This is to help stakeholders understand Habitat III and how to engage in the negotiations

1. Lobbying and
Advocacy for
Habitat IIIWebinar:
Subtitle

2. Felix Dodds
• Felix Dodds is a Senior Fellow at the Global Research Institute and a Senior Affiliate of the Water
Institute at the University of North Carolina and an Associate Fellow at the Tellus Institute.
• He was the co-director of the 2014 Nexus Conference on Water, Food, Energy and Climate.
• Felix was the Executive Director of Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future from 1992-2012.
• He has been active at the UN since 1990 attending and actively participating in the World Summits,
Conferences and has advised the Danish and UK Governments and the European Union
• In 2011 he chaired the United Nations DPI 64th NGO conference - 'Sustainable Societies Responsive
Citizens'.
• From 1997-2001 he co-chaired the UN Commission on Sustainable Development NGO Steering
Committee.
• He has coordinated some of the most innovative stakeholder dialogues at the intergovernmental
level Bonn Water (2001), Bonn Energy (2004) and Bonn Nexus (2011).
• He has written or edited thirteen books the latest is due out in May 2016 The Water, Food and
Climate Nexus: Challenges and an agenda for Action which he edited with Jamie Bartram.
• His next one out in September is Negotiating the Sustainable Development Goals: A
transformational agenda for an insecure world with Ambassador David Donoghue and Jimena
Leiva Roesch
Felix Dodds www.felixdodds.net2

3. What were Habitats I and II?
• Habitat I in Vancouver, 1976
• The chief outcome of Habitat I was the Vancouver Declaration on
Human Settlements comprised of an action plan with 64
recommendations for national action.
• It also led to the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements
(UNCHS), which would ultimately become UN-Habitat, the official
UN agency for cities & human settlements.
• Habitat II, Istanbul 1996 – the City Summit
• Provided a new mandate for the UNCHS. (1)to ensure adequate
shelter for all and (2) to guarantee sound development of human
settlements in an urbanizing world.
• Its chief outcomes were the Istanbul Declaration on Human
Settlements adopted jointly as a new global action plan to realize
sustainable human settlements
• Habitat II +5
• Recommended the upgrading of the UNCHS to UN Habitat a progarmme
of the UN
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4. Defining Non-Governmental Organisations
How do you describe an NGO? One survey found 48 different
terms and acronyms. Here is a sample:
In short, there is no agreed terminology for describing the NGO sector.
In some ways, it is easier to describe what NGOs are not, rather than what
they are. It is generally agreed that NGOs are not:
• part of government, or
• organized primarily for private profit.
BINGOs Big International NGOs
BONGOs Business Organized NGOs
CBOs Community Based Organizations
CSOs Civil Society Organizations
ENGOs Environmental NGOs
GONGOs Government Organized NGOs
MONGO
IPOs Indigenous Peoples Organizations
GROs Grassroots Organizations
GSCOs Global Social Change
Organizations
NPOs Nonprofit Organizations
Vos Voluntary Organizations
NGI

5. Definitions and players
• Stakeholders:Those impacted by a
decision or impact on a decision
• Social movements: are a type of
group action.They are large,
sometimes informal, groupings of
individuals or organizations which
focus on specific political or social
issues. In other words, they carry
out, resist, or undo a social change.
• Civil society: is the "aggregate of
non-governmental organizations
and institutions that manifest
interests and will of citizens.
• Global citizenship: defines a person
who places their identity with a
"global community" above their
identity as a citizen of a particular
nation or place.
• The idea is that one’s identity
transcends geography or political
borders and that the planetary
human community is
interdependent and whole;
humankind is essentially one
July 22, 2012 Footer text here5

6. NGOs, constituent, civil society, or major groups?
“Major Groups” is a term that was
introduced in Agenda 21, agreed by
governments at the Rio Earth
Summit. It describes nine sectors of
society identified as having a
significant role in sustainable
development:
1. Women
2. Children and youth
3. Indigenous people
4. NGOs (Civil Society Organizations)
5. Local authorities
6. Workers and trade unions
7. Business and industry
8. The scientific and technical community
(Research and Academia)
9. Farmers
10. Grass roots organizations
11. Parliamentarians
12. Foundations and philanthropies
13. Professionals
14. Media
15. Older Persons

7. Stakeholders in Intergovernmental Processes
FOUR important functions:
• Setting agendas
• Negotiating outcomes
• Conferring legitimacy
• Implementing solutions

