16th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development
The Bahá’í International Community (BIC) had a strong presence at the sixteenth session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) held from May 5th to 16th, 2008. Delegates of the Bahá’í International Community came together from ten countries and five continents to contribute to the dialogue taking place at the CSD. Among the delegates were five youth who were all eager to learn and contribute to the dialogue.
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| Presenters of the panel discussion entitled “Sustainable Development: Without Rural Women?” and BIC Representatives |
The CSD is designed to offer an open and participatory intergovernmental dialogue on sustainability issues and is responsible for reviewing the progress on the implementation of Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration, by providing policy guidance. It is a functional commission of the UN Economic and Social Council, has 53 member States and is the high level forum for sustainable development within the UN system. The Commission deals with thematic areas on a two-year cycle, the first year being a review session of best practices and the second a policy year, where governments negotiate an outcome document on the thematic issues. The 16th session was a review year and encompassed the following thematic areas: Africa, Agriculture, Rural Development, Land, Drought, and Desertification.
In partnership with the Rock Ethics Institute of Penn State University, the BIC hosted an official event at CSD-16 entitled, “The Ethical Dimensions of Climate Change: Implications for Africa’s Agricultural and Rural Development.” After a positive response at CSD-15 last year, the ethical considerations of climate change were brought to the fore once again through this event which emphasized the need to engage in discussions within an ethical and moral framework. (Read article in Outreach Issues(page 8), May 7, 2008)
Moderated by Bani Dugal, principal representative of the BIC to the UN, the panel of presenters included Ambassador Modest Jonathon Mero of the Permanent Mission of Tanzania to the UN; Professor Donald Brown of Penn State University, Dr. Dwight Allen of Old Dominion University and Dr. Stephen Connor from the International Research Institute for Climate and Society of Columbia University. The event attracted a large number of representatives from country delegations and NGOs who actively participated in the discussion and expressed their appreciation of the event.
Another event, “Sustainable Development: Without Rural Women?” organized by the BIC and Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture (WOCAN), brought together two predominant areas of the BIC’s work: global prosperity and the advancement of women. Presenters Tacko Ndiaye from UNIFEM, Jeannette Gurung of WOCAN, Erin Murphy-Graham from University of California, Berkeley and Sabina Anokye Mensah from the GRATIS Foundation addressed the central role of rural women in agriculture and rural development and explored a number of outstanding programs that are significantly empowering rural women and girls. (Watch YouTube video parts: one / two / three ) of the event.
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| His Excellency Mr. Marco A. Suazo, Deputy Permanent representative of Honduras to the United Nations expresses his appreciation for the SAT program. |
The BIC was also given the opportunity to present the SAT program as a best practice learning event at the CSD. The SAT (Sistema de Aprendizaje Tutorial) program is an internationally recognized system for building capacities for sustainable rural development. Duncan Hanks, a Canadian delegate of the BIC, moderated the SAT learning event, a three hour interactive workshop featuring two representatives of the Bayan Association of Honduras, Mr. Soheil Dooki and Dr. Barry Smith, and Dr. Erin Murphy-Graham, faculty member of the University of California (Berkeley). The learning event focused on the capacity building aspects of the SAT program in Honduras, where the program currently reaches about 6,500 rural participants primarily in farming communities.
The SAT presentation at the CSD-16 Learning Center attracted an unusually large crowd including representatives from the major groups of civil society and seven country delegations as well. Among the attendees was His Excellency Mr. Marco A. Suazo, Ambassador, Deputy Permanent Representative of Honduras to the United Nations who felt moved to express his profound appreciation for the contribution SAT is making to his country. (View PowerPoints: Implementation of SAT in Honduras: An institutional partnership Asociación Bayan
SAT: A Model for Building Capabilities for Sustainable Rural Development] presentations.)
The success of this CSD and those of the past will provide the necessary momentum to make the seventeenth CSD just as fruitful, if not more. As the delegates return to their respective countries and the CSD comes to a close, the BIC begins to prepare, once again, to bring new perspectives forward and broaden the discourse on sustainable development.
