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United Nations Environment Programme
  • Overview
  • Registration
  • Third substantive session
  • Past sessions
  • Contacts

On 10 May 2018, the UN General Assembly (the Assembly) adopted, resolution 72/277 entitled “Towards a Global Pact for the Environment”.  

According to the resolution’s text, the Assembly decided to establish an ad hoc open‑ended working group to consider a technical and evidence-based report that identifies and assesses possible gaps in international environmental law and environment-related instruments with a view to strengthening their implementation. The report is to be submitted to the Assembly’s seventy-third session in 2018 providing a platform to discuss possible options to address these gaps. This may include the need to convene an intergovernmental conference to adopt such an international instrument. The working group has been mandated to present its recommendations to the General Assembly during the first semester of 2019.

The Assembly decided that the ad hoc open-ended working group shall hold the following sessions, in accordance with established practice:

(a) An organizational session, to be held for a duration of three working days, by the end of the seventy-second session of the General Assembly, in New York, to examine matters related to the organization of the work of the ad hoc open-ended working group, including the duration and number of its substantive sessions; and

(b) Substantive sessions, to be held in Nairobi, the first of which at least one month after the submission of the report of the Secretary-General. 

The organizational session was held at United Nations Headquarters in New York between 5-7 September 2018. The first substantive session was held at the United Nations Office in Nairobi from 14-18 January 2019. The second substantive session of the working group was held at the United Nations Office in Nairobi from 18-20 March 2019. The third substantive session of the working group was held in Nairobi from 20-22 May 2019. On 30 August 2019 the General Assembly adopted resolution 73/333 "Follow-up to the report of the ad hoc open-ended working group established pursuant to General Assembly resolution 72/277". In resolution 73/333 the General Assembly welcomed the work of the ad hoc open-ended working group as well as its report, and endorsed all its recommendations, as set out in the annex to resolution 72/277.

Consult background information on the Global Pact for the Environment.

  • Delegates of Member States from developing countries seeking financial assistance should contact United Nations Environment Programme as soon as possible by e-mail to Angela.Kariuki[at]un.org and Sarah.muchiri[at]un.org not later than 1 May 2019. Please also fill out the funding support request form. For NGO participants there is unfortunately no funding available.
  • Members, as well as observers, are requested to register the names of representatives, alternate representatives and advisers through both email addresses: Katherine.kinuthia[at]un.org and Catalina.Pizarro[at]un.org. 
  • All participants to the meeting are also requested to register online as soon as possible and no later than 1 May 2019 using the following web portal, https://reg.unog.ch/event/29393/. 
  • The logistical information note can be found here.
  • Participants representing NGOs, kindly register directly through the link provided above. The following NGO categories are eligible to participate in the meeting:
    • Non-governmental organizations, in consultative status with ECOSOC And NGOs accredited to the following UN Conferences:
    • The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development,
    • The World Summit on Sustainable Development,
    • The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, and
    • The United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda. For further information kindly contact us at: unenvironment-civilsociety[at]un.org. FAQs can be found here.

Third Substantive session

Concrete proposals and options expressed during the discussion on possible options to address possible gaps of the international environmental law and environment-related instruments

Inputs by Member States and Members of Specialized Agencies

Inputs by UN Funds and Programmes, Specialized Agencies, other intergovernmental organizations, and Secretariats of Multilateral Environment Agreements

Inputs by civil society

Statements and proposals by Member States and Members of Specialized Agencies

Statements by UN Funds and Programmes, Specialized Agencies, other intergovernmental organizations, and Secretariats of Multilateral Environment Agreements

Statements by civil society

Organizational session

First Substantive session

Statements by Member States and Members of Specialized Agencies

Statements by Groups

Statements by UN Funds and Programmes, Specialized Agencies, other intergovernmental organizations, and Secretariats of Multilateral Environment Agreements

Statements by NGOs

Second Substantive session

Provisional agenda of the second substantive session of the ad hoc open-ended working group established pursuant to General Assembly resolution 72/277

Information Note and Funding Support Request Form

Letter including a Link to the Co-chair's Summary of the First Substantive Session of the Ad-hoc Open-ended Working Group in January 2019, as well as Guiding Questions for the Second Substantive Session - Transmittal by María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the General Assembly

Inputs that complement the views expressed during the first substantive session and focus on item 4 on the provisional agenda for the second substantive session: "Discussion of possible options to address possible gaps in international environmental law and environment-related instruments, as appropriate"

Inputs by Member States and Members of Specialized Agencies

Inputs by UN Funds and Programmes, Specialized Agencies, other intergovernmental organizations, and Secretariats of Multilateral Environment Agreements

Inputs by Civil Society

Statements by Member States and Members of Specialized Agencies

Statements by UN Funds and Programmes, Specialized Agencies, other intergovernmental organizations, and Secretariats of Multilateral Environment Agreements

Statements by Civil Society

For more information about this event, you may contact

Fresh Water
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Freshwater makes up only 2 per cent of all water.

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