Rio+20 and beyond: no future without justice

31 October 2011

Over the last 20 years, little has been done to change patterns of production and consumption that pollute, erode biodiversity and lead to climate change, while commitments to human rights and gender justice have not been fulfilled. We are facing societal and ecological disaster. The State can respond quickly to this, if based on democratic legitimacy and accountability. In times of growing global interrelationship between societies, economies and people, universally agreed principles are the precondition for living together in justice, peace and in harmony with nature. Here we propose eight principles as the foundation for a new sustainability rights framework.

This statement has been produced by the Civil Society Reflection Group on Global Development Perspectives. It is a pre­liminary statement and has not been fully discussed by all members of the Group yet. It is “work in progress”. Therefore, not every recommendation in this statement was explicitly endorsed by each member of the Group. But the statement captures the ideas and the fundamental consensus, which were formulated in the previous meetings of the Reflection Group. The more comprehensive final report of the Group will be published in spring 2012. 

Click here to download the full statemet.