Governance

Eligibility criteria to join the Mechanism 

Participation is restricted to representatives of public benefit civil society organizations, networks, collectives, federations and movements interested by and willing to engage in the Financing for Development process and its related domains in the context of the United Nations.

Representatives of organizations willing to join the Mechanism are invited to fill an application that includes contact information and means of verification of the existence and nature of the organization (name and basic information, website, social media, etc.). Non-verifiable applications are either declined or left pending while requesting clarifications, depending on circumstances. Representatives joining the Mechanism are invited to subscribe to the email lists with their institutional email accounts, rather than the personal ones, so that emails automatically drop in case of changes in affiliation. 

The following categories of representatives cannot join the Mechanism:

• Individuals that have no affiliation to a civil society organization. The Mechanism is a space for civil society organizations to coalesce, collaborate and engage collectively. Unaffiliated individuals are therefore not allowed to join.
• Representatives of the private sector, including private sector organizations formally registered as NGOs. The notation ‘public benefit civil society organizations’ explicitly excludes corporate associations, networks and observatories, and similar private sector organizations. This limitation extends to multi-stakeholder partnerships that include the corporate sector.
• Representatives of private foundations, political foundations and other philanthropic institutions.
• Representatives of governments, governmental institutions and local authorities, including any related organizations and associations formally registered as NGOs.
• Representatives of United Nations Secretariat, programmes and agencies as well as representatives of any other intergovernmental organizations.
• Representatives of academic institutions, Think Tanks and Research Institutes as well as individual researchers and academics. Considering the gray boundaries of this category, exceptions can be considered by the FfD Coordination Group under special circumstances.

Basic principles and decision making 

The overall mandate of the Civil Society FfD Mechanism is to create a safe space for civil society’s convergence and collective engagement with the Finance for Development process and, more broadly, on economic justice and governance at the United Nations. The Mechanism hosts monthly coordination calls (roughly 9-10 calls yearly), in-person meetings prior to the Annual FfD Follow-up Forum, a Civil Society Forum prior to each Finance for Development Conference, and any other virtual or physical meetings as dictated by needs and circumstances. The following fundamental propositions lay at the core of the Civil Society FfD Mechanism:

1. Collective voice: The first critical proposition is the determination to speak with one strong collective civil society voice. Since the FfD3 negotiations and throughout the FfD follow-up process, there has been a continued effort – with intense and engaging debates – to build a collective common agenda with clear political positions and concrete reform proposals. These collective positions have been shaped over time and are reflected in the statements and documents of the Mechanism. Positions and proposals are continuously refined to respond to ongoing debates and emerging issues through the following interconnected streams of work:

a.  Thematic positions are defined through collective discussions within the thematic workstreams of the Mechanisms. Intersections between thematic areas are discussed and harmonized with the FfD Coordination Group
b.  Overall policy postures on macro issues (i.e., collective comments on the SG’s proposals for the review of IFA) and FfD related UN negotiations (i.e., the annual HLPF Ministerial Declarations and the negotiations for the Summit of the Future) are shaped by Task Forces/Working Groups designated by the FfD Coordination Group and discussed on the overall list
c.  All letters, positions, interventions and statements on behalf of the Civil Society FfD Mechanism are therefore discussed and decided either at workstream/working level (if thematically focused) or within the overall FfD list. Whenever an intervention or statement may need to be prepared in limited time (as it often happens in the context of negotiations or sessions), the selected speakers are invited to refer to the past statements to ensure adherence to and consistency with the collectively agreed lines of the Mechanism

2. Southern leadership: The second fundamental proposition is that the political direction of the Mechanism be guided by those constituencies which are primarily affected by the challenges we are trying to tackle (core proposition of a human rights-centered governance approach). This means that the political guidance of Global South institutions, networks and movements is paramount in setting our way forward as Mechanism. Southern leadership means direct southern agency, rather than merely participation, along the following lines:

a. Primacy of Southern organizations in leading and facilitating workstreams, therefore reflecting in the composition of the FfD Coordination Group
b. Primacy of Southern representatives in the allocation of speaking roles, composition of delegations and allocation of travel resources

3. Political legitimacy: The third proposition is the utmost importance of legitimacy over legality. The Civil Society FfD Mechanism is a very large group with those attending calls being a small minority if compared to all those that associate and engage at various levels of our common struggle. Our notion of governance is therefore not based on what can be defined as a narrow version of “legality” based on quorum and votes. It is rather based on a deeper sense of legitimacy, based on collective political visions, organizing principles and consolidated positions. Within the Mechanism, we are fully aware of the tension between law and justice and that what is formal/legal is not necessarily just and fair. This is why we do not operate with quorum, votes and vetoes among the few that formally attend calls, but rather with a process that aims to ensure widely shared and Southern-led positions in full alignment and integrity of our foundational principles

