The Earth Charter is an international declaration that contains the fundamental principles and values that have been developed in order to create a peaceful, just, global society of the 21st century. It was created in the process of wide discussion and aims to awaken in people responsibility for the future of mankind.
General concept
The Earth Charter is addressed to every person with the goal of evoking a new feeling in him - a feeling of mutual dependence and shared responsibility for all life, for the well-being of all people and future generations. It contains a call for the establishment by mankind of universal cooperation, since a critical moment has come in our history.
The Charter proclaims that the protection of such realities as the environment, human development and peace, human rights, is interdependent and inseparable. She is trying to reveal a new point of view on the solution of these issues. A special organization has been formed to promote this document, whose name is the Earth Charter Initiative. The representative of this international initiative in Russia is called the "Center for Environmental Policy and Culture."
History
The idea of creating a charter arose in 1987. Then, the UN Commission for the Environment and Development proposed to draw up a new Earth Charter with the formulation of fundamental principles relating to sustainable development. The Secretary General of Boutros Ghali insisted on the need for its adoption at the 1992 summit in Rio de Janeiro. But it was concluded that such a document is not yet timely.
Maurice Strong, who chaired the Earth Summit in 1994, as well as M. Gorbachev, through the organizations that each of them founded (the Earth Council and the International Green Cross), once again launched the charter as a civil society initiative. Assistance in this was provided by the Government of the Netherlands.
Creature
The creation of the text was followed by a worldwide discussion, which lasted six years - from 1994 to 2000. This process was monitored by an independent commission created by M. Strong and M. Gorbachev. Its goal was to reach a consensus on values and the principles of a sustainable future.
The final version of the Earth Charter document was approved at a meeting of the commission in Paris at the headquarters of UNESCO in March 2000. Its official launch took place at a ceremony on June 29, 2000 in the Netherlands, in The Hague, at the Peace Palace in the presence of Queen Beatrix.
The document contains about 2.4 thousand words and several sections. It:
- Preamble.
- Basic principles, of which there are 16.
- Supporting principles in the amount of 61.
- A conclusion entitled "The Way Forward."
A number of fundamental principles
Their essence is as follows:
- Respect for the Earth, a living community and care for them, love and understanding.
- Creation of democratic communities based on justice, openness to cooperation, peace-loving and sustainable.
- Preservation of the beauty and wealth of the Earth for the present and future.
- Protecting the integrity of Earth's ecosystems, paying special attention to life-supporting natural processes and biological diversity.
- The use of the “harm prevention” strategy as the best method of protecting the environment, and with a lack of information, the use of the “precautionary” strategy.
- Application of methods of production, consumption, reproduction, preserving the regenerative opportunities available to the Earth, as well as the well-being of communities and human rights.
- Development of research on environmental sustainability.
- The implementation of an open exchange of information and its application in practice.
In conclusion, it should be noted that the document examined also touches upon such issues as social, economic justice, peace, non-violence, and democracy. The Earth Charter has paid a great deal of attention to education, and equality between the sexes, and to opportunities for economic prosperity, and healthcare.