African Civil Society and Major Groups Statement and Key Messages at the Opening Ceremony of the 15 th Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, inspired by the consultative spirit of AMCEN, the African Civil Society under the auspices of Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, bringing together diverse groups from the youth, Indigenous Peoples, farmers, faiths, NGOs and networks, met and came up with a collective key message which we are already sharing with delegates. We hope that our views will be considered when making final decisions for this session. We sincerely appreciate the space you have accorded civil society in this important process, and particularly thank UNEP Regional Office for Africa, the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt for hosting, participating and sharing with us during the pre-AMCEN Consultative Workshop and Major Groups Forum held on 1st of March 2015 .