*{ 20 novembre 2002

http://www.foei.org/wssd/chairman.html
Septembre 2002

20 june 2002 

Professor Emil Salim
Chairman WSSD
WSSD Secretariat
New York, USA

Comments on Chairman's Paper, unedited version,12 June }

Dear Professor Salim,

We welcome the fact that governments at Bali under your Chairmanship did not agree on an insufficient and weak action programme for the Summit. However, we are deeply concerned that even though parties like the EU and the G77 showed some willingness towards the end of the negotiations to move closer to each other´s positions, other parties, in particular the United States, blocked any further movement towards agreement. 

We are appalled that two months before the Johannesburg Summit, basic and fundamental principles established at Rio remain bracketed. If the commitment to common but differentiated responsibilities (principle 7 of Rio) and the precautionary principle (Principle 15 of Rio) do not get reaffirmed loud and clear at Johannesburg, the Summit will constitute a serious step backwards from Rio. This could seriously endanger the public´s faith in the United Nations and the UN´s ability to agree on meaningful action and embody global values.

We also remain deeply concerned that the Johannesburg Summit could make sustainable development subservient to the WTO´s trade agenda thus robbing the idea of sustainable development of any meaning. Many passages in the text currently suggest that governments have convinced themselves that the current WTO-driven trade regime will, in fact, deliver sustainable development. The evidence since Rio suggests otherwise. The spread of corporate globalisation has led to worsening environmental conditions worldwide and a further widening of the gap between rich and poor, both between North and South and within countries. As a minimum the worst proposed passages need to be deleted and textual amendments made to reflect the reality of corporate globalisation, especially in developing countries (see Appendix). All references to the agenda agreed at Doha should be removed. Furthermore, the Political Declaration to be adopted in Johannesburg must clearly establish the primacy of sustainable development over the global trade regime. Part of this clear commitment must be an affirmation
of the autonomy and authority of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and a statement that the objectives, principles and obligations of MEAs that are consistent with and supportive of the goals of sustainable development shall not be adversely affected by the rules of the multilateral trading system. A commitment to an assessment of the consequences of previous trade liberalisation rounds must also be delivered by Heads of States and Governments at Johannesburg. 

We are appalled that governments fail to acknowledge the ecological debt that the global North owes the global South in the action program. While we support an action program on sustainable consumption and production, the Global North must urgently take further steps to address this constantly growing debt. As there is no evidence of governments being willing to do so in the action programme, we call for this urgent issue to be addressed in the political declaration. The financial debt of the South needs to be abolished as a necessary precondition for sustainable development. 

While we welcome the commitment by governments to further discuss the issue of corporate accountability at future UN meetings, we must remind governments that what we - supported by many other stakeholders - are looking for, are rights for communities to ensure sustainable livelihoods. These rights can only be established through a binding framework on accountability (including liability). Voluntary initiatives in no way answer this call.

Friends of the Earth International demands that governments agree an ambitious global target for renewable energy supply at Johannesburg. This target should be at least 10% NEW renewables by 2010. Whether a global energy target is agreed or not, is now one of the key tests on whether any positive steps forward will be taken in Johannesburg at all. If such a target is not agreed, the "Action Programme" should be renamed the "Inaction Programme".

Friends of the Earth International remains deeply concerned about the partnership agreements that are to be a significant ´outcome´ of the Summit. The negotiation tactics by the United States and other parties at Bali confirmed that they see Type 2 agreements as an alternative to intergovernmental commitments. Instead of complementing the Summit´s other results, Type 2 threaten to mask the failure of governments to agree meaningful action. In this context, Type 2 outcomes will result in the "privatisation of sustainable development", as UNEP Executive Director Klaus Töpfer has warned. Friends of the Earth International will judge the outcome of the Johannesburg Summit solely on the merits of the Type 1 results. We are opposed to any process that could result in a further increase of corporate influence over the United Nations. As we have reminded you before, the responsibility of agreeing and delivering on global social and environmental rules must remain with governments.

We expect from you and all governments to move swiftly over the next two months to prevent Johannesburg from burying the "spirit of Rio". All elements in the action programme that are a step backwards from Rio must be eliminated immediately. Those targets that remain, but are bracketed (such as the one on renewable energy), must be agreed. The text on trade and finance must be revised considerably at Johannesburg so that the primacy of sustainable development over the global trade regime - and not the opposite - is clearly established.
Time is running out. Having worked constructively throughout the process towards the Earth Summit, we are worried that we will have to reject the results as far too little too late or, even worse, as a step backwards from Rio. We call on you and governments to use the remaining time to make sure the Johannesburg Summit is remembered as the place where governments dared to set the necessary social and environmental limits to economic globalisation. 

Yours sincerely, 



Daniel Mittler
*{ Earth Summit Coordinator, Friends of the Earth International
www.rio-plus-10.org
}