On Wednesday 11 May 2016, during the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC) co-hosted a side event to report on indigenous peoples’ participation in UNFCCC COP 21 and reflect on the outcomes and achievements of their advocacy and engagement. Panellists were welcomed by a full house and a number of viewers joining via live webcast.
Frank Ettawageshik of the National Congress of American Indians will give the closing statement of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change at the UNFCCC Climate Talks Plenary Session. The session begins at 3 PM Bonn time. He will speak about 2 hours after the start. Bonn, Germany is six hours ahead of EDT in the US. The webcast link can be found here:
https://unfccc-sb48.cloud.streamworld.de/webcast/sbsta-closing-plenary-2
IISD/ENB shared the website where you'll find the group photo at the end of the dialogue and some others during the LCIPP workshop. Scroll down page to May 1, 2018 at http://enb.iisd.org/climate/sb48/
Frank Ettawageshik, National Congress of American Indians, opens the session with a prayer
As a follow-up to the Paris Agreement, an open, multi-stakeholder workshop on implementing the functions of the local communities and indigenous peoples platform took place on 1 May 2018. The workshop was the historic, first activity of the platform. Paul Watkinson, Chair of the SBSTA and Roberto Mukaro Borrero (Taíno), representative of local communities and indigenous peoples organizations were the session's co-moderators. Christiana Figueres Olsen, Executive Secretary of the UFCCC gave a key note address as well as Grace Balawag of Tebtebba Foundation. A report on the session will be issued by the co-moderators before COP24.
Grace Balawag (at left), Roberto Múkaro Borrero, and Frank Ettawageshik at the Multi-stakeholder Workshop on 1 May 2018
UN Climate Change News, 30 April 2018 – UN Climate Change today launched its first-ever Annual Report, laying out the key 2017 achievements and pointing to the future of the climate change process.
"Climate Change is the single biggest threat to life, security and prosperity on Earth," said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa. “This annual report shows how UN Climate Change is doing everything it can to support, encourage and build on the global response to climate change.”
The report covers many areas of the 2017 work of UN Climate Change, which includes the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement, as well as their bodies, institutional arrangements, organs and the secretariat.
For example, at the UN Climate Change conference (COP23) presided over by Fiji last November, almost 30,000 people from all levels came together in Bonn, Germany, to drive action on climate change. The conference saw financial commitments amounting to almost USD 1 billion to tackle climate change.
Governments took key decisions, among them launching the Talanoa Dialogue, the first-ever Gender Action Plan, a platform for indigenous peoples and local communities, and an agreement on agriculture.
Throughout 2017, UN Climate Change continued to deliver on its core tasks: supporting the intergovernmental process, bringing transparency to climate commitments, supporting Parties in building resilience and adapting to climate change, facilitating the mobilization of finance and diffusion of technology, and fostering cooperation with non-Party stakeholders to realize the Paris Agreement’s potential.
The report also looks at the outlook for the year ahead, including increasing the number of ratifications of the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol so it can enter into force, the Talanoa Dialogue which will inform and inspire Parties as they increase their commitments, and adopting the outcomes of the work programme of the Paris Agreement at the end of 2018.
“Throughout 2018 and beyond, let us do all in our power, together, to accelerate action,” said Ms. Espinosa. “Only by doing so can we succeed in protecting our planet from climate change and securing a low-carbon, sustainable future.”
Countries are now gathered in Bonn focused on critical interim work leading to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP24) in Katowice, Poland, including preparation of the Paris Agreement Work Programme, which will guide implementation of the Paris Agreement.
Read the full UN Climate Change Annual Report 2017.
Please find below the agenda for the multi-stakeholder workshop on implementing the functions of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform. The co-moderators for the workshop are Paul Watkinson, Chair of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and Roberto Múkaro Borrero (Taíno), representative of indigenous peoples organizations
You can find the event details here.
If you are participating remotely, you are welcome you to tune in via Skype here. You can also submit your questions by visit here, and keying in the event code #LCIPP (in capital letters).
