, buildings
are not separated by closed corridors, instead they are linked by open
breezeways.
|
