4th Special session of the Human Rights Council on the human rights situation in Darfur, Geneva, 12 December 2006

Information Note for NGOs (as of 06 December 06)

The fourth special session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) will be held on 12 December 2006 in the General Assembly Hall (Salle des Assemblées) of the Palais des Nations in Geneva .

The NGO Liaison Office will be located in room A-633, along with the other HRC Secretariat offices, on the 6 th floor above the Assembly Hall.

•  Ms. Laura Dolci-Kanaan, e-mail: ldolci-kanaan@ohchr.org , Tel: +41 22 917 6606

•  Ms. Dina Sabry Fivaz, e-mail: dfivaz@ohchr.org , Tel: +4122 917 6708

Pursuant to General Assembly Resolution 60/251, the participation of NGOs in the Human Rights Council shall be based on the arrangements and practices observed by the Commission on Human Rights, including Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31 of 25 July 1996.

Accreditation:

The Secretariat would like to remind all participants that letters of accreditation sent to the Secretariat for the second (resumed) and third session of the HRC will be no longer valid and new accreditation requests will need to be made.

NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC wishing to accredit representatives to the fourth special session of the Human Rights Council are invited to send their letter of accreditation request/s to the Secretariat of the Council by fax , to the attention of Ms.  Kate Hardie , who can be contacted at Fax: + 41 (0)22 917 02 96; Tel: + 41 (0)22 917 67 14 / 917 92 56

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 4 th special session of the HRC (12 December 2006)...";

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 .

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 (no longer at Villa Les Feuillantines), 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 on Tuesday 12 December 2006 from 8.00 a.m. to 5.00p.m. throughout the session.

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.

NGO oral interventions:

It is anticipated that modalities for oral interventions at the fourth special session of the Human Rights Council will be announced by the President of the Human Rights Council shortly.

Representatives of NGOs and other observers should register in person with the list of speakers desk. The list of speakers will be officially opened at 10.00 am on 12 December 2006 .

The relevant registration forms for individual and joint statements may be downloaded below but should be brought in person to the List of Speakers' desk (faxes will not be accepted).

NGO individual statement form
NGO joint statement form - in the room

Only NGOs not represented or based in Switzerland wishing to join an NGO joint statement being delivered during the fourth special session may inform the Secretariat before the oral statement is delivered by fax: +41 22 917 0296.

Form to join an NGO joint statement - by fax