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EU Border Police
European Union leaders yesterday moved to establish an EU border police force to patrol shores, ports and crossing points against illegal immigrants. The dramatic attempt to strengthen "fortress Europe" could mean foreign guards wearing an EU uniform patrolling in Britain.
The heads of government said that the moves were a stepping stone to the creation of a fully fledged European-wide force which would act in tandem with each nation's police.
Source: news.telegraph.co.uk, June 23, 2002
G8 in Open Disarray Over Kyoto Protocol
The divisions between the world's leading nations over the Kyoto protocol on global warming deepened dramatically on Sunday, when an informal discussion on climate change ended in disarray with both the United States and Canada looking increasingly isolated.
Washington has been relentlessly attacked since abandoning Kyoto last year but after environment ministers from the Group of Eight leading nations ended their 45-minute meeting it was clear European leaders were fast losing patience with Canada's dithering over whether to ratify the accord.
Source: Reuters.com, April 14, 2002
World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002
On the joint initiative of Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström and Development Commissioner Poul Nielson, the European Commission has adopted a Communication "Ten Years After Rio: Preparing for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002", setting out priorities and actions for the EU in preparation for this event.
In December 2000, the UN General Assembly decided to hold the ten-year review of the Rio Conference on Environment and Development as a World Summit in South Africa in 2002. In this Communication, the Commission stresses the need to ensure an effective EU contribution to this event. The forthcoming EU Sustainable Development Strategy and the recently proposed 6th Environment Action Programme will be important European contributions.
The Communication includes an overall assessment of progress since Rio. It indicates that, although some progress has been achieved, the expectations raised by the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992 have not been realised. On the basis of this assessment, four strategic objectives are proposed:
Increased global equity and an effective global partnership for sustainable development;
Better integration of environment and development at the international level;
Adoption of environment and development targets to revitalise and provide focus to the Rio process; and
More effective action at national level with stronger international monitoring.
Source: The European Commission Press Release
Local Agenda 21 Campaign
In 1991, at the invitation of Secretariat for the UN Conference on Environment and Development, ICLEI presented a draft of Chapter 28 of Agenda 21 including the mandate for all local authorities to prepare a "local Agenda 21." The final version of Chapter 28 approved at the Earth Summit stipulates that "by 1996 , most local authorities in each country should have undertaken a consultative process with their population and achieved a consensus on a local Agenda 21 for the(ir) communities."
Following the adoption of the LA21 at the Earth Summit, ICLEI began organizing to ensure that this mandate would be used to advance sustainable development. In particular, ICLEI was concerned that LA21 processes be truly participatory and that they result in new commitments by municipalities and their communities to improve and extend urban services in a sustainable way. To address these concerns, ICLEI established a Local Agenda 21 Initiative with three elements.
Source: www.iclei.org
An Agenda 21 for the Baltic Sea Region
In 1996, the Prime Ministers of the Baltic Sea Region took the initiative to develop an Agenda 21 for the Baltic Sea Region.
This was the start of the Baltic 21 process, and sustainable development in the Baltic Sea Region – encompassing economic, social and environmental aspects – is the objective of that process.In 1998, the Foreign Ministers adopted the Agenda 21 for the Baltic Sea Region, which includes agreed overall goals and sectoral goals and an action programme for sustainable development.
The Baltic Sea Region is the first region in the world to adopt common goals for sustainable development.Now the implementation of the Action Programme is in progress within seven sectors: agriculture, energy, fisheries, forests, industry, tourism, transport and spatial planning, and in spring 2000, an additional sector - education - was entered to the Baltic 21 process.
Source: Baltic 21
Major Agreements
OVERRIDING ISSUES ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Agreements leading to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, including:
-"Our Common Future," The Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development Report (Abstracts)
A/Res/42/186 of 11 December 1987(Abstract 1)
A/Res/42/187 of 11 December 1987 (Abstract 2)
- The Decision of the General Assembly to convene the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
A/RES/44/228-85 of 22 December 1989Agreements taken by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, including:
- The Rio Declaration on Environment and Developmen>
- Agenda 21 - Global Programme of Action on Sustainable Developmen>
- Statement of principles for the Sustainable Management of Forests
- Declaration of Barbados and the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States
- Programme of Action adopted at the Special Session of the General Assembly to Review the Implementation of Agenda 21(Earth Summit+5)
Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (1972)
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- The Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
- UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural HeritageDecision-Making
Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary ContextMajor Groups
The Bejing Declaration and Platform of ActionHealth
WHO-policy Health for All in the 21st CenturyHuman Settlements
The Habitat Agenda and The Istanbul Declaration on Human SettlementsPopulation
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (1994)Poverty
The Report of the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995)Trade and environment
Final Act of the Uruguay Round and related agreements
- The Marrakesh Ministerial Decision on Trade and Environmen>
- WTO-document on the relationship between the provisions of the multilateral trading system and measures for environmental purposes, including those pursuant to multilateral environmental agreements
- Further WTO-documents on trade and environmentAgriculture and Food Security
Rome Declaration on World Food Security and to the World Food Summit Plan of Action
World Declaration on Nutrition - Plan of Action for NutritionAtmosphere
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
The Montreal Protocol
Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (1985)Biological diversity
Convention on Biological Diversity
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals
Further agreements under the CMS
Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat
UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural HeritageDesertification
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in AfricaHazardous waste management
Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal
Bamako Convention on the ban of the import into Africa and the control of transboundary movement and management of hazardous wastes within Africa (1991)Nuclear Safety
Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management
Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage
Further conventions and legal instruments under the auspices of IAEA:
Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident
Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material
Convention on Nuclear Safety
Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage
Joint Protocol Relating to the Application of the Vienna
Convention and the Paris ConventionOceans
UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
IMO Conventions in the field of marine safety, preventing marine pollution
Regional Seas Action PlansSource: UN Document
AGENDA 21
CONTENTS
* * * * *
* For section I (Social and economic dimensions), see A/CONF.151/26 (Vol. I); for section III (Strengthening the role of major groups) and section IV (Means of implementation), see A.CONF/151/26 (Vol. III).
