Background
The role of UNEP’s six regional offices was enhanced by decision 22/14 of the Governing Council that requested the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to establish and strengthen partnerships at the regional and sub-regional levels with other UN bodies, development banks and other institutions, including Major Groups and Stakeholders, with a view to enhance the effectiveness of development and delivery of its programme of work in the regions.
The six UNEP regions include Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America and West Asia.
Given their work at the national and regional levels, Major Groups and Stakeholders are well placed to participate in the implementation of UNEP’s work through co-operation with the regional offices.
The Regional Facilitators
The Regional Facilitators, previously known as “Regional Representatives”, provide varied views from their regions; these geographically diverse perspectives complement the Major Groups and Stakeholders model, allowing civil society to substantively contribute to the UN Environment Programme processes.
Two Regional Facilitators per region are selected by accredited organizations, with attention to gender and sub-regional balance with the overall mission to coordinate and facilitate the engagement of the major groups from their region in UNEA and UNEA processes. The Regional Facilitators are therefore asked to attend UNEA, and to have the relevant expertise of the thematic issues to be dealt with at the upcoming session, if the theme is already known.
They participate as observers in the Major Groups Facilitating Committee. Regional Facilitators play a purely facilitating and expert role and have no mandate to formally represent their region or Major Groups and Stakeholders from their region but may present agreed positions from the region when appropriate.
View the current Regional Facilitators
The Regional Consultative Meetings (RCMs)
RCMs take place at least once during the inter-sessional period between sessions of UNEA and are organized by the UNEP Regional Offices in close cooperation with the Regional Facilitators. Those one- to three-day meetings are held, whenever possible, prior to, or in conjunction with relevant major regional meetings/fora or events, including at the ministerial level.
Each region engages in a substantive dialogue on environmental issues that will be discussed during the next UNEA and produces a regional statement or key messages following the meeting. The compilation of all statements and recommendations is made available before the start of the UNEA session as an Information document.
Other regional activities
While the RCMs constitute the main platform for the Major Groups to engage with each other as well as with partners and UNEP’s Regional Offices on an annual basis, they may be complemented by additional meetings, workshops, consultations, either self-organized by Major Groups or facilitated by UNEP’s Regional Offices.
