UNECE MINISTERIAL MEETING PREPARING FOR 2002

Hans Peter Dejgaard, The 92 Group, reporting on the UNECE meeting

+ UNECE Ministerial Meeting Web Site -- [ http://www.unece.org/env/rio+10/ ]

Ministers of the memberstates, of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), met in Geneva on September 24-25, 2001, to prepare their contribution for the WSSD in Southafrica. The regional preparatory meeting, organised jointly by UNECE and UNEP, brought together some 550 delegates. Nearly all UNECE countries were represented at the highest level (note that despite its name, UNECE does also encompass North America).

"Unsolved problems, such as persistent poverty in many parts of the world, violations of basic rights, an increasing number of conflicts, and global environmental changes endanger the long term of humanity. We have to come up with ways to deal with this threat. One of these might be a 'Global Deal', a concept which was discussed intensely during this Conference", said Mr. Klaus Toepfer, UNEP Executive Director.

The ministerial Declaration set priorities for regional and global action on: poverty eradication; sustainable management and conservation of the natural resource base; making globalisation work for sustainable development; improving governance and democratic processes at all levels; financing sustainable development; as well as education, science and technology for decision-making. The declaration also reaffirmed the region's major role and responsibilities in global efforts to achieve sustainable development through concrete actions.

Despite attempts by the delegation from the USA (and to some degree Russia), who loathed the mentioning of targets, timetables and specific commitments, a clear reference to a 'Global Deal' was included in the Declaration.

European NGOs active in UNECE

The about 150 NGO representatives present in Geneva were left disappointed by the Ministerial Declaration. It does, so they argue, not show much political will and ambition prior to the summit. It is worrying, if the World Summit's outcome becomes the lowest possible denominator of the conclusions of PrepComms in the various continents.

As the concept of the 'Global Deal' is still very vague, NGOs offered their help in elaborating the various implications connected to a 'Global Deal'. To avoid forcing a Northern view onto their Southern partners, the NGO statement that had been worked out in the weekend preceding the official meeting, avoided specifying the conceptualisation, but focussed on the following themes for a 'Global Deal':

+ Equity (eradicating poverty through equitable and sustainable access to resources);

+ Rights (securing environmental and social rights);

+ Limits (reduction of resource use to within sustainable limits);

+ Justice (recognition of ecological debts and cancellation of financial debts);

+ Ethics (rethinking the values and principles that guide human behaviour);

+ Democracy (ensuring access to information and public participation) and

+ Governance (built on principles of accountability, transparency, subsidiarity and participation of civil society).