The General Assembly,
Recalling the United Nations Conference
on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro
from 3 to 14
June 1992, and the nineteenth special session
of the General Assembly for the purpose of an overall
review and appraisal of the implementation of Agenda
21, held in New York from 23 to 28 June 1997,
Recalling also that Agenda 21 and the
Rio Declaration on Environment and Development should
constitute the framework within which the other outcomes
of the Conference are reviewed, and from within which
new challenges and opportunities that have emerged since
the Conference are addressed,
Recalling further its resolutions 53/188
and 54/218 on the implementation of and follow-up to
the outcome of the Conference and the special session,
as well as its resolution 55/2,
Recalling decision 8/1 of the Commission
on Sustainable Development on preparations for the 10-year
review of progress achieved in the implementation of
the outcome of the Conference,
Recalling also that chapter 33 of Agenda
21 identified the Global Environment Facility as one
source of financing for the implementation of Agenda
21,
Recalling further the importance of chapter
34 of Agenda 21 for developing countries,
Taking note with appreciation of the report
of the Secretary-General on ensuring effective preparation
for the 10-year review of progress achieved in the implementation
of the outcome of the Conference and the nineteenth
special session,
Taking note with appreciation also of
the Malmö Ministerial Declaration adopted at the sixth
special session of the Governing Council of the United
Nations Environment Programme,
Deeply concerned that, despite the many
successful and continuing efforts of the international
community since the Stockholm Conference and the fact
that some progress has been achieved, the environment
and the natural resource base that support life on earth
continue to deteriorate at an alarming rate,
Reconfirming the political importance
of the forthcoming 10-year review of progress achieved
since the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development and underscoring that the review should
focus on the implementation of Agenda 21 and other outcomes
of the Conference, as well as the Programme for the
Further Implementation of Agenda 21 adopted by the General
Assembly at its nineteenth special session in 1997,
Bearing in mind that its substantive activities
should take into account, as appropriate, the outcomes
relevant to sustainable development of other United
Nations conferences and summits and their follow-up
activities,
Bearing further in mind that national
reports that have been prepared by Governments since
1992 on national implementation of Agenda 21, and to
which major groups have contributed, could provide a
fair basis for guiding national preparatory processes,
Reconfirming that Agenda 21 and the Rio
Declaration on Environment and Development should not
be renegotiated and that the review should identify
measures for the further implementation of Agenda 21
and the other outcomes of the United Nations Conference
on Environment and Development, including sources of
funding,
1.
Decides to organize the 10-year review
of progress achieved in the implementation of the outcome
of the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development in 2002 at the summit level to reinvigorate
the global commitment to sustainable development, and
accepts with gratitude the generous offer of South Africa
to host the summit;
2.
Also decides to call the summit the World
Summit on Sustainable Development;
3.
Further decides that the review should
focus on the identification of accomplishments and areas
where further efforts are needed to implement Agenda
21 and other outcomes of the United Nations Conference
on Environment and Development and should focus on action-oriented
decisions in areas where further efforts are needed
to implement Agenda 21, address, within the framework
of Agenda 21, new challenges and opportunities, and
result in renewed political commitment and support for
sustainable development, consistent, inter alia, with
the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities;
4.
Decides that the Summit, including its
preparatory process, should ensure a balance between
economic development, social development and environmental
protection as these are interdependent and mutually
reinforcing components of sustainable development;
5.
Stresses the importance of early and effective
preparations for the Summit and a comprehensive assessment
of progress achieved in the implementation of Agenda
21 and the other outcomes of the United Nations Conference
on Environment and Development to be carried out at
the local, national, regional and international levels
by Governments and the United Nations system so as to
ensure high-quality inputs to the review process, and
welcomes the preparatory activities carried out so far;
6.
Welcomes the work undertaken at the regional
level in close collaboration with the respective regional
commissions to implement the action programmes for sustainable
development that could provide substantive inputs to
the preparatory process and the Summit itself;
7.