8. What is the process up to Habitat III
18-20 April Latin America and the Caribbean
Regional Meeting – Mexico
25-29th Open ended consultations with Policy
Units – New York
16-17th May Informal hearings for local and sub
national governments – New York
18-20th May Informal negotiations – New York
1-2 June German Conference on Habitat III
invitation only – Berlin
6-7th June Informal hearings with CSOs – New
York
8-10th June Informal negotiations – New York
25-27 July Third Prepcom – Surabaya
Indonesia
17-20 October Habitat III - Quito Ecuador
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9. Zero draft: THE NEW URBAN AGENDA –THE
HABITAT III OUTCOME DOCUMENT – Outline
1. QUITO DECLARATION: MOVINGTOWARDSA NEW GLOBAL URBANAGENDA. (Guiding principles and
vision)
2. Sustainable HousingAnd Urban Development Action Plan
A. TheTransformative Commitments For A Sustainable Urban Development. (To AchieveWhat AndWhy)
• Leave No One Behind, Urban Equity And Poverty Eradication
• EcologicalAnd ResilientCities And Human Settlements
• Create SustainableAnd Inclusive Urban Growth, ProsperityAnd Opportunities For All
B. Effective Implementation (How AndWithWhom)
• BuildingThe Urban Structure: EstablishingA Supportive National Framework
• PlanningAnd ManagingThe Urban Spatial Development: StrategicAnd Integrated Planning
• FinancingThe New Urban Agenda: EnhancingThe Means Of Implementation
C. Framework For Action: NationalAnd Local UrbanAgenda (Actions,Actors,Timeline For Action)
D. Follow-UpAnd Review

10. Hard and Soft Law – SDGs are soft law
Hard Law
▪ Legally binding
▪ MEAs that conform to the
1969 Vienna Convention on the
Law of Treaties
▪ Enforceable in law
• Soft Law
• Non-binding
• Global or regional instruments
that do not strictly conform to
the Vienna Convention but could
play positive role in national
policy-making.
• Important influence on
international and national policy
• Can lay the groundwork for
multilateral accords
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11. SWOT analysis
Strengths
a. What is the unique nature of
the campaign?
b. What does the team do well?
c. What do other people see as
your strengths?
Weaknesses
a. What can you improve?
b. What are your resource
limitations?
c. What do you do badly?
d. How do others perceive your
campaign?
e. Do you know what all the key
governments think of your
campaign?
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12. SWOT analysis (cont.)
Opportunities
a. Where is the campaign’s support?
b. What academic evidence is there
in support of your campaign?
c. What are the key media chances
you could utilise in the future to
support your campaign?
d. Who is seeing key government
officials in the short term
Threats
a. What are the obstacles facing the
campaign?
b. What funds do you have to
support the campaign?
c. What are the views of other
stakeholders?
d. Which of the key country blocks
oppose your campaign?
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13. National Preparations What CanYou Do?
• What do you want?
• Have a briefing paper no longer than two pages
• Have some paragraphs ready
• Know the government officials in charge of the Habitat in capital and meet
with them
• Utilize parliament to raise the issue to the Minister
• Write article for national newspaper
• Town Hall Meetings – Citizens Charter
• Follow up – start a conversation with government now
• Projects to implement
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14. Traditional Media
Traditional media tends to be one way where
you read an article, listen to a radio programme
or watch a TV news item. You have a very limited
range of engagement with traditional media you
can write a letter to the editor and sometimes
join a phone in for a radio programme.
• Press releases
• News items
• Fact sheets for the media
• Video news releases
• Opinion articles – which could be syndicated
• Editorials
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15. Social Media
Social News: Twitter, Digg, Propeller, Reddit. Interact by short
messaging, voting for articles and commenting on them.
Social Networking: Facebook, Google Plus, LinkedIn (which now
enables blog placements too) Hi5, Last.FM, MySpace. Interaction by
adding friends and colleagues, commenting on profiles, joining
groups and having discussions.
Social Photo andVideo Sharing: YouTube, Pinterest, Flickr.
Interact by sharing photos or videos and commenting on user
submissions.
Wikis: Wikipedia,Wikia. Interact by adding articles and editing
existing articles.
Website: Easily accessible explaining what the Coalition is doing
Blogging : A regular blog posting where Coalition members share
the responsibility to do this over the year – possibly with a blog
every month to start with.
E-newsletters –These now can be created very easily with Coalition
members generating content
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16. Why attend UN meetings?
• To influence the text that will be
negotiated;
• To build and cultivate alliances for
future work;
• To show case studies of successes that
your organization has achieved;
• To learn about how intergovernmental
negotiations work;
• To raise funds for your work.
www.tellusorg16

