HomeHOSTING OF THE 9TH SPECIAL SESSION OF THE UNEP GOVERNING COUNCIL (GCSS) AND THE GLOBAL FORUM OF ENVIRONMENT MINISTERS, DUBAI – FEBRUARY 2006
The Zayed Prize hosted "the 9th Special Session of the UNEP Governing Council (GCSS)" and "the Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GMEF)", in Dubai during the period of 4th - 6th of February 2006, in tandem with the 3rd Zayed Prize Award Ceremony. This outstanding event was a milestone in the history of the UNEP Governing Council because it was the first time to be held in the Middle East and West Asia.
The first time ever that a head of state participates. Two heads of states participated in this international event, the President of Gambia and the President of the Swiss Federation.
The first time that the Secretary General of the United Nations to attend personally.
The highest record of participation of Ministers (117), countries (171), journalists from outside the hosting country (160), and NGOs (140). Presidents and ministers were accompanied by their Technical Advisers and protocol staff. Moreover, almost all international and regional organizations working on environmental issues were present.
The Global Ministerial Forum issued the "UAE Initiative for achieving sustainable development" which included important recommendations on all sustainability issues, especially those related to chemicals, energy and tourism.
The Parallel activities included:
International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM), Dubai – 04 - 06 February 2006, This is an important conference, being the last in a series of conferences that aimed at coming up with a global strategy for chemicals management. The "Dubai Declaration on the Strategic Approach for International Chemicals Management (SAICM)" was finally issued from this important conference.
The 7th Global Civil Society Forum, Dubai – 05 - 06 February 2006, with NGOs and CBOs from all over the world meeting to reflect the people's opinion on the issues of the Chemicals, Energy, Tourism and related issues. A commercial/ Institutional exhibition on Environmentally Sound Technology was held on 5-8 February 2006 in tandem with these important meetings