The UNCSD Bureau agreed to a process to prepare an initial draft of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development outcome document by early January 2012.
Decisions remaining to be made include the Organization of Work for the Conference and its Rules of Procedure.
28 February 2011: The Bureau for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio 2012) held its 12th meeting on 28 February 2011. It discussed the timeline for the preparation of the outcome document of the Conference, decisions to be made at the second meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the Conference (PrepCom II), and future meetings.
On the roadmap for the outcome document (“future course of action”), the Bureau expressed differing views on the timing for presenting the “zero draft.” The Bureau agreed to a timeline, proposed by Bureau co-Chair John Ashe, under which the Bureau would: request input for a compilation document to serve as a basis for preparing the zero draft, to be received by 1 November 2011; compile and present inputs at the second intersessional meeting in December 2011; and present a zero draft of an outcome document for consideration by early January 2012. The Bureau added that it would welcome the results of preparatory activities at any point following the release of the zero draft. It also decided to hold a three-day meeting in January 2012 for initial discussions on the zero draft and set aside a week for “informal informal” negotiations in each of the months of February, March and April 2012.
On the list of decisions to be made at PrepCom II, Sha informed the Bureau that the decisions required to be taken by the Member States at PrepComs II and III include mandating the Bureau to initiate a process for preparing the outcome document and changing the dates for the second intersessional from November 2011 to early December 2011. The Bureau asked the Secretariat to circulate a proposal, before PrepCom II, on the tentative Organization of Work for the Conference, in order to assist Brazil, as the host country, in its planning efforts. If agreed, the proposal would be shared at PrepCom II. The draft list of decisions to be made at PrepCom II would be finalized and shared with the Bureau before 7 March. The Secretariat also noted that the Rules of Procedure of the Conference need to be decided.
On participation of developing countries, the Bureau also discussed resource mobilization for the Conference trust fund, which has almost US$415,000 available to support the participation of developing countries in PrepCom II and other preparatory activities. The joint proposal prepared with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) to support national-level preparations has not yet been successful in attracting resources, Sha noted.
On engagement with Major Groups, the Bureau requested the Secretariat to organize a meeting with the Major Groups at the margins of PrepCom II. It also was agreed that the President of the Bureau of the 26th session of the Governing Council of UNEP (Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Marine Affairs of Spain), would present the outcome of the Consultative Group of Ministers on International Environmental Governance (held in Helsinki earlier this year) during the thematic session on the institutional framework for sustainable development. A post-PrepCom meeting was scheduled for 9 March 2011. [Minutes of 12th meeting]