We also welcome you to interact with us via social media using the event hashtag #LCIPP.
Please us know if you have any technical questions via the email address: LCIPP@unfccc.int
Agenda for the multi-stakeholder workshop on implementing the functions of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform, 1 May 2018
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At COP 23, Parties initiated the operationalization of the local communities and indigenous peoples platform.
Daily meetings for the Indigenous Peoples Caucus will be held from 9:00-10:00 at the World Conference Center in Bonn. On April 30th, the meeting will be Room BANGKOK. From May 1st-10th, the meetings will be held in the AH Upper Conference Room.
Background: COP 22, in decision 21/CP.22 on gender and climate change, as part of its decision to continue and enhance the Lima work programme on gender, decided to hold annual in-session workshops in conjunction with the first sessional periods of the subsidiary bodies in 2018 and 2019. COP 23, in decision 3/CP.23 decided that the topic for the 2018 in-session workshop on gender and climate change would be based on the submission request under priority area E.1 of the gender action plan. Priority area E focuses on monitoring and reporting, with an emphasis on sex-disaggregated data and gender analysis.
Schedule: The workshop will be held in two parts:
Part I: Including sex-disaggregated and gender analysis, examine the differentiated impacts of climate change on women and men, with special attention paid to local communities and indigenous peoples, as well as the integration of gender considerations into climate adaptation, mitigation, capacity-building, Action for Climate Empowerment, technology and finance policies, plans and actions.
Part II: Policies, plans and progress in enhancing gender balance in national delegations
Objectives:
To raise awareness on the differentiated impacts of climate change, including how to identify such differences and address them in policy and action design and implementation;
To build the capacity of participants to understand the tools and mechanisms that facilitate the design and implementation of gender-responsive climate policy and action;
To raise awareness on possible options for enhancing gender balance in national climate delegations;
To provide an opportunity for Party delegates and observers to brainstorm on possible options.
Outcome: A summary report for each part of the workshop that captures challenges and good practices related to the topics, will be prepared and published as an INF document and will be made available on the UNFCCC website after the close of SBI 48.
Format: The in-session workshop will combine expert and technical presentations, group discussions and panel presentations with sufficient time for substantive, interactive discussions on how to enhance implementation under the Lima work programme on gender and its gender action plan.
Participants: Open to Parties and observers registered for SBI 48. Also open to the press.
Venue: World Conference Center (rooms to be confirmed), Bonn, Germany
Gender and climate change workshop annotated programme (will be available prior to SBI 48)
Organizer and contact:
The workshop is being organized by the UNFCCC secretariat
Fleur Newman (Ms)
Gender Affairs Officer
Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary
Platz der Vereinten Nationen 1, 53113 Bonn, Germany
gender-team@unfccc.int
Language: English
Mandated event
Source: UNFCCC
"Join us for an open multi-stakeholder dialogue on implementing the functions of the local communities and indigenous peoples platform."
Detailed information about the workshop as follows:
Co-moderators: Paul Watkinson, Chair of the SBSTA; and Roberto Múkaro Borrero (Taíno), representative of local communities and indigenous peoples organizations
Date: Tuesday (1 May, 2018) at 10:00-13:00 and 15:00-18:00
Venue: World Conference Centre Bonn, Bonn Germany
Mandate: COP 23 (Decision 2/CP. 23, paragraph 9) decided that the first activity of the platform will be a multi-stakeholder workshop on implementing the functions of the platform, to be co-moderated by the Chair of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice and a representative of local communities and indigenous peoples organizations, who will each make an equal contribution to the design of the workshop.
Agenda: Coming soon
Source: UNFCCC
From the IIPFCC-GSC Co-chairs: In accordance with the proposed timeline, with a deadline of the 23rd of April, the regions had an opportunity to comment on the selection of Mr. Roberto Múkaro Borrero as co-moderator, and with the assumption that no objection is a signal of support, Mr. Borrero has been confirmed as the Co-moderator for the workshop to be held in exactly one week. Now we should be looking at the design and substance of this workshop, and we look to Roberto to start the process of gathering input from the regions.
