6th Global Civil Society Statement1 to the 23rd Governing Council/ Global Ministerial Environment Forum

Historically UNEP was among the first UN entities to allow the NGO community to participate in its many proceedings. NGOs were present at the very making of UNEP at the Stockholm conference in 1972. NGOs are and will always be important to UNEP. In the suggested Programme of Work for UNEP for the period 2006 - 2007, there are almost 70 references to NGOs and Civil Society in the implementation of the programme