Background; the Process of the International Civil Society Forum on Democracy (ICSFD) http://www.icsfd.orgThe ICSFD is a global network of civil society representatives, which promotes effective democratic governance reforms by strengthening civil society collaboration nationally, regionally, and internationally. The ICSFD was established to implement the Program of Action agreed at the International Civil Society Forum held September 2003 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia at the time of the Fifth International Conference of New or Restored Democracies (ICNRD 5). ICSFD is an ongoing process and its annual meetings are organized in parallel to the governmental ICNRD. The ICNRD was established at the initiative of developing countries in order to share experiences on democratization and to identify the means by which to promote democracy and good governance and address the challenges of democratic transitions. Since the first Conference held in 1988 in Manila, the Philippines, with the participation of 13 countries, the ICNRD has grown into a global event bringing together more than 100 countries from around the world. Subsequent International Conferences have been organized, with the support from the United Nations Development Program, in Managua, Nicaragua, 1994; Bucharest, Romania, 1997; and Cotonou, Benin, 2000. The Fifth ICNRD in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia attracted a record number of 119 states, with over 400 participants, some 30 of them at the ministerial or equivalent level. Civil society observers have also participated in growing numbers at ICNRD gatherings. Reference was made in the declaration adopted at the 1997 Bucharest ICNRD to the importance of holding a parallel civil society gathering. However, the 2003 ICNRD in Ulaanbaatar was the first time that the ICNRD process included a dedicated, parallel Civil Society Forum.ICSFD seeks to empower civil societies thus enabling them to play key roles in the states in which they exist, through providing them an effective avenue to assert the values of democracy and work with and influence governments and intergovernmental organizations to promote democracy. A mark that differentiates the ICSFD initiative from many other similar ones is that it does not assume a condescending approach towards less democratic countries. It targets the civil society in such countries and seeks to enhance cooperation between well trained and capable civil societies on the one hand and accepting governments from the other.

ICSFD Goals

Coordinating and strengthening civil society actions for promoting democracy, with a particular window of opportunity existing for civil society in the countries that serve as host to the ICNRD and the ICSFD every third year.

• Fostering national, regional, and international alliances and partnerships for the promotion of democracy
• Strengthening civil society perspectives within the ICNRD processes
• Coordinating ICSFD programs with the ICNRD Follow-Up Mechanism
• Monitoring the implementation of the ICNRD Plan of Action
• Building civil society cooperation with the United Nations, with the ICNRD itself, and with other relevant international organizations to promote democracy and good governance

ICSFD Process 2006 The Sixth ICNRD will take place in Doha, Qatar, in October 2006, hosted by the Government of Qatar. To ensure an active participation in the ICSFD 2006, a continuous effort throughout 2005 and 2006 has been invested in ensuring civil society participation as an integral part of the 6th ICNRD. The ICSFD International Steering Committee has been working with an Arab-region civil society secretariat, to consolidate the International Civil Society Forum on Democracy (ICSFD). ICSFD activities for that period included:- Coordination within the Steering Committee to accelerate planning and preparation for the 2006 meeting in Qatar; and among other civil society networks with broad-based mandates to promote democracy as well as with United Nations Development Programme, UN Department of Political Affairs, the Mongolian and Qatari missions to the United Nations. - Monitoring discussions at the United Nations among UN Ambassadors and officials implementing the ICNRD Follow-up Mechanism and preparing for the sixth ICNRD, as well as the "Friends of the ICNRD" Group. - Preparing for the 2006 civil society meeting in Qatar, including discussions with host country officials and consultations among host country and host region CSOs; regional preparatory processes, and raising awareness of the ICSFD process through collaboration with existing civil society networks around the world.

Members of the steering committee have conducted several meetings with representatives of the Qatari government, from which they have received substantial support. The organizing committee of the conference held in Magnolia in 2003 is presenting much help in the preparations and content of the conference. Currently, work is in progress on finalizing the agenda of the forum. The steering committee has chosen the Arab NGO Network for Development as the regional secretariat and the Qatari National Human Rights Committee as the local partner for ICSFD 2006.

