Project Abstract:
Global Greens 2001 adopted 21 Commitments for the 21st Century as a declaration. You are invited to add comments, suggestions and experiences that will help bring these commitments to life and make the 21st century Green.
At the second Global Green Congress held in São Paulo, Brazil, May 1–4, 2008, Greens from all over the world reaffirmed their commitment to overcome the ecological and social crises that humanity and the planet face.
Climate change, flooding of coastal regions, the burgeoning number of environmental refugees, over-consumption, water shortage, the rising price and scarcity of food and oil, poverty, gender discrimination, growing tension and conflict between communities, the emergence of new failing states and increasing conflict over access to raw materials, are just some of the most urgent problems that threaten our immediate future and that of coming generations. Greens are aware that there is not much time to find solutions. Business as usual will lead to catastrophe.
Inspired by Green values and principles as adopted at the first Global Greens Congress in 2001 in Canberra, to which the Green movement continues to strongly adhere, these "21 Commitments for the 21st Century" reflect Green priorities for political action. Thus Greens commit to working to:
1 Fundamentally reform the present dominant economic model to establish a new sustainable society
2 Promote a deep and rapid reduction of CO2 emissions
3 Improve water management and increase the efficiency of its utilization
4 End the hunger crisis and make food available for all
5 Respect and preserve biodiversity in all its dimensions including defence of natural forests
6 Urge the international community to achieve the Millennium Goals agreed to by the United Nations in 2000
7 Establish a global partnership for development including the introduction of a Tobin tax as a source of development financing
8 Promote fair trade as an alternative to the present international trade patterns
9 Support socially and ecologically inspired scientific research and technological progress
10 Convene an international conference on exploding prices of raw materials and fair access to natural resources and energy
11 Promote women’s rights
12 Promote representative and participatory democracy
13 Develop a World Environment Organization
14 Reinforce the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the International Court of Justice and achieve a universal ban on the death penalty
15 Promote recognition of ecological refugees and the human rights of all refugees including displaced people
16 Foster sustainable city development and promote stronger cooperation among cities
17 Promote sustainable cultural policies
18 Support an open and structured dialogue among world religions including atheists
19 Expand and improve the rights of the youth
20 Improve access to medicine for pandemics and neglected diseases
21 Promote peace, conflict prevention and disarmament
Making the 21st Century a Green Century
The world urgently needs a solid Green movement, based on strong Green Parties and an active international young green organization, a movement able to take on governmental responsibility at the national as well as at the international level. This is a condition to create a more socially and environmentally sustainable international order that at the same time is peaceful and democratic and respects the rights of future generations. Greens will do their utmost to work in this direction and to make the 21st century a Green century.
Food is a human right
I am chairperson of the international committe in the Green Party of Sweden. I have read the 21 point programme which was adopted at the congress. It do appreciate that we as early as point 4 emphasize the problem with hunger and starvation, but unfortunately we miss completely the human rights perspective. Food is a human right! But a sad fact is that many governments don´t live up to their obligations to respect, protect and fulfil their citizens right to food as they have promised when they signed the international covenant on economic, social and cultural rights.
I am convinced that the disrespect of many governments of their obligations is one of the most important reasons to why 862 million people, most of them children, are chronically undernourished. Now the number is going up due to the rising food prices and hunger and starvation get more attention, which is good, but where is the strategy, where are the solutions?
If we are going to once and for all, solve the problem of starving children we must have the right to food perspective as our starting point. The governments don´t fulfil their obligations and don´t take on their responsibility. We cant miss this as an important part of the solution.
When you read point 14 om human rights you see very clearly the lack of knowledge even among us. Human rights are not just civil or political! They are also economic, social and cultural, such as food, housing, education, health etc.
In the program we say that we fight for all human rights but we forget half of them. That is very bad!
This is no good strategy to obtain zero hunger or "fome zero" as they say in Brazil. I think the congress missed an oportunitry to start using that visionary word. EGP adopted a resolution on zero hunger in May 2006. You find it in our webpage.
I hope we can correct what is wrong about something so fundamental as Human Rights
I am also chairperson of FIAN Sweden. FIAN is an international organisation with focus on the realization on the right to food.
We could ask their international council to help us sort this out, in order to make our 21 point program better.
More information abot FIAN you can find at www.fian.org