ANC Today --------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 2, No. 36, 6 - 12 September 2002 --------------------------------------------------------------------- THIS WEEK: * Letter from the President: South Africa can take pride in World Summit * WSSD Achievements: Summit ends with global commitment to meaningful change * WSSD and Africa: World pledges support for NEPAD --------------------------------------------------------------------- LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT South Africa can take pride in World Summit On Wednesday September 4, the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), concluded its work with the adoption of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and the Political Declaration. On 20 December, 2000, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolved "to organise the ten-year review of progress achieved in the implementation of the outcome of the (1992) United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 2002 at the summit level to reinvigorate the global commitment the global commitment to sustainable development, and accepts with gratitude the generous offer of the Government of South Africa to host the summit, (and) decides to call the summit the World Summit on Sustainable Development." As the Johannesburg Summit finished its work, its Secretary General, Mr Nitin Desai, said of the four international conferences in which he had been involved, the Summit was the best organised. The other three conferences were the Rio Earth Summit, the Copenhagen World Summit on Social Development and the Monterrey Summit on Financing for Development. The Summit itself and the various delegations echoed the conclusions made by Mr Desai. Many Heads of State and Government, as well as Ministers, also repeated this statement to us and other members of the South African delegation. Mr Desai and other people also made the observation that the Johannesburg WSSD was bigger and more complex than the previous UN Summits. Among other things, it also had about 500 other meetings and events associated with the Summit, which took place in various parts of the country. Among these were meetings of women, youth, indigenous people, non-governmental organisations, local authorities, trade unions, business and industry, the scientific and technological community and farmers. In addition, all these participated in some of the governmental meetings and presented their reports at the concluding session of the Summit. Another centrally important part was the conclusion of various development partnerships. Three hundred partnership agreements were announced during the Summit. These are specific agreements committing funds for particular projects in the wide range of areas considered by the Summit. An example of such a partnership is the agreement between the European Union (EU) and Africa, in which the EU has committed billions of Euro to help meet the water and sanitation needs of our continent, as identified by NEPAD. The comments about the success of the Summit covered various elements. These range from the protocol arrangements to receive our guests and assist them during their stay, the security arrangements, the support of our population as a whole, the organisation and the conduct of the Summit itself, including the role played by the South African delegation which helped to ensure the adoption by consensus of the decisions of the Summit. Of course, a central part of the importance of the WSSD is its agenda. A brochure issued by the United Nations says: "Johannesburg Summit 2002 will focus on turning plans into action. (It) provides a new impetus for commitments of resources and specific action towards global sustainability." The 2000 UNGA resolution we have already cited said the WSSD "should focus on the identification of accomplishments and areas where further efforts are needed to implement Agenda 21 and other results of the (1992 Rio Earth Summit), and on action-oriented decisions in those areas. (It) should ensure a balance between economic development, social development and environmental protection." To illustrate the challenge the WSSD faced in the light of this agenda, the UN brochure cites a number of statistics. It says "one fifth (1,2 billion) of the world's people must survive on less than one dollar per day. About 1.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water. (The water deficit accounts) for 10 per cent of all diseases in developing countries. In 1996, 25 per cent of the world's 4, 630 mammal species and 11 per cent of the 9, 675 bird species were at significant risk of extinction." What these figures refer to is both the devastating impact of poverty and underdevelopment on billions of people across the globe, including millions in our own country and continent. They also focus our attention on the disastrous impact of contemporary patterns of production and consumption on nature, on which all life depends. These matters were at the centre of the work of the WSSD. It was attended by representatives of 185 governments, with at least 100 of the delegations led by Heads of State and Government. The major intergovernmental organisations, such as the EU and the Commonwealth also came. The NEPAD Secretariat sent its delegation. The Summit was also attended by representatives of indigenous people and the major social sectors in all societies, including women, the youth, workers, and others. Present also were major players in the global economy, including industrialists and other business people, farmers and workers. The trade union movement said its 400 delegates constituted the largest-ever delegation to attend an international conference. For its part, business was represented by 700 senior executives from across the globe. Major international, regional