14 June 2012 –
As delegates today continued negotiating the outcome agreement document for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), thousands of civil society representatives took part in side-events to discuss the economic, social and environmental issues at the heart of the Conference.Members of the event’s Preparatory Committee are due to finish negotiations on the outcome document on Friday. Yesterday, the Rio+20 Secretary-General, Sha Zukang, urged them to take advantage of the new format whereby members split into various groups to better focus on different areas and accelerate the deliberation process.“We are hoping that the multiplicity of contact groups speeds up negotiations so that we have closure on this as soon as possible,” the Rio+20 Head of Office, Nikhil Seth, told reporters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, today. Read Moresource: UN News Centre