REPORT
ON
WORLD SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
JOHANNESBURG
26
AUGUST - 4 SEPTEMBER 2002
Rather than
promoting democracy and equality and building a just framework
for future governance, environmental negotiations have
turned into business transactions, where the rich and powerful
often trample on the poor and weak.
(The Centre for
Science and Environment, India)
1.
Background
In Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil in 1992, governments of the world committed themselves
to Agenda 21 as the program for beginning to implement sustainable
development world-wide. This was meant to be a way of eradicating
poverty and providing energy, water and sanitation to all peoples
as well as ensuring that the environment be considered in such
a way that its deterioration would be lessened, if not halted.
This year, 2002,
member states of the United Nations (UN) were invited to gather
in Johannesburg, South Africa to evaluate the progress that
had been made and to commit to a Plan of Implementation for
the ongoing work of sustainable development. The official Summit
was held in the Convention Centre at Sandton, the wealthiest
area in Johannesburg within kilometres of the squatter township
of Alexandra! The Convention Centre is situated in Sandton
Square which can best be described as opulent. It was to this
Square that NGOs and Government Delegates made their way each
day. There, within the Convention Centre, which became UN Territory,
groups worked in different ways to influence the final documents
that were finally agreed upon:
-
|
Friends
of the Earth Sculpture, Sandton:
Rights for people;
rules for big business
|
The Johannesburg
Declaration on Sustainable Development
- Plan of Implementation.
The Declaration outlines
key aspects of working towards sustainable development under
the following headings:
- From Our Origins
to the Future
- From Stockholm
to Rio de Janeiro to Johannesburg
- The Challenges
We Face
- Our Commitment
to Sustainable Development
- Multilateralism
is the Future
- Making it Happen!
The Declaration can
be read in full on the World
Summit on Sustainable Development website.
2.
The Voices of the Children are the Future
Two significant references
in this Declaration were: 1) the appeal made to the Summit
by the children of the world - their representatives spoke
to the scores of Heads of State and Government in a Plenary
Session. Justin Friesen, an 11 year-old Canadian boy, offered
the following:
Too many adults
are too interested in money and wealth to take notice of
serious problems that affect our future. Think about your
children, your nieces, nephews, and maybe even grandchildren.
What kind of a world do you want for them?
Analiz Vergara, a
14 year-old girl from Ecuador, called on leaders to ratify
the Kyoto Protocol and to provide clean water and free health
care for all children. Analiz said:
Spend more money
on helping the poor people and children around the world
rather than attending too many meetings. Remember we cannot
buy another planet and our lives and those of future generations
depend on it. We need more than your applause, your comments
of well done, or good speech. We need action.
At the children's
Earth Summit in Johannesburg, which preceded the official Summit,
the young people expressed their hopes:
Rio was about
talking. Johannesburg should be about walking… let
this not be another Rio de Janeiro. We are committed to
sustainable development, all we need is for you to be.
and 2) the acknowledgement
that the Summit was held in Africa, the continent regarded
as the Cradle of Humanity, and that it was from this continent,
this Cradle of Humanity, that a solemn pledge about Earth's
future and sustainable development was made.
When Summit Chief
Kofi Annan and South African President Thabo Mbeki visited
prehistoric caves at Sterkfontein close to Johannesburg, considered
to be the cradle of humanity, Mr Annan placed a plaque there
with this message:
The lives our
distant ancestors led here millions of years ago hold a
clear lesson for us today - while their footprints on nature
were small, ours have become dangerously large. The World
Summit on Sustainable Development of 2002 must set humankind
on a new path that will ensure the security and survival
of the planet for succeeding generations.
In relation to the
Plan of Implementation Kofi Annan expressed his sense of what
had been accomplished in this way:
Governments
have agreed on an impressive range of concrete commitments
and action that will make a real difference for people
in all regions of the world… this summit makes sustainable
development a reality… (it) will put us on a path
that reduces poverty while protecting the environment,
a path that works for all peoples, rich and poor, today
and tomorrow.
Gathering
within Nasrec (cf. "The
Global Forum" below)
3.
The Role of NGOs
Prior to the Summit
the draft Implementation Document had been in a process of
textual negotiation and reworking by governments and their
delegates. Into this process NGO groups had also entered in
order to obtain the best outcome for sustainable development
and the total Earth Community. In the days immediately preceding
26 August, areas that were still needing negotiation were the
topics of discussion at Government delegations' level and final
agreements were mostly ministerial prerogatives. Some were
more easily concluded than others - in this latter category,
debates on energy and health were very difficult. The final
outcome on energy was disappointing while issues around human
rights and health were not resolved (resulting in a compromise
position after concentrated lobbying by several NGO groups
and some governments especially Canada) until 1.00am on the
morning of 4 September after which the Plan of Implementation
was adopted at 1.15am.
Being part of an
accredited NGO - The Sisters of Mercy International - and as
such being a member of the Ecumenical Team, I was given wonderful
opportunities to be present at some of the following processes:
- the Plenary Sessions
in the Sandton Plenary Hall
- the "Round
Tables"
where some of the "nitty
gritty" wording, meanings, etc were being negotiated.
On the last three days there were opportunities to be in the
Plenary Hall to hear the five minute speeches by Heads of State
or their representatives.
Independently of
the Ecumenical Team I was able to connect with other Australian
NGOs, especially those from the environment movement, and with
these had three meetings at the Australian Delegation Offices.
It was a wonderful chance to meet face to face with many of
the NGOs who had previously been only an "email address"!