and national non-governmental organisations, which focus on the central issues of socio-economic development, poverty eradication and the protection of the environment were also at the Summit. Present also were those who believe that the socialist revolution in all countries is the only solution to the challenges confronting all humanity. Some of these set themselves the task to disrupt the Summit and cause its collapse. In this context, some of these saw the WSSD as an opportunity for them to wage a struggle against our movement and government. At least 4,000 journalists were accredited to report the proceedings of the Summit to viewers, listeners and the reading public throughout the world. Our national public broadcaster, the SABC, provided the necessary feed to the world's electronic media. The journalists had access to all the venues that hosted the various WSSD gatherings and events. Given all this - the central problems facing the peoples of the world, the specific agenda of the Summit, the high-level and large attendance, and the expectations among the billions across the globe - we can see how important the WSSD was to the future of these billions. Having offered to host the Summit, we could not possibly do anything wrong, that would result in the failure of the Summit. As we have already said publicly, we are convinced that, with regard to its decisions, the Summit was a success. This is based on the fact that it agreed to many time-specific and global targets covering such areas as water and sanitation, health, agriculture and food security, energy, biodiversity, housing and trade. Correctly, one of our daily newspapers, "The Star", reported the outcome of the WSSD under the headline: "Blueprint to save Earth". Below this, it carried the sub-heading: "Grand visions. Major goals. Ambitious targets. But is there the will and capacity to make them reality?" The Summit did not achieve all the results that we sought. Accordingly, we should not treat its outcome as a ceiling, the maximum of what we, and the rest of the world, are required to do to promote sustainable development. For our movement, which knows how a united front and negotiations among contending forces work, it constitutes a positive, but minimum programme. We must defend and implement this programme, being honour-bound to respect the international agreements into which we enter. Such is the historical morality of our movement. Given the contemporary global alignments, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and Declaration represent the best that could be achieved in negotiations involving 185 governments. The claim by some that the Summit was a failure and a betrayal of the peoples of the world is patently false and absurd. This conclusion is not informed by facts. We agree with "The Star" that the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and Declaration constitute the only blueprint to save the earth, that humanity has. They contain grand visions, major goals and ambitious targets. The principal question everybody will have to answer is whether the will and capacity exist, globally, to transform all these into reality. As for now, we can truthfully say that from Johannesburg, South Africa, Southern Africa and Africa, from the Cradle of Humanity from which all human beings evolved, the world community of nations has given itself the marching orders to progress towards the realisation of the hopes of all humanity. I am immensely proud of what all our people did to create the conditions in which the peoples of the world could freely interact among themselves and carry out the work to produce the outcomes they arrived at without any major hindrances deriving from any failure on our part, as South Africans, which would obstruct the work of the Summit. The masses of our people everywhere in our country did us proud. Johannesburg and the Johannesburg World Summit Company did us proud. Many public and private institutions did us proud. Our Ministers, Premiers, Mayors, elected representatives, national, provincial and local officials did us proud. Our security forces did us proud. Our 5,000 volunteers did us proud. Our business people, big and small, who contributed in many ways, did us proud. The ANC, the Alliance, genuine organisations of the mass democratic movement and organisations of civil society did us proud. Our artists and other creative workers did us proud. The SABC and others of our media organisations and the workers in these organisations did us proud. Together, in action, we got the world to understand that all of us, black and white, understand our responsibilities as custodians of the Cradle of Humanity. Together, in action, we made the world understand what we are striving to do to meet the goals of sustainable development. Together, in action, we showed the peoples of the world what we were doing with our freedom, for which they too had struggled and sacrificed. Together, in action, we communicated the message to the peoples of the world that South Africa is a common home of all humanity. Together, in action, we confirmed the correctness of the decision of the United Nations General Assembly, that South Africa should host the World Summit for Sustainable Development. We must also salute the Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the Summit, Nitin Desai, Professor Salim of Indonesia, and the staff of the United Nations for the work they did to ensure the success of the Summit. We also thank the foreign governments and businesses that contributed resources to achieve this success. We are honoured that so many government, inter-governmental, business and non-governmental leaders came to Johannesburg, giving due weight to the Summit. We thank them also for the way they conducted themselves to ensure the success of the