Terms of Reference for Co-Moderator
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As an advisor to the Métis National Council, I was part of Canada’s delegation to the recent Twenty-third Conference of the Parties (COP23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It took place November 6–17 in Bonn, Germany, and was presided over by Fiji.
The Métis National Council represents the Métis Nation at national and international levels. The Métis are one of three Indigenous peoples that are recognized in the Canadian Constitution. The Métis Nation is seeking a greater and more meaningful role in addressing and managing climate change. Nationally, this means engaging with the Canadian government on a nation-to-nation, government-to-government basis.
Internationally, this could mean attending international fora such as COP23 to participate in international climate change discussions. The Métis National Council’s objective for going to COP23 was to launch the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform. Paragraph 135 of Decision 1/CP.21, agreed in Paris during COP21, established the platform, which “recognizes the need to strengthen knowledge, technologies, practices and efforts of local communities and indigenous peoples related to addressing and responding to climate change and establishes a platform for the exchange of experiences and sharing of best practices in mitigation and adaptation in a holistic and integrated manner.”
Climate change is a priority for the Métis Nation, whose relationship to the lands and resources on its traditional territory is at the core of Métis Nation identity. Métis people and other Indigenous peoples live and work on the land and feel the first effects of climate change. Water levels rising in the Pacific, ice melting in the Arctic, and forest fires and floods displacing people are but some examples. It is critical that the Indigenous peoples’ voices are heard, and the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform can be the vehicle for achieving this.
The International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC) was established in 2008 as the caucus for Indigenous peoples participating in UNFCCC processes. This group was present at COP23. They are organized by seven regions: Africa, the Arctic, Asia, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Pacific, and Russia and Eastern Europe. The IIPFCC worked long and hard to achieve consensus on launching the platform and I felt honoured to have met and worked with them throughout this process.
I worked closely with my counterparts from the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), and the Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada (ICC Canada). We attended meetings with the IIPFCC, developing positions and trying to achieve consensus, observing informal negotiations, and participating in informal sessions and other side negotiations. Canada worked closely with the Métis National Council as well as with the AFN, the ITK and the ICC to develop negotiating positions. The negotiators worked hard to represent our interests.
After many twists and turns, the decision to begin operationalizing the platform was approved by COP23. The draft decision’s preamble recalls the United Nations Declaration on Indigenous Peoples and emphasizes “the role of local communities and indigenous peoples in achieving the targets and goals set in the Convention, the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and recognizing their vulnerability to climate change.”
The platform will deliver knowledge, capacity for engagement and climate change policies and actions, as stated in the draft decision’s paragraph 6. Among other things, the knowledge function should promote exchange of experiences and best practices respecting traditional knowledge, as well as practices and efforts of local communities and Indigenous peoples related to addressing and responding to climate change. The knowledge function is to take into account the free, prior and informed consent of the knowledge holders, their innovations and practices (para 6(a)). As for capacity for engagement, the platform “should build the capacities of indigenous peoples and local communities to enable their engagement in the UNFCCC process” (para 6(b)). Finally, the platform “should facilitate the integration of diverse knowledge systems…in a manner that respects and promotes the rights and interests of local communities and indigenous peoples” (para 6(c)).
The Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform is a stepping stone to greater engagement of Indigenous peoples and local communities where these voices can be heard. The platform’s first activity will be a multi-stakeholder workshop on implementing the functions referred to in paragraph 6. The Métis Nation hopes to be a part of the full “operationalization” of the platform and of a future where Indigenous peoples are heard by all parties.
PROGRAM
The opinions expressed in this article/multimedia are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of CIGI or its Board of Directors.
About the Author
Dawn Pritchard is a citizen of the Métis Nation. On interchange from Justice Canada, she is an adviser with the Métis National Council. She holds an LL.B. from the University of Saskatchewan and resides in Wakefield, Quebec, with her husband, where she writes and plays music in her spare time. This was her first COP.