17. Understanding the countries
• European Union Netherlands (Jan-June 16), Slovakia (Jul-Dec 15)
• G77 (134) and China Chair: Thailand (http://www.g77.org/ )
• Key G77 countries: Antigua and Barbuda,Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia,
China, Cuba, Egypt, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan,
Singapore, South Africa,Tanzania
• Key EU 27 countries: Denmark, Germany, France, Czech Republic,
Netherlands, Sweden
• Single decision countries: eg Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New
Zealand, Norway, Monaco, Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine United States,
• AOSIS (43 countries) Bureau Ahmed Sareer (Chair) from the Maldives; Mahe
’Uli’uli Sandhurst Tupouniua fromTonga; and LoisYoung from Belize.
www.tellus.org17

18. Understanding the countries
• Regional Blocks
• Africa (chair Egypt 2015-17) (54) UNGA President 4 and 9 –
• Asia (53) UNGA President 1 and 6)
• Latin America and the Caribbean (33) UNGA President 2 and 7 –
• Eastern Europe (23) UNGA President 3 and 8
• Western Europe and Other Group (28) UNGA President 05 –
Denmark President of UNGA in September 2015-2016
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19. The Bureau
• The Bureau plays a critical role in managing the
process.
• They can guide the direction of the negotiations
through the structuring of the text and the inclusion in
first drafts of certain ideas.
• Bureau members are in touch with thinking in the
different groups and discussing ideas with them
• You should find out who the Bureau members are and
meet with them well before the relevant meeting.
• An early visit to NewYork before the UN meeting to
meet Bureau members, key government
representatives in the Missions and the UN Secretariat
is well worth doing.
• Share your positions with Bureau members if they are
sympathetic to your views.
July 22, 2012 Footer text here19

20. The Bureau
• María Duarte (Ecuador)
• Maryse Gautier (France)
• Mamadou Mboji (Senegal)
• Eric Miangar (Chad)
• Barbara Richards (Chile) (no photo)
• DanielaGrabmullerova (Czech
Republic)
• Tania Roediger –Vorwek (Germany)
• Majid Hasan Mohammed Alsuwaidi
(United Arab Emirates) (no photo)
• Elena Szolgayova (Slovakia) (no
photo)
July 22, 2012 Footer text here20

21. UN Secretariat
• For any UN process the Secretariat will
play a critical role.This will include:
• Analysing the national, regional and
thematic reports.
• Preparing the background documents
and zero draft.
• Producing negotiating text arising from
the discussions.
• Making available all official documents.
• Servicing the negotiations.
• Producing or updating a website for the
meeting.
• Producing promotional material for the
meeting.
• Accrediting stakeholders.
July 22, 2012 Footer text here21

22. Key people and coalitions
• The Secretary General of the Conference
(Executive Director of UN-Habitat) – Dr Clos
• The “fixer” - Ana Moreno
• The NGO or Stakeholder relations person –
Laney Stone
• The General Assembly of Partners (GAP) -
Shipra Narang Suri and Genie Birch
• The person in charge of the text section you are
interested in
www.tellus.org22

23. ATypical Day
8-9:00 a.m. Individual Government delegations will usually meet internally
to prepare their own country lobbying position and to review the previous day.
Stakeholder morning sessions
9-10:00 a.m. Governments will usually attend meetings of the relevant groupings they are members
of, e.g., G77 or European Union. NGOs and other stakeholders will also usually hold
their consultations to prepare for the day.
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Meeting sessions.
1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Lunch time – side events, an opportunity to spend time with government officials.
Sometimes, if the venue is difficult to access, Stakeholders may hold their own
consultations over lunch (try to avoid this if possible).
3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Meeting sessions (additional sessions will be added when they are needed, often into
the night or even through the night).
6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Side Events can also be held at this time.
July 22, 2012 Footer text here23

24. Before the meeting
Government Strong
For
Weak
For
Not yet
declared
Weak
Against
Strong
Against
Capital
New York
Other
Venues
For key governments

25. The world of brackets
• Alternative brackets
• Contentious brackets
• Suspicious brackets
• Tactical or trading brackets
• Uncertain brackets
• Waiting brackets
• Weary brackets
www.tellus.org25

26. Brackets
 Who put the bracket in?
 When you know who put it
forward, ask why.
 The ‘why’ may not be clear to
other delegations and you can
play an important role in
highlighting the ‘why’ in your
lobbying.
www.tellus.org26

27. :
Why have they bracketed?
• If it was because they are waiting for instructions from the capital, then phone your
colleagues in the capital and get them to raise the issue with relevant civil servants or
ministers.This only works if you are completely on top of the negotiations and can act
immediately.
• If it involves trading brackets with somewhere else in the text, then you need to be able to
work with the stakeholders who are trying to lobby on that section.
• If it is because of exhaustion brackets, then make some text suggestions.This can be a
very opportunistic time as officials are tired and looking for a way through the darkness –
or even to go home for the night!
• If there are suspicious brackets, then it is important to work out why and try to help build
trust.
www.tellusorg27

