Ｏｐｅｎ Ｌｅｔｔｅｒ ｔｏ ｔｈｅ Ｅｘｅｃｕｔｉｖｅ Ｃｏｍｍｉｔｔｅｅ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ ５８ｔｈ ＤＰＩ／ＮＧＯ Ａｎｎｕａｌ Ｃｏｎｆｅｒｅｎｃｅ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ Ｕｎｉｔｅｄ Ｎａｔｉｏｎｓ

In line with the long-standing national tradition of mutual help and benevolence， Chinese NGOs have been actively involved in public welfare and social service in recent years. The last two decades witnessed a marked development of NGO non-profitable activities in such a wide range of areas as economy， environmental protection， education， poverty relief， enabling the disabled， charity work， women and children welfare， employment， social and cultural development， community service， legal assistance， etc. Serving as a bridge between the government and society， they have done a lot of useful work in partnership with the government in establishing the socialist market economy with Chinese characteristics， carrying forward the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation and participating in social administration and public service. Meanwhile， Chinese NGOs have always attached great importance to carrying out international exchanges， valued friendly relations with peoples from other countries and focused their attention on interaction between the civil society and the United Nations. It is our sincere hope that through our own efforts， the Chinese NGOs would have the opportunity to express our views on issues of common concern and to share ideas and experience with our counterparts on international occasions like the UN DPI/NGO Annual Conferences， so as to brainstorm in a joint effort for the promotion of world peace and development.

On July 6， 2005， prior to the 58th DPI/NGO Annual Conference， the China NGO for International Exchanges， a newly established coalition composed of all the Chinese NGOs having acquired consultative status with UN ECOSOC and other national Chinese NGOs， held a Chinese NGOs Forum for the 58th DPI/NGO Annual Conference in Beijing. Mr. Ramu Damodaran， Chief of the Civil Society Service in the Outreach Division of the UN/DPI and Sr. Joan Kirby， Chair of the Executive Committee of the 58th DPI/NGO Annual Conference together with more than 70 representatives from over 20 Chinese NGOs participated in this Forum. Officials from the Foreign Affairs Ministry and Civil Affairs Ministry attended the Forum and gave supportive address to the meeting. Revolving around the theme of “Our Challenges: Voices for Peace， Partnerships and Renewal” and closely linking their own practical work， the participants elaborated their views， put forward recommendations and voiced initiatives on how to give full play to their advantages and mobilize resources to accomplish the MDGs in China and throughout the world by 2015. Sr. Joan Kirby and Mr. Ramu Damodaran delivered informative and encouraging speeches extending warm welcome for the Chinese NGOs to participate more in the UN DPI/NGO activities in their own way.

The introduction of MDGs offered a framework for international cooperation for common development and is of vital importance for the realization of a safer and more peaceful world. The international community， especially the developed countries should concretely implement their aid obligations， fulfill their international commitment of gradually increasing the ODA up to 0.7% of their GDP respectively and work hard to eliminate regional disparities. The developing countries should stipulate national development strategies suitable to their own national conditions and realize the development objectives by making the best use of their own resources. The United Nations should intensify cooperation and partnership with the civil society. The NGOs from all over the world should shoulder their historical responsibility to monitor， assist and urge their governments to work harder to fulfill the MDGs. The participants reached the following consensus on poverty relief， environmental protection， medical care and health， science and technology， peace and security， employment and some other issues:

1. Governments， especially those from the developed countries， shall encourage and fund more NGOs to take part in poverty relief actions， turning from material aids only to capacity building so that the impoverished people could pull themselves out of poverty by their own efforts.

2. Governments shall spare no efforts in propelling the strategy of sustainable development. The NGOs shall help and monitor the governments so as to abridge the governments and the general public in achieving the MDGs.

3. Establishing a trans-national and trans-regional MDG Project Management Information System (MDGPMIS) supported by each participating country with the UN as its core， an MDG Project Decision Support System (MDGPDSS)， an MDG Project Distance Training System (MDGPDTS)， and an MDG Project Resource Monitoring System (MDGPRMS) to facilitate and speed up the implementation of MDGs. Setting up multi-institutional and cross-sector regional technical centres with the aid of the internet. Giving low-income countries the “MDG fast track” status and connecting these countries first with the information system and increasing development aid to them as well.

4. It is necessary to pay attention to and work for development of the family and the society in a coordinated way， to promote harmony and happiness in the family and to encourage the family to make contributions to the society. All social circles and sectors shall attach importance to strengthening dialogue and cooperation with the youth and their organizations， increase input to youth undertakings and care about the physical and psychological health of the younger generation.

5. It’s essential to reinforce vocational education and training as well as vocational guidance and job introduction so that service could be provided to the vulnerable groups of people in the society that earnestly need to find jobs and optimize their employment conditions. Employment of the surplus labour force in urban and rural areas and rational distribution of human resources could be solved.

6. Efforts shall be increased to strengthen the management over cultural heritages and resources， not only be developing， but also protecting them.

7. The international community needs cooperation instead of confrontation. Big powers shall shoulder their obligations to the international community in terms of peace， security and development.

8. Medical professional cooperation and training is essential for reducing maternal and neonatal mortality rate.

9. The Chinese NGOs are willing to make use of their unique advantages in each area and make tangible contributions to the accomplishment of the MDGs in China and throughout the world. We welcome the emerging opportunities for dialogue and partnership among the NGOs， member states and the UN system.

The New York City in September this year will attract worldwide attention. We sincerely hope that the Executive Committee of the 58th DPI/NGO Annual Conference could arrange opportunities for representatives from Chinese NGOs to make presentations under relevant topics at the Conference， so that we would conduct dialogue and exchanges with the United Nations， the member states and NGOs from other countries in a direct way.

Wish the 58th DPI/NGO Annual Conference a complete success.