Role of the Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND) ANND serves as the Arab region civil society secretariat for the ICSFD 2006 process. The network has been keen to take part in the ICSFD process due to the overlap in the aims of the proceedings of ICSFD process and the aims of ANND. The two seek to spread democratic values and build the capacities of civil society organizations in an effort to have them assume stronger positions in their countries and hence be able to press for democratic change and cope with it as well. Through involvement with the ICSFD process, especially that it is going to convene in Qatar in 2006, ANND will strengthen its efforts in pushing the debate on democracy in the Region and enhance its role in this regards. ANND's contribution focuses on introducing civil society organizations in the Arab region to the mission and activities of the ICSFD. The Network will also seek to broaden the scope in which ICSFD works in this region and the involvement of Arab civil society groups in it. Moreover, ANND will exert the greatest efforts to ensure a wide and balanced global participation in this event. It will work with the Qatari National Human Rights Committee on needed logistical preparations and national and regional outreach. The Arab Regional Preparatory Meeting for the ICSFD 2006 (17 and 18 June 2006) The ICSFD has incorporated in its planning and program objectives some important lessons learned from the experience of organizing the 2003 ICSFD in Mongolia. These include the benefits of involving a broad community of stakeholders including media and academia, maintaining transparent and democratic relations among all civil society representatives, and ensuring active involvement of women and youth. For those purposes, the ICSFD process will include several regional preparatory meetings that will aim at achieving adequate outreach of the process before the convening of the Forum in 2006. These regional meetings will lay the groundwork for a structured follow up beyond Qatar 2006. From the Mongolian experience in 2003, it was clear that the ICSF had more immediate positive effects on the development of civil society in the host country and region. The challenge here is to balance international interests with the national and regional, and utilize every opportunity to improve public awareness and understanding of democracy and civil society, promote civil society partnerships and develop the capacity of Arab civil society organizations while. In accordance, ANND is looking towards using the momentum created by preparations for ICSFD and ICNRD in Qatar to enhance discussions on the role of civil society in democratization, invite the Arab civil society and active public to collectively analyze and assess the current state of Arab civil society, the quality of democratic practices and reforms in the region, and improve the capacity of Arab civil society groups to act more strategically and cooperate more effectively. ANND aims at promoting partnerships and networks among Arab civil society groups within this process, developing dialogues between activists and academics, and educating media professionals on democracy and civil society and engaging them in partnerships with NGOs. For those purposes, ANND, on behalf of the international steering committee of the ICSFD, proposes holding an Arab regional preparatory meeting for the ICSFD Summit. The meeting could be held around the end of June 2006. This will allow enough time for participating groups to prepare their contribution to the Summit to be held in October 2006. The meeting would gather around 50 participants from 12 to 18 Arab countries (from among Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Yemen, Sudan, Iraq, Palestine, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and Syria). Participants will include representatives of civil society organizations, involved academicians, media, and experts and researchers on issues of democracy in the region. Selection of participants will be done in coordination with main civil society networks and groups involved in democracy issues in the region. T he majority of the participants should be representative of individual groups or institutions at country level. Individual people participation should be among the least. In addition, selection of participants will take into consideration gender balance, whereby at least 40% of the participants should be women. The meeting will be attended by members of the ICSFD steering committee as well. Objectives of the meeting: The regional meeting in the Arab region will mainly aim at:

• Introducing Arab civil society organizations to the ICSFD process
• Addressing the content of the UN resolution on new and restored democracies from the perspective of civil society groups in the Arab region
• Identifying contributions and suggestions for agenda building of the ICSFD Summit
• Promoting partnerships between Arab civil society groups at the national and regional levels within the ICSFD process
• Identifying mechanisms for opening dialogue and exchange with national Arab governments in the process of preparing for the Summit in October

Identifying practical proposals for follow-up of the Summits outcomes at the regional levels