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RIO DECLARATION ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development,
Having met at Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992,
Reaffirming the Declaration of the United Nations Conference
on the Human Environment, adopted at Stockholm on 16 June
1972, and
seeking to build upon it,
With the goal of establishing a new
and equitable global partnership through the creation of new
levels of cooperation among States,
key sectors of societies and people,
Working towards international
agreements which respect the interests of all and protect the
integrity of the global environmental
and developmental system,
Recognizing the integral and interdependent nature of the Earth, our home,
Proclaims that:
Principle 1
Human beings are at the center of concerns for sustainable development.
They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony
with nature.
Principle 2
States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations
and the principles of international law, the sovereign right
to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental
and developmental policies, and the responsibility to ensure
that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause
damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond
the limits of national jurisdiction.
Principle 3
The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet
developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations.
Principle 4
In order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection
shall constitute an integral part of the development process
and cannot be considered in isolation from it.
Principle 5
All States and all people shall cooperate in the essential task
of eradicating poverty as an indispensable requirement for sustainable
development, in order to decrease the disparities in standards
of living and better meet the needs of the majority of the people
of the world.
Principle 6
The special situation and needs of developing countries, particularly
the least developed and those most environmentally vulnerable,
shall be given special priority. International actions in the
field of environment and development should also address the
interests and needs of all countries.
Principle 7
States shall cooperate in a spirit of global partnership to conserve,
protect and restore the health and integrity of the Earth's ecosystem.
In view of the different contributions to global environmental
degradation, States have common but differentiated responsibilities.
The developed countries acknowledge the responsibility that they
bear in the international pursuit to sustainable development
in view of the pressures their societies place on the global
environment and of the technologies and financial resources they command.
Principle 8
To achieve sustainable development and a higher quality of life
for all people, States should reduce and eliminate unsustainable
patterns of production and consumption and promote appropriate
demographic policies.
Principle 9
States should cooperate to strengthen endogenous capacity building
for sustainable development by improving scientific understanding
through exchanges of scientific and technological knowledge,
and by enhancing the development, adaptation, diffusion and transfer
of technologies, including new and innovative technologies.
Principle 10
Environmental issues are best handled with participation of all
concerned citizens, at the relevant level. At the national level,
each individual shall have appropriate access to information
concerning the environment that is held by public authorities,
including information on hazardous materials and activities in
their communities, and the opportunity to participate in decision-making
processes. States shall facilitate and encourage public awareness
and participation by making information widely available. Effective
access to judicial and administrative proceedings, including
redress and remedy, shall be provided.
Principle 11
States shall enact effective environmental legislation. Environmental
standards, management objectives and priorities should reflect
the environmental and development context to which they apply.
Standards applied by some countries may be inappropriate and
of unwarranted economic and social cost to other countries, in
particular developing countries.
Principle 12
States should cooperate to promote a supportive and open international
economic system that would lead to economic growth and sustainable
development in all countries, to better address the problems of
environmental degradation. Trade policy measures for environmental
purposes should not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable
discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade.
Unilateral actions to deal with environmental challenges outside
the jurisdiction of the importing country should be avoided. Environmental
measures addressing transboundary or global environmental problems
should, as far as possible, be based on an international consensus.
Principle 13
States shall develop national law regarding liability and compensation
for the victims of pollution and other environmental damage.
States shall also cooperate in an expeditious and more determined
manner to develop further international law regarding liability
and compensation for adverse effects of environmental damage
caused by activities within their jurisdiction or control to
areas beyond their jurisdiction.
Principle 14
States should effectively cooperate to discourage or prevent he
relocation and transfer to other States of any activities and substances
that cause severe environmental degradation or are found to be
harmful to human health.
Principle 15
In order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach
shall be widely applied by States according to their capabilities.
Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack
of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for
postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.
Principle 16
National authorities should endeavor to promote the internalization
of environmental costs and the use of economic instruments, taking
into account the approach that the polluter should, in principle,
bear the cost of pollution, with due regard to the public interest
and without distorting international trade and investment.
Principle 17
Environmental impact assessment, as a national instrument, shall
be undertaken for proposed activities that are likely to have
a significant adverse impact on the environment and are subject
to a decision of a competent national authority.
Principle 18
States shall immediately notify other States of any natural disasters
or other emergencies that are likely to produce sudden harmful
effects on the environment of those States. Every effort shall
be made by the international community to help States so afflicted.
Principle 19
States shall provide prior and timely notification and relevant
information to potentially affected States on activities that
may have a significant adverse transboundary environmental effect
and shall consult with those States at an early stage and in
good faith.
Principle 20
Women have a vital role in environmental management and development.
Their full participation is therefore essential to achieve sustainable
development.
Principle 21
The creativity, ideals and courage of the youth of the world should
be mobilized to forge a global partnership in order to achieve
sustainable development and ensure a better future for all.
Principle 22
Indigenous people and their communities and other local communities
have a vital role in environmental management and development
because of their knowledge and traditional practices. States
should recognize and duly support their identity, culture and
interests and enable their effective participation in the achievement
of sustainable development.
Principle 23
The environment and natural resources of people under oppression,
domination and occupation shall be protected.
Principle 24
Warfare is inherently destructive of sustainable development. States
shall therefore respect international law providing protection
for the environment in times of armed conflict and cooperate in
its further development, as necessary.
Principle 25
Peace, development and environmental protection are interdependent
and indivisible.
Principle 26
States shall resolve all their environmental disputes peacefully
and by appropriate means in accordance with the Charter of the
United Nations.
Principle 27
States and people shall cooperate in good faith and in a spirit
of partnership in the fulfillment of the principles embodied in
this Declaration and in the further development of international
law in the field of sustainable development.
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