Source: https://www.cigionline.org/articles/cop23-moving-toward-greater-engagement-indigenous-peoples
September 11-12 2017, Indigenous Peoples from all regions met with States, UN bodies (UNFCCC and UNESCO) in Ottawa Canada to continue discussing the implementation of operative paragraph 135 of the United Nations Paris Agreement. OP 135 recognizes the need to strengthen Indigenous Peoples’ “knowledge, practices, innovations and efforts” and also calls for the development of a new Traditional Knowledge Exchange Platform to mitigate Climate Change.
In this and other dialogues, IITC has continued to call upon States to change the policies and practices that undermine Indigenous Peoples ability to practice and protect their traditional knowledge in their homelands. These include industrial agriculture using GMO’s and pesticides, habitat destruction, restrictions on access to traditional lands and water, Treaty violations and continued fossil fuel development, as well as failure to implement Indigenous Peoples’ rights to Free Prior and Informed Consent and Cultural Heritage, among others.
IITC also continued to underscore the need to include Indigenous Traditional Knowledge holders, elders and practitioners in the development and implementation of the new Exchange Platform. For example the participants in the 3rd International Indigenous Peoples Corn Conference, March 7 – 9, 2017, Tecpan, Guatemala, affirmed “that the new Platform for Traditional Knowledge Exchange under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is developed with the full and equal participation of Indigenous Peoples from all regions and especially our knowledge holders and traditional food producers and in a manner that fully respects our rights, traditional indigenous sciences and the richness of our ancestral knowledge” (from The Declaration of Tecpán).
The development of the Traditional Knowledge Exchange Platform will be a focus for IITC’s and other Indigenous Peoples’ participation in the 23rd Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change which will take place in Bonn Germany from November 6-17, 2017.
Source: https://www.iitc.org/traditional-knowledge-climate-change/
Our Brother Mr. RODION SULYANDZIGA, a well-known Indigenous Peoples Activist had been arrested in the early hours on Sunday December 11, 2016. Police conducted a search in the apartment and Sulyandziga was brought in for questioning at the Konkovo district police department.
Rodion Sulyandziga speaking at the UN conference on indigenous peoples in New York. Photo from the Facebook page of Indigenous Russia
He was released later on Sunday, but his computer has since been seized by the police.
Mr. Rodion runs the Moscow-based Center for Support of Indigenous Peoples of the North, an NGO known for providing training and development in capacity building and institution strengthening.
His work continues to benefit international movements for Indigenous Peoples’ rights, climate change, and environmental protection. IIPFCC believes that he must be allowed to continue this important work
More and more IIPFCC Members continue to co-sign the open letter.
Agreed Parties:
1. Indigenous Women and Peoples Association of Chad
2. Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP)
