Report on the Results of the Visit to the United Nations by Mr. Chung Eui-yong,

Co-Chairman of the Standing Committee and Secretary General of the ICAPP, accompanied by Mr. Suos Yara, Secretary General of the Organizing Committee

of the 6^th General Assembly of the ICAPP

during September 8-10, 2010

1. Meeting with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on September 9, 2010

The UNSG said that he fully supported the ICAPP activities which were consistent with the goals of the U.N., and congratulated on the progress the ICAPP had achieved in both membership and influence over the last ten years.  He particularly complimented on the unique nature of the ICAPP which represented and brought together all competing political parties, both governing and opposition, in Asia.  In this regard, he hoped that the U.N. would win political support of political leaders from both governing and opposition parties in Asia for its efforts to achieve U.N. goals through increased coordination with ICAPP forums. 

He regretted that he wouldn’t be able to attend the forthcoming 6^th General Assembly of the ICAPP in Phnom Penh in early December this year because he would have to attend the U.N. conference on climate change to be held in Cancun.  However, he would send his congratulatory message to the opening ceremony as he had done so for previous ICAPP meetings.  He also said that he was planning to visit Cambodia in late October this year as a part of his ASEAN mission.

He congratulated on the successful convening of the ICAPP Conference on Poverty Alleviation in Kunming.  He said that the conference was very timely and relevant in consideration of the forthcoming U.N. MDG Summit.  He said that he would instruct the U.N. Secretariat to circulate the Kunming Declaration on Poverty Alleviation among U.N. member states as a U.N. document.  He supported in particular the proposal to set up an Anti-poverty Fund, and said it would be necessary for the members of the ICAPP to continue their efforts to successfully implement it.

He also said that he was supportive of the proposal to invite the ICAPP as an observer of the U.N. General Assembly.  He pointed out, however, that it was a matter to be decided by the U.N. member states.  He further suggested that the U.N. Secretariat would provide assistance when necessary through the office of the assistant secretary general for policy coordination, Mr. Thomas Stelzer, to help the ICAPP in the process for obtaining the observer status in the U.N.

2. Meeting with Mr. Thomas Stelzer, Assistant Secretary General for Policy Coordination, and Mr. Joop Theunissen, Deputy Chief of NGO Section, Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the U.N. on September 9, 2010

They said that the U.N. Secretariat had recently been monitoring with great admiration the ICAPP activities through the ICAPP website and the information sent by the ICAPP Secretariat and they were very pleased to find that the ICAPP activities are in full conformity with their efforts to achieve the U.N. goals.  They said that they would be willing to further coordinate future activities of the ICAPP and the U.N. through close consultations between the two Secretariats.

In particular, they welcomed the recent initiative of the ICAPP to convene the ICAPP Conference on Poverty Alleviation in a most timely fashion just prior to the U.N. MDG Summit.  They said that the U.N. Secretariat would make it sure to circulate the Kunming Declaration on Poverty Alleviation as an U.N. document.  They also said that they would be willing to circulate the more detailed reports on the Kunming Conference when they would receive them through the Mission of China to the U.N.

They also said that they foresaw no difficulty in getting the consensus among U.N. members in inviting the ICAPP as an observer of the U.N. General Assembly.  They advised to follow the precedent, and similar procedures, of the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s obtaining the observer status in the U.N. General Assembly in 2002.  They further suggested that if the ICAPP initiated the procedures during the 65^th General Assembly this year by having several member states from Asia co-sponsor a resolution to invite the ICAPP, the procedures would be completed during the 66^th General Assembly in 2011.

3. Meetings with Permanent Representatives to the U.N. of Cambodia(Amb. Sea Kosal), China(Amb. Li Baodong), Kazakhstan(Amb. Byrganym Aitimova), Korea(Dep. Amb. Kim Bong-hyun and Dep. Amb. Shin Boo-nam), Malaysia(Amb. Hamidon Ali), and Singapore(Amb. Vanu Gopala Menon) during September 8-10, 2010

They all welcomed that the ICAPP had become a prominent political forum in Asia and increasingly relevant to the global discussions on common challenges the world was facing. In particular, they agreed that the recent convening of the ICAPP Conference on Poverty Alleviation in Kunming and the adoption of the Kunming Declaration was very timely and the reports on the conference should be circulated among all U.N. member states. 

They all said that they welcomed the proposal to invite the ICAPP as an observer of the U.N. General Assembly, but they would need formal instructions from their respective government to cosponsor a resolution to initiate the process.  It would also need further concerted efforts among key Asian member states to get the support of other member states of the U.N., particularly from other regions of the world, for the resolution.

4. Meeting with Mr. Jamie Metzl, Executive Vice President, and Dr. Michael G. Kulma, Director for Policy Initiatives, of the Asia Society on September 10, 2010

They congratulated on the progress the ICAPP had achieved in both membership and influence over the last ten years.  They expressed their strong support for the ICAPP activities and their interest in promoting close cooperative relations between the ICAPP and the Asia Society in the future.  They said that they would be interested in participating in future ICAPP meetings as observers and also inviting the ICAPP representatives to participate in their programs, such as Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit and Williamsburg Program which are held annually in Asia and the United States respectively.