Menu principale:
THE EARTH
CHARTER
Preamble
written in 1992
"Earth Summit" organized by ONU, in Rio De Janeiro, 3-14th June
1992
1. We are Earth, the people, plants and
animals, rains and oceans, breath of the forest and flow of the sea.
2. We honor Earth as the home of all
living things.
3. We cherish Earth's beauty and diversity
of life.
4. We welcome Earth's ability to renew as
being the basis of all life.
5. We recognize the special place of
Earth's Indigenous Peoples, their territories, their custom and their unique
relationship to Earth.
6. We are appalled at the human suffering,
poverty and damage to Earth caused by inequality of power.
7. We accept a shared responsibility to
protect and restore Earth and to allow wise and equitable use of resources so as
to achieve an ecological balance and a new social, economic and spiritual
values.
8. In all our diversity we are one.
9. Our common home is increasingly
threatened.
10. We thus commit ourselves to the
following principles, noting at all times the particular needs of women,
indigenous peoples, the South, the disabled and all those who are disadvantaged:
Principles
11. We agree to respect, encourage,
protect and restore Earth's ecosystems to ensure biological and cultural
diversity.
12. We recognize our diversity and our
common partnership. We respect all cultures and affirm the rights of all people
to basic environmental needs.
13. Poverty affects us all. We agree to
alter unsustainable patterns of production and consumption to ensure the
eradication of poverty and to end the abuse of Earth. This must include a
recognition of the role of debt and financial flows from the South to the North
and opulence and corruption as primary causes. We shall emphasize and improve
the endogenous capacity for technology creation and development. Attempts to
eradicate poverty should not be a mandate to abuse the environment and attempts
to protect or restore the environment should not ignore basic human needs.
14. We recognize that national barriers do
not generally conform to Earth's ecological realities. National sovereignty does
not mean sanctuary from our collective responsibility to protect and restore
Earth's ecosystems. Trade practices and transnational corporations must not
cause environmental degradation and should be controlled in order to achieve
social justice, equitable trade and solidarity with ecological principles.
15. We reject the build up and use of
military force and the use of economic pressure as means of resolving conflict.
We commit ourselves to pursue genuine peace, which is not merely the absence of
war but includes the eradication of poverty, the promotion of social justice and
economic, spiritual, cultural and ecological wellbeing.
16. We agree to ensure that
decision-making processes and their criteria are clearly defined, transparent,
explicit, accessible and equitable. Those whose decisions or activities may
affect the environment must first prove the absence of harm. Those likely to be
affected, particularly populations in the South and those in subjugation within
existing States, should have free access to information and effectively
participate in the decision-making processes.
17. State, institutions, corporations and
peoples are unequal in their contribution to environmental harm, experience of
ecological degradation and ability to respond to environmental destruction.
While all are responsible for improving environmental quality, those who have
expropriated or consumed the majority of Earth's resources or who continue to do
so must cease such expropriation or reduce such consumption and must bear the
costs of ecological restoration and protection by providing the majority of
financial and technological resources.
18. Women constitute over half of Earth's
human population. They are a powerful source for change. They contribute more
than half the effort to human welfare. Men and women agree that women's status
in decision-making and social processes must equitably reflect their
contribution. We must shift from a society dominated by men to one which more
accurately reflects the valued contributions of men and women to human and
ecological welfare.
19. We have come to realize that the
threats to the biosphere which sustains all life on Earth have increased in
rate, magnitude and scale to such extent that inaction would be negligent. Earth
Charter Action Plan
20. We shall adopt the spirit and
principles of the Earth Charter at the individual level and through concrete
actions within our Non-Governmental Organizations.
21. We will use existing mechanisms and/or
create an international network of the signatories hereto to disseminate the
Earth Charter as principles for action at the local, national and global level.
22. The Earth Charter shall be translated
into all the languages of Earth.
23. We shall commit ourselves to the
preparation of "Objective 1995" by which the United Nations will celebrate its
50th anniversary at which time we want them to adopt this Earth Charter.
24. Non-Governmental Organizations
worldwide shall initiate a combined campaign "We Are Earth" through to 1995 and
the adoption of this Earth Charter by the United Nations.
25. Every individual, organization,
corporation and state shall dedicate a percentage of their operating budget and
their profit as an "Earth Percentage" dedicated to the restoration, protection
and management of Earth's ecosystems and the promotion of equitable development.
26. We call for a second Global Forum to
be held in 1999 to evaluate and reaffirm our commitment to the relationships
made, the accomplishment achieved and the goals sought at this 1992 Global
Forum.
27. We agree to abide by this Earth Charter throughout our lives.