5th session of the Human Rights Council: Accreditation

NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC wishing to accredit representatives to the fifth session of the Human Rights Council are therefore invited to send their request(s) to the Secretariat of the Council (by fax) for the attention of Ms. Kate Hardie

Until 08 June:

Fax: +41 22 917 9011
Tel: +41 22 917 9256

From 11 to 18 June:

Fax: +41 22 917 0494
Tel: +41 22 917 1525/917 9256

The letter requesting accreditation should contain the following elements :

It should be submitted on the official letterhead of the organization;

It should clearly state the title and duration of the session the organization wishes to attend, e.g. "Name of NGO, in consultative status with ECOSOC, wishes to send the following members to attend the fifth session of the HRC (11 to 18 June 2007 )..." ;

The letter needs to be signed by the President or the Main Representative of the organization in Geneva ;

It should also indicate the name/s (first name and family name) of the person/s who will represent the organization at the HRC session:

Names of persons must appear exactly as they appear in the ID document ,

Family Name(s) have to be capitalized

It is important to ensure that the name(s) of those members already in possession of a valid identity badge issued by UNOG Security and Safety Section, and who plan to attend the fifth session of HRC, is/are also included in the accreditation letter, with an indication that the person(s) holds an annual badge.

a) Annual or temporary representatives of NGOs in possession of an identity badge issued by UNOG Security and Safety Section and valid for the duration of the session, will have unrestricted access to the conference rooms.

b) Any other participants without a UNOG identity badge should apply in person to the security entrance at Pregny Gate, 8-14 Avenue de la Paix on presentation of an identity document and a copy of the letter of accreditation, a photo-badge valid for the duration of the Council session will be issued.

The accreditation office of the Human Rights Council will be located at the security entrance "Pregny Gate" and will be open from Monday to Friday from 8.00am to 5.00 pm throughout the session.

List of participants

The Secretariat wishes to announce that the so-called "orange registration forms" previously distributed by Conference Services during the session, will no longer be in use. Therefore, in order to register names for the list of attendance, participants are kindly asked to announce themselves to the Secretariat, through a letter of accreditation addressed to Ms. Hardie, tel. no. 022 917 92 56, fax. no. 022 917 90 11.

Access to the public gallery

The Secretariat wishes to remind all persons who wish to observe the proceedings of the Council without being accredited as participants (mainly students, researchers and academics) that there are a limited number of seats in the Public Gallery, above the conference room. Individuals or groups who wish to attend are required to send a letter (24 hours before the desired date) to the Secretariat, containing the following information:

The date(s) of the visit

Purpose of the visit

The full name(s) of those wishing to attend

Access to the public gallery will be granted depending on the availability of seating and other circumstances.

Further information for NGOs

(i) Renewal of the designation of representatives

NGOs are reminded that each year they need to send information concerning their organization and renew the designation of representatives to the United Nations, by completing the DESA/NGO/2007 form, as from 1 January of the current year. This form can be found on the following website: http://www.un.org/esa/coordination/ngo .

When completed, the form needs to be returned by fax or by mail to: NGO Liaison Unit, Office of the Director-General, UN Office in Geneva, Palais des Nations, Room 155, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland; Fax: +41 (0)22 917 05 83; Tel: +41 (0)22 917 21 27;

E-mail: ungeneva.ngoliaison@unog.ch .

(ii) Requests for travel visas

NGOs wishing to request a "certificate of attestation" in order to facilitate obtaining their visas must send their requests to the NGO Liaison Office two weeks in advance of their participation to the Council.

(iv) Parallel events

Persons not accredited to the Council, who are invited to take part in parallel meetings, should go with an identity document to the security entrance at Pregny Gate where they will be issued with a "Parallel Event" photo-badge. The NGO in charge of organizing the meeting is requested to provide the Secretariat with a complete list of its guests at least 48 hours prior to the day of the meeting.

For further information concerning the Accreditation procedure, please contact Ms. Kate Hardie: khardie@ohchr.org