28. What participation and influence mechanisms should
stakeholders employ ?
 Game plan for the whole negotiation – Coalition should be asking national
partners to before you arrive at a UN meeting
organize several meeting in capitals with key governments
 brief the media, place early stories in the media
Meet with key parliamentarians before leaving – initiated a debate in
parliament
Set up a rapid response mechanism in the capital in case you need it
Try to get an NGOs on delegation and allowed to attend pre inter-
departmental meetings before the event
www.tellus.org28

29. What participation and influence mechanisms
should you employ ?
 At the UN event a coalition should:
 have a photo booklet of key negotiators and UN
staff so they are easy to find www.iisd.ca
 Designate point contacts for all key people eg G77,
EU, US, key countries, Bureau members, UN
officials,
 There should be floor managers in each negotiation
room
 Use coffee bar diplomacy, receptions
 Use any informal possibilities drinks/dinner/dancing
 If you are spending more than 20% of your time
with other Stakeholders you are not doing your
job.
www.tellus.org
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30. What levers of influence do they have in the
negotiation stages ?
 Much less as the process moves to end game
 Offer to support smaller states eg FIELD helped AOSIS in the climate change
negotiations
 Organize side events
 Talking with your own government daily
 Be there until 4am to offer text changes
 Key G77 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, China, Cuba, Egypt,
Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore, South
Africa,Tanzania
 Key EU countries: Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, France
 Single decision countries: eg Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New
Zealand, Norway, Monaco, Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine, United States,
www.tellus.org
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31. Why go on a government delegation?
• You will have access to the brief of your country;
• You may be able to sit in on delegation meetings
within blocks;
• You may be able to sit in on delegation meetings
between blocks;
• You will be able to push for the NGO or
stakeholder position during the appropriate
meetings of the delegation;
• You can be asked to act as the intermediary
between the NGOs and the government;
• You will be aware of where there is possible
movement in a negotiation and may be asked to
draft text for your delegation to put forward;
• You will be able to cultivate relationships with the
delegation for future work.
July 22, 2012 Footer text here31

32. The downside of being on a delegation
• If you do join a government delegation you will lose
some independence. Some governments will require
NGOs on a delegation to sign an official document
saying they will not divulge what they have heard in
delegation meetings;
• You will have limited time available for being with
other NGOs if you are an active member of the
delegation;
• You may be seen as the doorkeeper for NGOs with the
delegation;
• You may be viewed as having ‘switched sides’ and
joined the government team more than what is
expected;
• You may not be allowed to speak publicly on a position
– if you find this something that you cannot agree to,
do not join a delegation or resign when it becomes
difficult for you. Some delegations allow their NGOs to
speak but they just have to first ask the Head of
delegations permission.
July 22, 2012 Footer text here32

33. WHAT NOTTO DO (AT A MEETING)
• Do not go up to a government when they are
speaking
• Do not sit in a government seat – unless you
are on that government’s delegation
• Do not interrupt the meeting
• Do not target a government in your
intervention
• Do not wear inappropriate clothes
• Do not do a demonstration inside the venue
• Do not take a countries flag/name
• Do not deviate from your message when you
are speaking as a representative of the caucus
July 22, 2012 Footer text here33

34. Documents
-/INF/ Information series
-/L… Limited distribution, generally of draft
documents
-/NGO/ Statements by NGOs
-/PET/ Petitions
-/PV… Verbatim records of meetings
-/R… Restricted distribution
-/RES/ Resolutions
-/SR… Summary of meetings
-/TP… Technical Papers
-/WP… Working Papers
-/Add… Addendum
-
/Amend
…
Amendment to the document
-/Corr… Corrigendum (i.e., an error to be
corrected or reorganization of the
text)
-/Rev… Revision (supersedes a previously
issued document)
July 22, 2012 Footer text here34
The final letters indicate the number sequence 1, 2, 3 etc. or a modification of the
document:
‘Non-papers’ will also be distributed informally during sessions to facilitate negotiations.
These usually contain proposed text amendments from government negotiators.

35. What are the conditions needed for a coalition to
succeed ?
 KnowYour Own Goals
 Know the Decision-making Process inYour Country
 KnowWhenToWork atWhat Level
 Know the Decision-makingContext
 Know theTools atYour Disposal
 KnowWhenTo MakeYour Position
 Know the Government Officials
 Know the Key UN Officials
 KnowYour Allies
 KnowYour Adversaries
 KnowYour Limits
 KnowYour Brackets andTerms
www.tellus.org
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36. Now its upto you