URU, Alm.del - 2011-12 - Bilag 164: Invitation til forberedelses møde i FN’s Udviklingssamarbejde Forum, Brisbane 14. til 15. maj 2012

Dear Mr. Lorentzen,Last year’s 4thHigh Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, Korea, emphasised once again theneed for parliaments to be deeply engaged in development cooperation issues which are vital to therealization of key development goals as well as the long-term partnership between developed anddeveloping countries. To help advance these issues, the IPU has received a strong mandate from bothits member parliaments and the United Nations General Assembly to work closely with, and bring arobust parliamentary contribution to the United Nations Development Cooperation Forum (DCF).I am pleased to inform you that the next session of the DCF will take place in New York on 5-6 July.As we prepare for this important event, I would like to encourage your parliament to take part in thethird and final preparatory symposium of the 2012 DCF which will take place in Brisbane on 14 and15 May, at the invitation of the Government of Australia and the United Nations.Theme and format of the symposiumThe two-day symposium, entitled “Shapinga sustainable future – partners in developmentcooperation”,will explore how development cooperation can be better designed and delivered tosupport the transition towards sustainable development. The event is expected to make a criticalcontribution to the preparatory process for the upcoming Rio+20 conference on sustainabledevelopment in June of this year.To set the stage, the first session of the symposium is expected to discuss challenges and successfulexperiences in supporting sustainable development through development cooperation and reflect onhow to mobilize increased resources to this end. It will also discuss implications of sustainabledevelopment on the allocation of aid between sectors and countries as well as ways to build capacitiesto pursue more integrated policy making (i.e., combining the economic, social and environmentalpillars of sustainable development) at national and local levels.To ensure that aid contributes to the goal of sustainable development, the symposium will discusswhere development cooperation for sustainable development can benefit from lessons learned in theaid effectiveness process. It will also explore how aid can act as a lever for sustainable developmentand how mutual accountability can be further focused on sustainable development as an area forfuture work of the DCF.

2As with previous meetings of the DCF, this symposium will be interactive, with plenary sessions andsmall group discussions among all stakeholders and a breakout session restricted to parliamentariansand civil society representatives (non-executive stakeholders).ParticipationTo keep this engagement manageable, the organizers have asked us to limit the number of participantsto ten members of parliament. Given the budget constraints faced by many parliaments and our desireto ensure diversity and wide regional representation, we will only be able to accommodate onemember from each parliament.Registration for the event will close as soon as the quota of ten is reached and by no later than 4 May.Note however that, for those requiring an entry visa, processing times may take several weeks, soearly registrations are highly encouraged.Funding is available through the United Nations to cover the cost of travel and accommodation for upto six MPs (within the group of ten) from Least Developed Countries on a first-come, first-servedbasis. To qualify for funding, registrations from these MPs must be received by Tuesday, 10 April.The member representing your parliament would need to be familiar with development cooperationissues, and able to draw from direct experience of interaction with development agencies, donors,civil society or other actors active in this field. You may wish to give priority to a member who hasalready participated in previous meetings of the DCF, the Busan High Level Forum, or other officialmeetings on development cooperation.DocumentationThe IPU is working with the organizers to make sure that questions of particular interest toparliamentarians will be included in the agenda. A first preliminary programme will be available bythe end of March. The full programme, aide memoire, logistical note and other relevant papers will beissued as they become available in the course of April.Registration procedureIt would be greatly appreciated if a member of your parliament could be designated to attend theAustralia symposium as well as the actual session of the DCF in July. The name and direct emailaddress of the MP should be communicated to the UN Secretariat at[email protected]for theBrisbane Symposium along with a duly filled out registration form (attached). Registrations shouldalso be copied to the IPU New York office at[email protected]FormorebackgroundontheDCFpleaseconsulttheWebsiteathttp://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/newfunct/develop.shtmlor contact Mr. Alessandro Motter in our NewYork office ([email protected]).