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Press-conference, May 31, 2006

The International NGOs Forum will be held in Moscow on the eve of the G8 Summit


The International NGOs Forum will be held in July 3-4 in Moscow within the framework of the project “Civil G8 – 2006”. According to REGNUM Agency, it was the information from Ella Pamfilova the coordinator of the national Working Group of the Project during the press-conference today. According to Ella Pamfilova, one half of about 500 participants of the Forum will represent foreign NGOs. The leaders of Asian, African and Latin American NGOs are invited to participate.

“Our task is to provide informational area for clarifying NGOs positions on the priority G8 agenda issues, - she said. – We suppose to pass our recommendations directly to the presiding country and we hope that they will be discussed at the summit. Other recommendations should be transferred for the next summit discussion”. Different NGOs participate in the Project – some of them are more loyal to the authorities, other are more critical, but they are united by the idea and readiness to coordinate their efforts for solving most important problems.

According to her, the July Forum will mostly deal with discussing such issues as ecology, social development and poverty reduction, counteraction of business and authorities, humanitarian aspects of professional education, fighting the dissemination of HIV/AIDS. But among most acute issues Ella Pamfilova mentioned the human rights, particularly such important international aspects as migration, respect of human rights in the context of fighting terrorism, civil control over law-enforcement bodies activities and the counteraction of NGOs with the state.

Ella Pamfilova reminded, that the counteraction of NGOs with G8 has become a tradition of several last years. Not only G8 states’ NGOs, but also representatives of other countries and international NGOs participate in the process. All the participants of the press-conference have highly appreciated the participation of all Sherpas and European Commission in the March International NGOs Forum “NGOs Contribution to the G8 summit agenda” which was held in Moscow. Besides, in May 18 the meeting of foreign NGOs with Sherpas took place in Moscow. “Sherpas gave strict responses to our colleagues’ questions and now we better understand what can be changed and what is out of expectations”, - she explained.

The regional Director of Toronto University G8 Research Group Victoria Panova stressed, that during last ten years the G7 and then G8 has recognized the role of civil society in forming its agenda.

According to WWF-Russia Director Igor Chestin, it is possible, that in the future the consultations with NGOs will become obligatory for the process of G8 summits preparation.

”One of the task of civil participation in the G8 process is to strengthen civil society structure in Russia”, - added Ella Pamfilova. She said also, that the contacts with foreign colleagues is very important especially for Russian regional NGOs, which apprehend themselves full participants of this important process. That would allow to change the tendency among Russian bureaucrats which underestimate the civil society institutions.

Expert opinion

Halter Marek

02.12.06

Halter Marek
Le College de France
Olivier Giscard d’Estaing

02.12.06

Olivier Giscard d’Estaing
COPAM, France
Mika Ohbayashi

02.12.06

Mika Ohbayashi
Institute for Sustainable Energy Poliñy
Bill Pace

02.12.06

Bill Pace
World Federalist Movement - Institute for Global Policy
Peter I. Hajnal

01.12.06

Peter I. Hajnal
Toronto University, G8 Research Group


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