* For section II (Conservation and management of resources for development), see A/CONF.151/26 (Vol. II); for section III (Strengthening the role of major groups) and section IV (Means of implementation), see A/CONF.151/26 (Vol. III).
* For section I (Social and economic dimensions), see A/CONF.151/26 (Vol. I); for section II (Conservation and management of resources for development), see A/CONF.151/26 (Vol. II).
Source: UN Document
Oceans: The Source of Life United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
One of the most important legal instruments of the 20th century, the Convention made innovations in international treaty law. Conceived as a “package deal” that recognized that all problems concerning ocean space are closely interrelated and must be considered as a whole, it established that the seabed and ocean floor beyond the limits of national jurisdictions are the “common heritage of mankind,” whose use and protection are the right and responsibility of all. In addition, it called for the compulsory settlement of disputes; it set out the overall legal framework for all activities in or on the oceans and seas; and it provided detailed rules governing all uses of the oceans and defined the rights and responsibilities of States [member countries].
The treaty covers these major topics:
* Limits of maritime zones (territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone, continental shelf)
* Rights of navigation, including through straits used for international navigation
* Peace and security on the oceans and seas
* Conservation and management of living marine resources
* Protection and preservation of the marine environment
* Scientific research
* Activities on the seabed beyond the limits of national jurisdictions
* Procedures for settling disputes between States....Additional information can be found on the following websites:
Oceans and the Law of the Sea: www.un.org/Depts/los
United Nations Atlas of the Oceans: www.oceansatlas.org
International Seabed Authority: www.isa.org.jm
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea: www.itlos.org
Department of Public Information: www.un.org/events/los20
Commission on Sustainable Development: www.un.org/esa/sustdev/oceans
International Court of Justice: http://www.icj-cij.org/
International Maritime Organization: www.imo.org
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: www.fao.org/fi
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO: http://ioc.unesco.org/iocweb
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP): www.unep.org/ themes/marine/
UNEP Global Programme of Action: www.gpa.unep.org
UNEP Regional Seas Programme: www.unep.ch/seas
Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP): http://gesamp.imo.orgSource: United Nations, 2002
World government's revenue stream
With regard to the poor, most underdeveloped countries can point to failed World Bank projects as the beginning of their sorrows. If it was not for all of the financial planning by the World Bank to get them to build nuclear power plants, dams and other types of high-capital-intensive schemes, they would not be straddled with anywhere near the amount of debt which is choking them. If it were not for the poor, the U.N. would not be able to float ideas for confiscation of wealth....
Source: WorldNetDaily, March 26, 2002
Preparations for the [UN] International Conference on Financing for Development
Monterrey, Mexico, 18-22 March 2002Source: www.un.org/
Additional Protocol to the Convention on cybercrime
Many States have already criminalised certain acts related to racist or xenophobic content. However, the dissemination of such material through computer networks poses even greater challenges for law enforcement. It was thus necessary to adopt a co-ordinated approach which enables an effective domestic and international response, based on common elements to be included in an additional Protocol to the Convention.
Source: Council of Europe, www.legal.coe.int
Blair and Bush to plot war on Iraq
Tony Blair and the United States President George Bush are to hold a specially convened summit in April to finalise details of military action to overthrow Saddam Hussein.
Source: The Observer (UK, online), February 24, 2002
U.S. Debating Wider Assault on Colombia Rebels
Alarmed by signs of weapons traffic between Colombian rebels and the Middle East, the Bush administration is weighing a proposal to declare the destruction of leftist guerrillas in the South American country an explicit goal of U.S. policy.
Some senior officials are also pushing for the administration to assert, for the first time, that the Colombian rebels are a specific target of the worldwide U.S. war on terrorism, administration officials said.
Source: Los Angeles Times (online), February 23, 2002
Beefed-Up Global Surveillance?
An addition to an international treaty could permit police to cooperate more closely on intercepting and decrypting the communications of suspected terrorists.
The Council of Europe, which includes nearly all European nations, is meeting this week to prepare additions to a controversial "cybercrime" treaty that would cover decoding terrorist messages. The United States, Canada and Japan are non-voting members of the council.
Source: Wired, Feb. 20, 2002
Report: Clinton Diverted Billions From Pentagon to UN Peacekeeping
A draft report by the General Accounting Office reveals that former President Clinton contributed over $24 billion for U.N. peacekeeping missions around the world between 1995 and 2001, money that wasn't officially credited to the U.S. account by the United Nations.
Source: CNSNews.com, February 12, 2002
World Social Forum for global equity, says activists
Activists at the second annual World Social Forum rejected the label "anti," saying they were working for democracy and equitable distribution of wealth.
"The enemy calls us 'anti,' they say we complain, we are the anti-Forum, anti-globalization, while our movement, really, is globally for democracy, equality, diversity, justice and quality of life," said Lori Wallach, of the US watchdog group Public Citizen.
Source: Yahoo! News Singapore February 2 [2002]
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