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] “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЖОВТЕНЬ 201 2 WWW. UNWLA.ORG 13 The Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development by Iryna Kurowyckyj As the co - chairs of CoNGO Committee on Sustainable Development in New York, both Dr. Anne Braudis from Marykn o ll Sisters and Iryna Kurowyckyj, main representative for ICW - CIF, along with other members of our committee , a t- tended the Rio + 20 Conference , which was hosted in Brazil from June 14 to June 24, 2012. The Rio+20 C onference was a 20 - year follow - up to the historic 1992 UN C onference on Environment and Development. Rio was a p- proved by UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/64/236/ on December 24, 2009. Two primary themes were agreed upon by member states: 1. Green Economy 2. Institutional Framework to Sustainable D e- velopment Rio+ 20, convened to assess the status of these matters, drew participation from 19 1 go v- ernments (including 79 Heads of State ) and some 10,000 interest groups, represented by more than 30,000 NGO delegates, activists , and other s who attended various meetings and events. Many of the world's largest companies participated , ma k- ing some prom ising announcements. The official opening remarks were offered by Ban Ki - moon , UN Secretary General. Welco m- ing attendees, the Secretary General observed: “We are now in sight of an historic agreement. Let us not waste this opportunity. The world is watc h- ing to see if words will translate into ac tion, as we know they must. Rio+ 20 is not an end, but a b e- ginning.” Rio+ 20's outcome document, entitled “The Future We Want,” was informally agreed upon by member state s on June 19th , after inte n- sive informal nego tiations. It was officially e n- dorsed and adopted by Heads of State at the co n- clusion of Rio+20 on June 22 nd . The negotiated text focuses on a wide range of areas and topics aimed at fostering and implementing sustainable development at all l e- vels. The doc ument launches a process to esta b- lish Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), d e- tails the role of a green economy, strengthens the position of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), promotes corporate sustainability r e- porting measures, tackles the limits of Gr oss D o- mestic Product (GDP) to measure growth and d e- velopment, adopts a framework for addressing sustainable consumption and production, and addresses financing for sustainable development. It also focuses on improving gender equality, r e- cognizes the import ance of voluntary commi t- ments, and stresses the need to engage civil soci e- ty and to incorporate science into policy. The conference outcome document gene r- ated much excitement. Although not perfect, it reaffirmed and built on the 1992 Rio Agreement. Among the additions proposed in the outcome document were points of agreement on peace and global GDP, indigenous p eople’s rights, cultural diversity, and women’s mental and physical health. The w ork of NGOs and civil s ociety was acknowledged. Recommendations concerning harmony with nature made it into the new doc u- ment, along with recommendations for improving sustainable development and i nfrastructure. The new document supports the UN environment program, which is to be further developed and submitted for appr oval to the General Assembly in December 2012. All agreed that fundamental changes in the way societies consume and produce are indi s- pensable for achieving global S ustainable Deve l- opment Goals. What was immediately clear, ho w- ever, was that potential chang es me ant different things to different people. That is why the ou t- come document was a non - binding 49 - page wor k- ing paper that largely reaffirm ed previous actio n- able plans. As Nassir Abdulaziz Al - Nasser , Pres i- dent of GA Rio + 20, observed, "The real work comme nces after the conference is over, as we come together in the General Assembly to artic u- late concrete action on the key areas of concern." It was very important for my colleagues and myself to attend the “Open Dialogue on the Future We Cho o se” panel , orga nized by Brazil. Because NGO representatives had the opportunity to vote on proposals, it gave us a feeling that we really had some input. The program was exce l- lent , and many of the recommendations offered will probably be included in the new Sustainable D evelopment Goals to become effective in 2015. The Open Dialogue included a 3 - day pa n- el discussion that engaged Rio+ 20 C onference participants in a grand civil participatory process. Thirty topics were chosen and submitted to a vote by diverse groups tha t were to select and com - ment on the ten issues each considered most crit i- cal. The results were computed , tabulating the
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