UNGA-Link Mission
UNGA (UN General Assembly)-Link UK was launched in 1998 as a Network of civil society organisations and individuals in Britain with the purpose of:
(1) promoting an annual civil society companion assembly or forum linked to the UN General Assembly
(2) providing shared representation for its members in any such General Assembly companion body, at UN venues and conferences, and at UN-NGO meetings
(3) assisting in broadening the General Assembly’s links with civil society in Britain;(4) developing a network model to be available for adaptation in other countries to represent civil society in a UN-linked assembly or forum. The Mission Statement was given the endorsement of former UN Secretary-General Dr Boutros Boutros-Ghali and the Commission on Global Governance.
UNGA-Link Mission Update:
In July 2003, UNGA-Link began to call for “A World Civil Society Union” rather than a “companion assembly or forum”. In that year, the Inter-Parliamentary Union/IPU - a Non-Governmental Organisation representing parliamentarians as individuals - was granted Observer Status at the UN General Assembly. We argue that World Civil Society, represented through its international organisations, could be linked to the General Assembly in the same way, as a first step. In time, we would hope to see it established as a subsidiary body of UNGA under Article 22 of the UN Charter.
Since a Special General Meeting in September 2007, we have continued to support the above objectives as a voluntary network within the United Nations Association in the UK. We are no longer an autonomous membership organisation.