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 extensive discussion and aims to awaken in people the responsibility for the future of humanity.
General concept
The Earth Charter is addressed to every person with the aim of evoking in him a new feeling - a sense of mutual dependence and common responsibility for all living things, for the well-being of all people and future generations. It contains a call for the establishment of universal cooperation by mankind, as a critical moment has come in our history.
The Charter proclaims that the protection of realities such as the environment, human development and peace, human rights are interdependent and indivisible. She tries to reveal a new point of view on the solution of these issues. To promote this document, a special organization has been formed, the name of which is the “InitiativeEarth Charter. 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. At that time, the UN commission dealing with environment and development proposed to draw up a new Earth Charter with the formulation of fundamental principles relating to sustainable development. The need for its adoption was insisted by Secretary General Boutros-Ghali at the summit in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro. But it was concluded that so far such a document is not timely.
Maurice Strong, who chaired the Earth Summit in 1994, and M. Gorbachev, through the organizations that were founded by each of them (we are talking about the Earth Council and the Green Cross International), once again launched the charter as an initiative civil society. Assistance in this was provided by the government of the Netherlands.
Creation
The creation of the text was accompanied by a worldwide discussion that 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 build consensus on values as well as principles for a sustainable future.
The final version of the Earth Charter document was approved at a commission meeting held in Paris, at UNESCO Headquarters, 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 the QueenBeatrix.
The document contains about 2.4 thousand words and several sections. This is:
- Preamble.
- Basic principles, of which there are 16 in total.
- Auxiliary principles in the amount of 61.
- Conclusion titled "The Way Forward".
A set of fundamental principles
Their essence is as follows:
- Respect and care for the Earth, living community, love and understanding.
- Building democratic communities that are fair, cooperative, peaceful and sustainable.
- Preserving the beauty and we alth of the Earth for the present and future.
- Protect the integrity of the Earth's ecosystems, paying special attention to life-sustaining natural processes and biodiversity.
- Using a 'prevention of harm' strategy as the best way to protect the environment, and when information is scarce, a 'precautionary' strategy.
- Application of ways of production, consumption, reproduction that preserve the regenerative capabilities of the Earth, as well as the well-being of communities and human rights.
- Development of research related to environmental sustainability.
- Establishing an open exchange of information and putting it into practice.
In conclusion, it should be noted that the reviewed document also touches upon such issues as social and economic justice, peace, non-violence, and democracy. In the Earth Charter and education, and equality between the sexes, and opportunities for economic prosperity, andgreat attention is paid to he althcare.