Also welcomes the work undertaken by the
United Nations Secretariat, in close cooperation with
the United Nations Environment Programme, the United
Nations Development Programme, the regional commissions
and the secretariats of conventions related to the United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development, as
well as other relevant organizations, agencies and programmes
within and outside the United Nations system and including
international and regional financial institutions, including
the Global Environment Facility, to support preparatory
activities, in particular at the national and regional
levels, in a coordinated and mutually reinforcing way;
8.
Further welcomes the report of the Global
Environment Facility to the General Assembly on its
contributions to the implementation of Agenda 21, and
notes the assistance provided by the Facility to the
national implementation of Agenda 21;
9.
Welcomes the decision of the Global Environment
Facility at its last meeting, from 1 to 3 November 2000,
to request the Chief Executive Officer to explore the
best options for enhancing the support of the Facility
in assisting affected countries, especially those in
Africa, in implementing the United Nations Convention
to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing
Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly
in Africa taking into account the third replenishment;
10.
Also welcomes the initiation of the third
replenishment of the Global Environment Facility Trust
Fund, and invites all donor countries and other countries
in a position to do so to make contributions to the
third replenishment and ensure its successful conclusion,
and invites the Facility to provide a report to the
2002 review on the status of the replenishment negotiations;
11.
Invites relevant agencies and bodies of
the United Nations and international financial institutions
involved with the implementation of Agenda 21, including
the United Nations Environment Programme, the United
Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), the
Global Environment Facility and the United Nations Development
Programme, as well as conventions related to the United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development, to
participate fully in the 10-year review of progress
achieved in the implementation of Agenda 21, including
in the preparation of reports for submission to the
Commission on Sustainable Development at its tenth session
and the 2002 summit, in order to reflect their experiences
and the lessons learned as well as to provide ideas
and proposals for the way forward for further implementation
of Agenda 21 in relevant areas;
12.
Encourages effective contributions from
and the active participation of all major groups, as
identified in Agenda 21, at all stages of the preparatory
process, in accordance with the rules and procedures
of the Commission on Sustainable Development, as well
as its established practices for the participation and
engagement of major groups;
13.
Decides that the meetings of the tenth
session of the Commission on Sustainable Development
shall be transformed into an open-ended preparatory
committee that will provide for the full and effective
participation of
all States Members of the United Nations and
States members of the specialized agencies as well as
other participants in the Commission on Sustainable
Development in accordance with the rules of procedure
of the functional commissions of the Economic and Social
Council and the supplementary arrangements established
by the Council for the Commission on Sustainable Development
in its decisions 1993/215 and 1995/201;
14.
Invites regional groups to nominate their
candidates for the Bureau of the tenth session of the
Commission on Sustainable Development by the end of
2000 in order that they can be involved in its preparations
in advance of the first meeting of the preparatory committee;
15.
Decides that the Commission, acting as
the preparatory committee, should:
(a)
Undertake the comprehensive review and assessment
of the implementation of Agenda 21 and the other outcomes
of the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development on the basis of the results of national
assessments and subregional and regional preparatory
meetings, the documentation to be prepared by the Secretary-General
in collaboration with the task managers and other inputs
from relevant international organizations, as well as
on the basis of contributions from major groups;
(b)
Identify major accomplishments and lessons learned
in the implementation of Agenda 21;
(c)
Identify major constraints hindering the implementation
of Agenda 21 and propose specific time-bound measures
to be undertaken, and institutional and financial requirements,
and identify the sources of such support;
(d)
Address new challenges and opportunities that
have emerged since the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development within the framework of
Agenda 21;
(e)
Address ways of strengthening the institutional
framework for sustainable development and evaluate and
define the role and programme of work of the Commission
on Sustainable Development;
(f)
Consider and decide on accreditation for participation
in the preparatory process and the Summit of relevant
non-governmental organizations which do not have consultative
status with the Economic and Social Council;
(g)
Propose a provisional agenda and possible main
themes for the Summit based on the outcomes of the preparatory
activities at the national, subregional, regional and
international levels, as well as taking into account
the input of major groups;
(h)
Propose rules and procedures for participation
of representatives of major groups in the Summit, taking
into account the rules and procedures applied in the
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development;
(i)
Undertake any other functions that may be required
by the preparatory process;
16.