4. Respect for the primacy of national and regional organizations in engagement with Member States: As an engagement mechanism with UN negotiations, it is essential for engagement with UN decision makers is driven by the respect of the primacy of national and regional organizations and networks in leading dialogue with their respective Member States and Regional Groups. It is also important to appreciate that confidence and relations are built over time, often with triangular relations between representatives in capitals and those within UN centers. This also means that responses to signs of interest by Member States, including possibly casual conversations, should be reported and re-directed for follow-up to the respective national and regional focal points in a spirit of solidarity and collaboration. Confidence building with Member States may also lead to the sharing of confidential documents and information. It is understood that it is the decision of those in receipt of confidential documents to decide if and how to share them, to maintain the bound of confidentiality and avoid compromising the trustworthiness of those that have provided them

5. Respect for coordination functions: Being a large collective, respect for coordination and facilitation functions is essential. 

a. Meetings and calls of the various work streams and working groups are organized by the respective co-coordinators, with adequate notice to ensure attendance, unless exceptional circumstances materialize
b. Relations with Member States in facilitating positions (Chairs, Facilitators and other similar positions) are maintained by these members of the FfD Coordination group as deemed adequate to the circumstances (work stream co-facilitators, regional core groups, etc.) with the support of the Facilitation Team, and should be mindful of existing and ongoing relations with the same Member States in their national and regional capacity
c. Relations with the UN Secretariat are maintained and coordinated by the Facilitation Team, in close coordination with the various workstream coordinators
d. The ongoing discussion with the Member States in facilitating positions and high UN officials should include the regular scheduling of moments of collective interaction to engage with the FfD Coordination Group or the wider Mechanism
e. The repository of all collective positions, documents and statements is the website of the Mechanism, therefore establishing a collective memory for future use and reference

6. Language plurality: English has been the primary working language of the Mechanism for many years. However, this is a significant limitation to civil society participation. The FfD Coordination Group has therefore agreed, at its February 2024 session, to place much greater emphasis in promoting language plurality by ensuring (within the limitation of available resources) all key documents and messages are made available in multiple languages (at least English, Spanish and French) and translation is increasingly available for key FfD calls

Netiquette

All civil society representatives that participate in the process of the Mechanism are invited to abide to the following netiquette:

• Use respectful language, one that recognizes and appreciates our diverse cultures, genders and traditions. Do not use aggressive, intimidating and violent language, including CAPS. A one day wait is highly suggested prior to responding to opposing views, particularly if the exchange may have heated up. It is also suggested to be selective with humor and sarcasm due to high risk of being misinterpreted in multicultural settings
• Use non-sexist language, e.g., ‘chairperson’ not ‘chairman’, ‘humankind’ not ‘mankind’, ‘they’ not ‘he’, etc.
• Post messages exclusively related to the FfD and its interconnected domains. All participants are kindly invited to avoid using the list for posting information, sign-on letters, or other communication that are not related to the focus of the Mechanism
• Be thoughtful when responding to messages as the FfD lists are large and the amount of unnecessary traffic might become significant. Please do not use the “reply-all” function unless the response is relevant to the entire list. In particular, kindly avoid “reply-all” with short messages such as “noted, thanks, great, etc.” Should you feel really compelled to respond, kindly do it for the exclusive benefit of the sender rather than the full list. Personal replies should be directed to specific individuals rather than to the entire list.
• When responding to sign-on letters or similar processes, please double check the intended recipient of the message. Sign-on letters may require the response to be sent to a particular email address rather than back to the list. Once again, kindly avoid to “reply-all” to the full list
• To ensure full accessibility to persons that may be visually impaired, kindly ensure that any files shared as Google document is also shared as attachment, whenever possible;
• Consider posting your messages in languages other than English and/or translating your messages in other languages through web-based translators. Even if imperfect, this shows respect for language plurality and provides for greater opportunity for participation
• Be sure to include a descriptive subject line, using short phrase topics and include your signature as a way to establishing an identity of being courteous to others

Failure to respect the netiquette may lead to suspension or even removal from the list, after adequate warnings from the Facilitation Team and consideration by the FfD Coordination Group.