3. Indigenous Peoples National Steering Committee on Climate Change (IPNSCCC)
4. Mainyoito Pastoralists Integrated Development Organization (MPIDO)
5. Te Kopu, Pacific Indigenous & Local Knowledge Centre of Distinction
6. POINT Myanmar
7. International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA)
8. Center for Indigenous Peoples' Research and Development (CIPRED)
9. Tebtebba (Indigenous Peoples’ International Centre for Policy Research and Education)
10. Asia Indigenous Women's Network (AIWN)
11. Chirapaq, Centre of Indigenous Cultures of Peru
12. National Congress of American Indians
13. Pratima Gurung
14. Indigenous Persons with Disabilities Global Network (IPWDGN)
15. Nepal Indigenous Disabled Association (NIDA)
16. Porgera Alliance, Papua New Guinea
17. Congrès mondial Amazigh 18. Association de femmes de Kabylie
19. Independent Consultant & External Lecturer, University of Vienna, Austria
20. SONIA for a Just and New World as cosignatory
21. FORO INDIGENA DEL ABYA YALA.
22. International Indian Treaty Council
23. Indigenous Peoples of African Coordinating Committee IPACC
24. Unissons nous pour la Promotion des Batwa ( UNIPROBA)
25. Native American Rights Fund
26. Indigenous Environmental Network
27. Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN)
28. Le centre d'Accompagnement des Autochtones Pygmées et Minoritaires Vulnérables (CAMV/DR-Congo)
29. Saami Council 30. Sámi Parliament of Norway
31. Le mouvement culturel amazigh du Maroc
32. Union pour l'Emancipation de la Femme Autochtone (UEFA/RDC)
33. Unissons nous pour la Promotion des Batwa (UNIPROBA), Burindi
34. United Confederation of Taíno People
35. Caribbean Amerindian Development Organization, Barbados
36. Pastoralists Indigenous NGOs Forum (PINGO's Forum), TANZANIA
37. First Nations Summit (Canada)
38. Polina Shulbaeva, CBD Indigenous coordinator for Russia and Eastern Europe
39. The Batwa Foundation
40. Asociación Savia Andina Pukara (ASAP)
41. Continental Network of Indigenous Women of the Americas
42. Association of Indigenous Village Leaders in Suriname (VIDS)
43. Network for Indigenous Peoples of the Solomons (NIPS)
44. Te Kopu Network
45. Uganda Civil Society Coalition on Indigenous Peoples (UCSCIP)
46. Indigenous Livelihoods Enhancement Partners (ILEPA)
47. Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (AMAN), Indonesia
48. Lelewal, Cameroon
49. Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Network on Climate Change and Biodiversity (BIPNet), Bangladesh
50. Maleya Foundation, Bangladesh
51. Chief Gary Harrison, Artick Athabascan Council
52. Youth Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (YFIN Nepal)
Prayer circle in solidarity with the Standing Rock Tribe in front of the UNFCCC Conference site on November 15th, 2016 in Marrakech, Morocco. Photo credit: Kayla Faith
By India Logan-Riley, Aotearoa, Pacific Indigenous Peoples Delegation
Last session of the Indigenous Peoples Caucus at COP 22 held in Marrakech, Morocco, November 18, 2016
A message from Adelfo Regino, Latin American Caucus: During the last session of the Indigenous Peoples Caucus at COP 22, held in Marrakech, Morocco, we had a dialogue with government representatives from Ecuador, Guatemala and Australia.
In this meeting we have be made aware of the proposal being made by the President of COP 22 regarding the establishment of a “Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform” in this Climate Change process. I have attached the text, which is only available in English. We are looking for a way to translate into Spanish.
We will be attentive to the evolution of the negotiations in this last day of session. Let's hope there's good news for the Indigenous Peoples of the world.
Spread the word!!!! Share this message with everybody!!
Join the biggest family photo in UNFCCC history for unity and action!
We hope you will join us around the message that #WeWillMoveAhead with climate action and climate justice here and beyond COP22.
What: Gathering for what will be the biggest ever UNFCCC family photo, around unbranded giant banners that read "We Will Move Ahead"
When: Friday at 12.45 pm
Where: In front of conference center entrance - outside, next to the flags
(don't worry, security promised us they will have extra staff to ensure we can out and back into the venue very fast).
Why: To send an image to the world that we, the global community, are determined to move on and win the fight against climate change. (And we won't let anyone sabotage the transition to a climate resilient future).
Message: #WeWillMoveAhead
Organisers: The photo opportunity is organised by Greenpeace but it will be an unbranded activity open for all COP22 delegates.
Come over and call on everyone - Let's close COP22 with a message of hope, unity and action to the world!
Message from: Emily Hickson <ehickson@climatenetwork.org>
Oxford University Researchers have released a new report calling on UNFCCC to halt the marginalisation of Indigenous Peoples at its annual COP negotiations.
The report identifies three tiers of marginalisation for Indigenous Peoples at the international climate negotiations.
Full report is available here: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2870412
Policy brief here: bit.ly/2fI1jR9
In a new working paper released today, researchers at the University of Oxford are calling on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to address the marginalisation of Indigenous Peoples. They warn that if the leading international climate body continues to marginalise Indigenous knowledge and adaptations, attempts to solve the climate crisis will be in vain.