Summit, what they taught us, and their generosity in freely acknowledging that what we did as South Africans contributed significantly to the success of the WSSD. The historic WSSD has concluded its work. Our guests have left the place from which all humanity evolved and emerged. They carry with them the knowledge that, as South Africans, we are determined to defend and advance the visions, the goals and targets that came out of the Johannesburg Summit. The Johannesburg Summit has demonstrated that we have the will and capacity to meet this expectation. Thabo Mbeki --------------------------------------------------------------------- WSSD ACHIEVEMENTS Summit ends with global commitment to meaningful change The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) ended in Johannesburg this week with a global commitment to a number of clear targets and practical steps to tackle poverty and environmental degradation. After almost two weeks of intensive negotiations, and following months of preparations, the Heads of State and Government this Wednesday adopted the Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development and an extensive implementation plan. Before the start of the WSSD, the ANC said the success of the summit would depend on its contribution to decisive action to end poverty and underdevelopment. The commitments made by countries in the implementation plan reflect clear progress towards this objective. The summit has built on the foundation laid at the Rio de Janeiro Summit in 1992 by setting targets and outlining a programme of action to reach these targets. It is significant that agreement could be reached on so many critical areas, particularly given the size and variety of the gathering, and the wide-range of differing interests represented. Water and sanitation One of the key commitments achieved at the summit was to halve by 2015 the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water and sanitation. The provision of clean drinking water and sanitation, the summit agreed, is necessary to protect human health and the environment. Action therefore needs to be taken at all levels to implement efficient sanitation systems in households; improve sanitation in public institutions, like schools; promote safe hygiene practices; and find innovative ways to finance and implement water and sanitation systems. Energy Among the measures to halve by 2015 the proportion of people living in poverty, the summit committed countries to improve access to reliable, cheap, viable and environmentally-sound energy. This would include improving rural electrification; using cleaner fuels; and improving energy efficiency. Though no specific targets were set, countries committed themselves to work to increase the proportion of their energy needs which could be met from renewable energy sources. Waste and pollution In renewing the commitment made in Rio to sound management of chemicals and hazardous waste, countries said that by 2020 chemicals should be used and produced in ways that minimise harm to human health and the environment As part of the response to adverse climate change, the summit agreed to enhance cooperation to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere and to embark on the required reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. All countries that have not yet ratified the Kyoto Protocol were urged to do so. The summit agreed to improve developing countries' access by 2010 to affordable, safe and environmentally-sound alternatives to ozone-depleting chemicals. Agriculture The summit noted that agriculture plays a crucial role in addressing the needs of a growing global population, and is closely linked to poverty eradication in developing countries. "Enhancing the role of women at all levels and in all aspects of rural development, agriculture, nutrition and food security is imperative," according to the implementation plan. This would include improving land and water resources management, increasing agricultural production in a sustainable way, and increasing technical and financial assistance to farmers in developing countries. Specific mention was made of the need to develop food security strategies in Africa by 2005. Biodiversity and ecosystem management The implementation plan acknowledges that biodiversity, which is essential to the planet, human well-being and to the livelihood and cultural integrity of people, is being lost at unprecedented rates due to human activities. It therefore makes a commitment to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction in the current rate of loss of biodiversity, which among other things will require new and additional financial and technical support to developing countries. It will require more coherent implementation of the UN Convention of Biological Diversity. The summit noted the critical importance of oceans, seas and coastal areas to the earth's ecosystem, global food security and economic prosperity. In addition to efforts to ensure sustainable management of marine ecosystems, the summit undertook to restore fishing stocks to sustainable levels by not later than 2015. It made a commitment to establish a network of marine protected areas by 2012, and to implement a global programme of action to protect the marine environment from land-based sources of pollution. Economic development The summit recognised the need for sustainable economic development in poor countries to tackle poverty and promote human development. It noted that opening up access for developing countries to markets, particularly in the North, is key to development for many countries. The summit therefore welcomed the decision contained in the Doha Ministerial Declaration to place the needs and interests of developing countries at the heart of its work programme, and supported