On one of these occasions we met with David Kemp, the Minister
for the Environment and Heritage, who put forward the Government
line on the Kyoto Protocol and energy. I was also able to make
myself known to the Vatican's Permanent Observer at the UN,
Archbishop Renato Martino, who led the Vatican delegation.
4.
Australia - An International Pariah
Although the Plan
of Implementation has been agreed to by the Governments present,
there is much about which to be disappointed, particularly
in relation to Australia. Each morning the NGOs met in a large
room within the United Nations building for a briefing session
about what had happened in the last twenty-four hours and what
was on the agenda for that day. On one particular day, the
most notable reference was to the opposition of Australia and
the United States of America to several draft pieces being
negotiated. The Australians present were ashamed as time after
time we heard, in response to suggested texts, "opposed
by Australia"!
Australia and USA
were isolated in their stance on the ratification of the Kyoto
Protocol. Listening to the speeches of the Heads of State/Governments
it was wonderful to hear all of them committing to ratify or
engage in a ratification process on their return home. Australia,
along with the USA and Japan, opposed the inclusion of any
targets and timetables to drive increased use of renewable
energy. This was in the face of the two billion people in the
world who currently do not have access to energy. Australia
also opposed a binding international framework for corporate
accountability (!) and made no new commitments to raise its
foreign development aid budget which has fallen from 0.4% of
GDP in 1992 to 0.25% in 2002, well below the Rio target.
The most worrying
occurrence was the ability of the World Trade Organization
(WTO) to enter the discussion on Trade and Finance. Only through
the efforts of several small, powerless countries (Ethiopia,
St Lucia, Tuvalu) was there a last-second stopping of inclusion
of text which would have included in the WTO rules the power
to override every environmental decision. This reflected the
power of big business and the trans-corporations who were present
at the Summit.
Many international
newspapers lamented that Johannesburg was the "Summit
of Lost Opportunity".
This meeting
was most useful and valuable for the way it reinforced
the determination of non-governmental experts and campaigning
groups to press ahead with their activities and improve
their networks. What was missing in Johannesburg was the
political will to take the strong, concerted action so
urgently required to save the planet. (The Irish Times)
5.
The Global Forum
While the 'official'
Summit was happening at Sandton, at the other 'other end of
town', in the Soweto area, The Global Forum was happening at
Nasrec (National Recreation and Exhibition Centre). This was
organised by the South African Civil Society. The Global Forum
was advertised as a "demonstration by the people of the
world against the destruction of our environment, our economies
and our societies, and in support of measures to end poverty
and oppression around the world. At the Forum, we will develop
a vision for a sustainable future, and define actions to make
it happen. It will give us the chance to contribute to building
an international social movement to support human social, political
and economic right, and in the process secure the future of
our world."
 |
Children
busking near buses at Nasrec
|
At Nasrec there were
not only great opportunities for working (in a different context)
on major issues but there were also side events and exhibits.
It was here that the "ordinary" people could come,
and they did come in their hundreds on some days and for some
special events. It was here that the "landless people" came
to make their statements! Although the security was almost
as high as it was at Sandton (each time one entered United
Nations territory one had to pass through two lots of scanning
instruments), it was much more relaxed and open to a sense
of solidarity with the peoples of the world and there was a
strong focus on the plight of the developing countries and
the poverty of many of the African countries. It was here that
one entered the different tribal cultures with music, singing,
dancing and movement, surrounded by colour and the land. One
of the features of this venue was the "Women's Tent".
Things were happening in this tent all the time! In the days
immediately before the Summit, Nasrec was the home of the International
Forum on Globalisation Teach-in. Although I was unable to be
present at this the program reads like a "Who's Who" of
wonderful people who have been working at government and non-government
levels for the betterment of the world and its people for many
years.
"Ubuntu" is
the Zulu word for 'people coming together' and Ubuntu Village
was the other venue in this 'trinity of place'. "A person
is a person because of other people." This African proverb
captures the very essence of the Ubuntu Village where interaction
occurred and where theatre, dancing, exhibits and arts and
crafts from all the regions of South Africa could be seen.
This was a visual feast which needed at least two visits to
explore. Certain side events were also held at Ubuntu.
6.
Conclusion
The experience of
Johannesburg has been a graced one for me and I am grateful
to the SAO for this opportunity. This report contains only
a fraction of what the Summit was. Copies of the Political
Declaration and the Implementation Document are available on
the World
Summit on Sustainable Development website.
I would like to conclude
with a personal reflection. The little I saw of South Africa
showed a land of huge contrasts. The images that have stayed
most with me are not those of the Plenary Hall or what happened
within the United Nations Building and its environs but rather
the ordinary people, both black and white, who continue to
struggle with a new South Africa. I see the homeless selling
their newspaper, "Homeless Talk" for R3. I see the
hospitality of both white and black. I see the children of
Alexandra running around their squatter township. I see the
rural communities with little sanitation, water or energy that
run for kilometres on the way to Kruger National Park. The
list could go on and on. I see the pride of the people and
wonder how we in the first world developed countries can change
so that there will be a more equitable distribution of our
planet's wealth. This was certainly how President Thabo Mbeki
characterised the purpose of the WSSD as he introduced it on
26 August 2002.
We must strive
for a shared prosperity. A global human society based on
poverty for many and prosperity for a few, characterised
by islands of wealth, surrounded by a sea of poverty, is
unsustainable.
Pauline
Coll sgs
Eco-justice Coordinator
Social Action Office (CLRIQ)
1 October 2002
