UNECE Ministers Adopt Declaration
for Johannesburg Summit
Issued jointly by the Swiss Delegation,
UNECE and UNEP
Geneva,
25 September 2001
Ministers of the member States of the United
Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) met in Geneva on 24-25
September 2001 to prepare their contribution to next year’s World Summit on
Sustainable Development (WSSD). The regional preparatory meeting, organized
jointly by UNECE and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), brought
together some 550 delegates. Nearly all UNECE countries were represented at
the highest level. About 100 NGOs also sent representatives.
Mr. Joseph DEISS, Switzerland’s Foreign
Affairs Minister, chaired the meeting. Mr. Richard BALLHORN,
Director-General of Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International
Trade, Mr. Ioan JELEV, Romania’s State Secretary for Environmental
Protection, Mr. Kjell LARSSON, Sweden’s Environment Minister, and Mr. Serhii
KURYKIN, Ukraine’s Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, were
elected Vice-Chairmen. Mr. Klaus Toepfer, UNEP Executive Director, and
Mrs. Danuta Hübner, Executive Secretary of the UNECE, addressed the
opening session of the regional meeting on Monday.
"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
survival 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."
"Let me explain to you what I
understand by this "Global Deal". This concept takes account of the
multiple problems that the countries of this and other regions face, and which
require multiple answers. On the basis of its commitments and its specific
potential, each country should make its own contribution to meeting this
common worldwide challenge. That is what I would call a "Global
Deal". The Johannesburg Summit should break new ground by taking a major
step in this direction," said Switzerland’s Foreign Minister, Mr. Deiss,
in his final statement.
The Ministers agreed to seek to launch in
Johannesburg a concrete mechanism to carry forward a shared objective for
sustainable development. Countries in the region intend to deepen the dialogue
for an enduring global understanding.
The Ministers set priorities for regional
and global action on: poverty eradication; sustainable management and
conservation of the natural resource base; making globalization work for
sustainable development; improving governance and democratic processes at all
levels; financing sustainable development; and education, science and
technology for decision-making. In their Ministerial Statement they also
reaffirmed the major role that the region has to play and its responsibilities
in global efforts to achieve sustainable development by concrete actions.
The meeting produced a regional platform in
the form of a Ministerial Declaration. In establishing a common understanding
of how to deal with the regional and global challenges and opportunities, this
platform confirmed the clear readiness of the region to be a constructive
partner at the global level and its willingness to seek out new and innovative
ways to improve the global partnership.
There were differences on how to face these
challenges and seize these opportunities, and on the contributions and the
respective responsibilities that the countries of the region should assume
individually, regionally, and globally, i.e. in the cooperation between North
and South.
However, the meeting succeeded in rallying
all countries of the region – from Central Asia through Europe to North
America – behind a common regional strategy to further prepare its
contribution to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.
On the second day of their meeting, the
Ministers held two panels, one on governance and sustainable development, the
other on poverty and sustainable development.
Mr. Svend AUKEN, Denmark’s Minister of
Environment and Energy, chaired the first panel. The panellists were: Mr.
Olivier DELEUZE (Belgium), State Secretary of Energy and Sustainable
Development; Mr. Yves COCHET (France), Minister for Spatial Planning and the
Environment; Ms. Ilona BODA (Hungary), Political Secretary of State, Ministry
for Environment; Mr. Nurlan ISKAKOV (Kazakhstan), Vice-Minister of Natural
Resources and Environmental Protection; Mr. Nicolae STRATAN (Republic of
Moldova), Deputy Minister for Ecology, Construction and Territorial
Development; Ms. Paula DOBRIANSKY (United States), Under-Secretary of
State for Global Affairs; Mr. Mark MOODY STUART (NGO), Business Action for
Sustainable Development; and Ms. Victoria ELIAS (NGO), European EcoForum.
Mr. Jan PRONK (Netherlands), Minister of
Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, chaired the second panel. The
panellists were: Mr. Richard HAWORTH (Canada), Acting Deputy Minister for
Natural Resources; Mrs. Nino CHKHOBADZE (Georgia), Minister of Environment and
Natural Resources Protection; Mr. Serhii KURYKIN (Ukraine), Minister for
Environment and Natural Resources; Mr. Michael MEACHER (United Kingdom),
Minister of State, Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Ms.
Karine DANIELYAN (NGO), Association for Sustainable Human Development; and Ms.
Irene Dankleman (NGO), Women’s Environment and Development Organization and
Women in Europe for a Common Future.
This UNECE meeting is the first of five
regional preparatory meetings for the WSSD. UNEP is playing a lead role in the
run-up to the Johannesburg Summit and with the various UN Regional
Commissions is actively supporting the regional preparatory process for the
Summit.
Ref: ECE/ENV/01/13