Oxford University researchers have identified three tiers of marginalisation that exist at UNFCCC COP events, including COP22 taking place in Marrakesh this week:
· Politically, Indigenous Peoples are not allowed to self-represent; they are simply ‘observers’ to the negotiations. The nation states speaking on their behalf are responsible for their historical and current political marginalisation.
· Geographically, the space offered to Indigenous Peoples is outside the main negotiating space of the conference.
· Economically, Indigenous Peoples attendance is restricted by lack of finances. Developed nations and wealthy lobbyists thus dominate the space; Indigenous Peoples often cannot afford translators.
The new paper argues that solving the climate crisis will be unfeasible without the direct input of Indigenous Peoples and their knowledge. Yet, as the paper points out, the marginalisation faced at annual UNFCCC COP events inhibits this. Further, it goes against International human rights, including the right to self-determination.
Lead author Claudia Comberti says: “Rather than acknowledging the key role Indigenous Peoples should play in creating climate solutions, they are segregated at the climate negotiations and not allowed to self-represent. The UNFCCC needs to change this if it is to create fair and adequate solutions to climate change.”
The paper notes that Indigenous Peoples represent the majority of the world’s cultural diversity. Collectively they hold a wealth of environmental knowledge and adaptation strategies that are crucial to addressing climate change. Indigenous Peoples are also experiencing climate change first, and most strongly than other populations.
The paper proposes four actions to radically improve the situation:
1) Grant Indigenous Peoples full member status at the UNFCCC, so they can self-represent.
2) Appoint Indigenous Peoples as experts in negotiations around Adaptation and Loss & Damage
3) Direct and restructure financial streams to increasing autonomy and voice of Indigenous Peoples – including the Green Climate Fund, and finance for translators and travel
4) Commit to respecting Indigenous Rights and International human rights – an international agreement that the current situation undermines.
The full paper, released today, is based on several months of research, including interviews and observations at previous UNFCCC COP events.
For full article see: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2870412
Policy brief: http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/publications/policy-brief-pdf/20161116_IP-marginalisation_CComberti.pdf
08.00 – 10.00 Arabian Room (Blue zone)
Indigenous Peoples' Global Caucus Meeting
10.30 – 11.00 Indigenous Peoples’ Pavilion
Briefing for the Indigenous Peoples' Caucus
11.15 – 12.15 Indigenous Peoples’ Pavilion
Affordable Green Energy for Poor Communities
Organizers: Varhad Capital Pvt Ltd (Green Banking Initiative)/Gravity Power
12.30 – 14.00 Indigenous Peoples’ Pavilion
Lessons from the Canadian Arctic on Adapting to Climate Change
Organizers: McGill University/Inuit Circumpolar Council, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, University of Sunshine Coast
14.15 – 15.15 Indigenous Peoples’ Pavilion
Organic Value Chains with Moroccan Communities
Organizers: High Atlas Foundation
15.30 – 18.30 Indigenous Peoples’ Pavilion
Ancestral techniques of the oases for the management of natural resources
Organizers: Association Oasis Ferkla pour Environnement et Patrimoine/RADDO,RARBOSM
“IIPFCC proposed elements for an outcome of the informal consultation on the indigenous peoples platform:
- An incremental approach led by the SBTA chair and a representative of Indigenous Peoples appointed by the Indigenous Peoples themselves who will serve as co-facilitators.
- Invite submissions by parties, Indigenous Peoples and observers by 31 March 2017 on the purpose, content and structure of the indigenous peoples´ platform to inform the dialogue and the process.
- Convene 3 consultations, to be conducted by the co-facilitators during May sessions on the operationalization of the platform, including purpose, content and structure.
- Request the co-facilitators to present the outcomes of the consultations for the consideration and adoption at the COP23.
- Request the secretariat, under the guidance of the co-facilitators, to operationalize the platform taking into account the submissions and the outcomes of this dialogue.
We remain available if you require any further information. We are committed to several bilaterals with a number of Parties throughout the day to reiterate our position.”
