29 October 2009: The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Intergovernmental Forum (IGF) on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development convened from 26-29 October 2009, in Geneva, Switzerland. This voluntary initiative was established in 2005 by governments interested in promoting the contribution of the sector to sustainable development by enhancing capacities for good governance.

It is an outcome of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), which met in Johannesburg, South Africa. This meeting focused on further advancing preparations by the Forum and its members for upcoming meetings of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UN CSD) in 2010-11 to review progress on the mining sector’s contribution to the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.

A key outcome from the meeting included agreement on a new UNCTAD initiative, entitled the Global Commodities Forum (GCF). The GCF will convene in early 2010 to try to develop answers to issues, such as instabilities in commodity markets, and to develop policies that will make the commodity sector a true engine for development. [UNCTAD press release, 30 October 2009]