In the end of January 2012, The Acces Initiative (TAI) Secretariat sent its statement on the zero Draft Document for RIO+20. Below is a full text of the statement for readers' reference.
GIVING SHAPE to PRINCIPLE 10
STATEMENT of THE ACCESS INITIATIVE (TAI) SECRETARIAT[1]
on the ZERO DRAFT DOCUMENT for RIO+20
Wednesday, January 25th, 2012
With the release of the Zero Draft negotiating text for the Rio +20 Conference, governments and civil society are quickly assessing the main gaps of the document. Within the document, the theme “Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development,” addresses governance challenges at all levels. The Access Initiative, a network representing over 250 civil society organizations worldwide working for democracy and sustainable development, is excited to see future drafts of the text to fulfill the potential for visionary leadership and commitment in achieving transparent, inclusive, and accountable governance.
In order to do this, the Zero Draft must better reflect the 140+ submissions by members states and civil society calling for addressing the gap between aspiration and reality in implementation of Principle 10 (P10) of the 1992 Rio Declaration, calling for greater transparency, public participation, and justice. As the text is currently drafted, it reflects on the importance of these concepts but the Zero Draft lacks an actionable framework for effective implementation of P10 in spite of numerous proposals. To that end, the TAI Secretariat proposes a number of amendments to the Zero Draft text in order of importance to TAI membership.
Paragraph 58: Principle 10 OF THE RIO DECLARATION
Paragraph 58 recognizes the importance of the principle but provides no process to strengthen P10 implementation nor does it reflect the specific call for development of a convention. TAI suggests the following working text:
We agree to take steps at various levels to give further effect to Rio Principle 10 at the global, regional and national level, as appropriate, and in particular to:
(a) provide support to UNEP through a robust program to implement the 2010 UNEP Bali guidelines on Principle 10;
(b) encourage governments to make commitments (as part of the compendium of commitments referred to clause 128) to improve national laws, institutions and practices in conformity with Principle 10 and develop a partnership for capacity building of institutions in those countries;
(c) encourage governments to consider the development of regional treaties to promote Principle 10 as appropriate; and
(d) mandate UNEP to begin the process of conducting open, transparent and inclusive negotiations, for a global treaty on Principle 10.
Proposed Clause (a): The UNEP Governing Coucil’s recent adoption of the Guidelines for the Development of National Legislation on Access to Information, Public Participation, and Access to Justice (the “Bali Guidelines”) provides unprecedented form to the concept of good practice for Principle 10. While numerous, disparate efforts have achieved much in implementation of Principle 10, none has clearly outlined the steps for all countries to take in development of legislation as the Bali Guidelines do. The Bali Guidelines, however, lack an effective means of implementation. The most logical means to begin intensive capacity-building will be through a robust, well-funded program within UNEP.
Proposed Clause (b): The current text calls for a compendium of commitments. We strongly encourage governments to make clear Principle 10-relevant commitments. (Please see next section for format for commitments.)
Proposed Clauses (c) and (d): International agreements, especially legally binding ones, can play an important role in promoting and strengthening rights to information, participation and justice in sustainable development at the national and local levels. International agreements can catalyze and drive the development of national legislation and practice, bringing about positive changes that would not otherwise have occurred. Three governments, in their submissions to the Zero draft have called for a binding legal instrument at the global or regional level to ensure implementation of P10 in their submissions. Brazil, the host country, has called for the negotiation of an international convention on P10. Jamaica and Chile both called for a regional convention on P10. Civil society has also issued this call in their submissions. Rio+20 could serve as the venue to launch the process for negotiation of regional or global conventions on P10.
Paragraph 128: COMPENDIUM OF COMMITMENTS
Importantly, the current Zero Draft leaves space for governments to propose systemic changes at regional, national, and subnational levels. TAI supports this effort to achieve visionary outcomes at Rio+20. We welcome national-level commitments with significant impact on sustainable development such as new freedom of information laws, open data portals (including environment and public health), monitoring data on air and water quality, facility-level pollution data, improvement of participatory practices especially in relation to the poor (e.g. in impact assessment), and development of new environmental procedures, and rules, or environmental courts and tribunals to increase access to justice. Additionally, commitments can and should include commitments for partnerships to support sharing and capacity-building between actors.
The Zero Draft can enable more effective commitments by:
1. Making a clear link between the compendium and preceding text (under sections II, III, and IV);
2. State that commitments should be specific, measurable, achievable, and time-bound; and,
3. Describe possible formal mechanisms for accountability.
Paragraph 17: PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS
The need for greater public participation in sustainable development decisions has been heightened by the proliferation of multilateral environmental agreements over the last twenty years and the consequent challenges of implementation. Reforms can build on successes in “upstream” public participation processes at all stages in international decision-making, including in monitoring and compliance.
TAI suggests the following text:
All United Nations bodies will commit to new measures to systematically and progressively improve access to information and public participation in their regular proceedings, at all stages in the decision-making at the highest level. This will build on, but will not be limited by, the Major Groups and Stakeholders approach, to create more effective means of participation, enhancing flexibility, collaboration, and cooperation between actors.
Paragraph 56: TRANSPARENCY OF INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES
Paragraph 56 emphasizes the need to strengthen operational activities for sustainable development, especially with regard to United Nations activities at the national and subnational levels. It does not, however, provide guidance for on-the-ground monitoring and accountability. The Zero Draft needs to go further, with a requirement for UN bodies to adopt transparency policies enabling stakeholders to evaluate decision-making and implementation. A number of multi-lateral development banks and bi-lateral development organizations, including the World Bank, have committed to access to information policy. The absence of such policies in many UN agencies is conspicuous. To that end, TAI proposes:
Transparency of governance structures at all levels is foundational for better service delivery and more legitimate policy-making. All UN agencies will establish access to information mechanisms consistent with international best practice at the national and international level.
Paragraph 105: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Sustainable Development Goals should include governance goals. Human rights to free expression and representation are key social aspects to sustainable development. Such goals should begin with implementation of the Bali Guidelines, to be supported by UN agencies and programs, multilateral development banks, bi-lateral cooperation, and civil society support.
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[1] The World Resources Institute serves as the secretariat of The Access Initiative. For further questions, please contact access@wri.org .
The World Resources Institute serves as the secretariat of The Access Initiative. For further questions, please contact access@wri.org .