UN Independent Expert endorses call for a Civil Society Envoy

The UN's Independent Expert for an Equitable and Democratic International Order, Livingstone Sewanyana, officially set out his support for the recommendation for a high-level civil society envoy in his 2021 report.

Mr Sewanyana proposes that the envoy would “act as a central liaison point in the United Nations system… pushing for more-inclusive convening processes and driving United Nations outreach to civil society and the public.”

Last year Together First launched a dedicated report urging the UN Secretary-General to designate a senior official as a champion for civil society, and provide them with the resourcing and support needed to increase the Organisation’s limited capacity to engage with civil society, particularly focusing on widening access for underrepresented voices. 
 
This latest endorsement adds to the momentum behind this campaign which has been steadily rising across different constituencies: 

Mr Sewanyana’s report also endorses associated ideas featured in the We The Peoples campaign for inclusive global governance: A World Citizens' Initiative and a UN Parliamentary Assembly, as well as a 2023 World Summit to initiate reforms to make global governance more inclusive. Together First and its partners endorse and advocate these proposals.

In 2020, the UN Secretary-General spearheaded the 75th anniversary initiative with the ambitious task of determining the ‘‘future we want, and the UN we need.” The consultation saw over 1.3 million people from every country in the world take part with one of the leading findings to emerge being the need for a UN civil society champion. The Secretary-General has committed to taking forward the outcomes of the UN75 consultations through his major “Our Common Agenda” report to be published on 10 September.

Ahead of this landmark report, Together First wrote to the Secretary-General and UN Member States to urge that the outcomes of the UN75 global conversation be turned into urgent action. 

Watch this space (click here to head to our twitter) for reaction and analysis to the Secretary-General’s report on Friday.

Photo: CSW63 Townhall Meeting of United Nations and Civil Society. Credit: UN Photo