The unofficial record of the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development. An IPS-Inter Press Service independent publication.
Mugabe Lets the North Have it
In his widely anticipated statement to the World Summit on Sustainable Development, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe lambasted the North in general and the United Kingdom in particular and vowed to carry on with his contested land distribution policy.
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U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan rushing yesterday to meet a deadline. If we believe NGOs and diplomats, there was no spectacular breakthrough in the making, but just more disappointment. As TerraViva writer Qurratul-Ain-Tahmina, from Bangladesh says, delegates have “millions of problems to deliberate on, billions of views to argue, but in the end two deciding factors to consider and compromise on.” See complete story
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan rushing yesterday to meet a deadline. If we believe NGOs and diplomats, there was no spectacular breakthrough in the making, but just more disappointment. As TerraViva writer Qurratul-Ain-Tahmina, from Bangladesh says, delegates have “millions of problems to deliberate on, billions of views to argue, but in the end two deciding factors to consider and compromise on.”
"Another Call for Action" (With Thabo Mbeki & Kofi Annan)
Host country South Africa and the United Nations issued a call to action on sustainable development yesterday, urging rich nations to take the lead in implementing a plan that would improve the lives of the world’s poor without damaging the environment.
A coalition of more than 10 international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) yesterday collectively declared that the final draft plan of action to be adopted by heads of government Wednesday falls far short of expectations.
The commitment by the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) to halve the number of people without access to adequate sanitation by 2015 can significantly improve the health of poor people in the developing world.
SOS Eduardo Galeano
Who gets the water? The monkey that has the club. Unarmed creature dies of thirst. This lesson from prehistory opens the film ''2001: A Space Odyssey''. For the Odyssey 2003, President Bush has announced a military budget of one billion dollars a day. The arms industry is the only investment worthy of confidence. There's an irrefutable argument. Let him make it at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg -- or any other international conference, for that matter.
Big Business Steps Up to Bat
One of the biggest disappointments of non governmental organisations at the World Summit is that calls for stricter regulation of multinational corporations have not been formalised. It also appears to be one of the biggest triumphs of big business.
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