the successful completion of this programme. The summit noted that fundamental changes are needed in the way societies produce and consume. Rich countries should take the lead in promoting sustainable consumption and production patters. Agreement was reached therefore to establish a 10-year framework of programmes which would support regional and national initiatives to speed up the shift towards sustainable consumption and production. The summit agreed on a number of other targets and programmes. It also gave rise to a number of partnerships between different regions and countries to address areas of sustainable development. According to the Johannesburg Declaration, these achievements arise from a "collective responsibility to advance and strengthen the interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars of sustainable development - economic development, social development and environmental protection - at local, national, regional and global levels". MORE INFORMATION: Johannesburg Declaration and WSSD Plan of Implementation, September 2002 http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- WSSD AND AFRICA World pledges support for NEPAD The international community has thrown its weight behind the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), making specific commitments to assist the continent as part of the implementation plan of the World Summit on Sustainable Development. The implementation plan describes NEPAD as a commitment by African leaders to the people of Africa which aims to place African countries on a path of sustained economic growth. "It provides a framework for sustainable development on the continent to be shared by all Africa's people," it says. It say the WSSD should reinvigorate the commitment of the international community to address the special challenges Africa faces in the form of poverty, exclusion from the benefits of globalisation, conflict, insufficient investment and limited market access. Achieving sustainable development in Africa would include actions to achieve sustained economic growth and support African efforts for peace, stability and security; democracy, good governance and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to gender equality. The countries at the WSSD undertook to support the implementation of the vision of NEPAD and other established regional and subregional efforts, including through financing, technical cooperation, and human and institutional capacity-building. In particular, they undertook to promote technology development and transfer to Africa and further develop technology and knowledge available in African centres of excellence. They would also work with the continent to increase Africa's industrial capacity and enhance industrial productivity, diversity and competitiveness. In pursuit of economic growth and poverty reduction in Africa, they have undertaken to improve market access for African goods in other regions. The implementation plan commits countries to support Africa's efforts to implement NEPAD objectives on energy, including the target of securing access for at least 35 percent of the African population within 20 years, especially in rural areas. It also commits the international community to provide financial and technical support to prevent deforestation and the encroachment of deserts in Africa, and to integrate indigenous knowledge systems into land and natural resource management. It pledges financial and other support to strengthen health systems and promote equitable access to health-care services. This includes making available drugs and technology in a sustainable and affordable manner to fight communicable diseases, including HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis; building the capacity of medical personnel; and promoting appropriate traditional medicine. The plan calls for international assistance to Africa's efforts to deal with natural disasters and conflicts, including both their humanitarian and environmental impacts, recognising that they have hindered and even negated many of Africa's efforts at sustainable development. Support will given to initiatives to provide access to potable domestic water, hygiene education and improved sanitation and waste management at the household level. This will mainly target initiatives which encourage public and private investment in supplying water and sanitation to the poor. They will focus too on the protection of water resources, including groundwater and wetlands, against pollution, while supporting efforts for developing "non-conventional" water resources, including desalinated seawater, rainwater harvesting and recycling water. Another challenge identified is the bridging of the digital divide between Africa and the developed world through developing infrastructure and ensuring the transfer of technology. It would also be necessary to attract investments in technology, accelerate existing programmes to connect essential institutions, and stimulate the adoption of information communication technologies in government, commerce and other aspects of economic and social life. The international community will help implement projects to market African tourism products, including adventure tourism, eco-tourism and cultural tourism. It will support the establishment and maintenance of national and cross-border conservation areas to promote conservation and sustainable tourism. MORE INFORMATION: Information on NEPAD http://www.nepad.org/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- This issue of ANC Today is available from the ANC web site at: http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/anctoday/2002/at36.htm To receive ANC Today free of charge by e-mail each week go to: http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/anctoday/subscribe.html