Also decides to hold, as recommended by
the Commission on Sustainable Development in its decision
8/1, a three-day meeting of the tenth session of the
Commission, so that the Commission can thereby start
its work as the preparatory committee for the 2002 Summit,
and, in this context, invites the Commission to start
its organizational work in order to do the following:
(a)
Elect, from among all States, a Bureau composed
of 10 members, with two representatives from each of
the geographical groups, one of whom would be elected
the Chairperson and others as Vice-Chairpersons, one
of whom would also act as the Rapporteur;
(b)
Consider progress in preparatory activities at
the local, national, subregional, regional and international
levels, as well as by major groups;
(c)
Decide, taking into account the provisions of
paragraph 17 below, on the specific modalities of its
future preparatory meetings;
(d)
Consider a process for setting the agenda and
determining possible main themes for the Summit in a
timely manner;
17.
Further decides that, in 2002, the Commission
on Sustainable Development, acting as the preparatory
committee for the Summit, shall hold three additional
sessions, organized as follows:
(a)
At its first and second substantive preparatory
sessions, to be held in January and March 2002, respectively,
the preparatory committee shall undertake the comprehensive
review and assessment of progress achieved in the implementation
of Agenda 21 and the Programme for the Further Implementation
of Agenda 21. At its second substantive session, the
preparatory committee shall agree on the text of a document
containing the results of the review and assessment,
as well as conclusions and recommendations for further
action;
(b)
Drawing upon the agreed text of such a document,
the third and final substantive preparatory session,
to be held at the ministerial level in May 2002, shall
prepare a concise and focused document that should emphasize
the need for a global partnership to achieve the objectives
of sustainable development, reconfirm the need for an
integrated and strategically focused approach to the
implementation of Agenda 21, and address the main challenges
and opportunities faced by the international community
in this regard. The document submitted for further consideration
and adoption at the 2002 Summit should reinvigorate,
at the highest political level, the global commitment
to a North/South partnership and a higher level of international
solidarity to the accelerated implementation of Agenda
21 and the promotion of sustainable development;
18.
Decides to organize the third and final
substantive preparatory session at the ministerial level
in Indonesia and accepts with gratitude the generous
offer of Indonesia to host it;
19.
Stresses that the preparatory meetings
and the 2002 Summit itself should be transparent and
provide for effective participation and inputs from
Governments and regional and international organizations,
including financial institutions, and for contributions
from and active participation of major groups, as identified
in Agenda 21;
20.
Welcomes the establishment of a trust fund, urges
international and bilateral donors and other countries
in a position to do so to support preparations for the
10-year review through voluntary contributions to the
trust fund and to support the participation of representatives
of developing countries in the regional and international
preparatory process and the 2002 Summit itself, and
encourages voluntary contributions to support the participation
of major groups of developing countries in regional
and international preparatory processes and the 2002
Summit itself;
21.
Invites the Secretary-General to submit a progress
report on the state of preparation for the 2002 Summit
for consideration by the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth
session, taking into account, inter alia, the inputs
of respective regional meetings;
22.
Decides to include in the provisional agenda
of its fifty-sixth session, under the item "Environment
and Sustainable Development", a sub-item entitled
"Implementation of Agenda 21 and the Programme
for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21".
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Johannesburg
Summit 2002 – the World Summit on Sustainable Development – improving
people's lives and conserving our natural resources in a world that is
growing in population, with ever-increasing demands for food, water,
shelter, sanitation, energy, health services and economic security.
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