Home NGOs Home  Other “Voice” Sources 

Peter Willetts, Emeritus Professor of Global Politics

Primary Sources for The Voice of Which People?

 

Declaration for Bali

By South African Civil Society major groups in the Civil Society Forum
Gathered at Devonshire Hotel, Braamfontein, 17-19 May 2002

This web page from the South African Civil Society Secretariat website www.worldsummit.org.za/policies/balidecl.html, as of 8 August 2002, is no longer available from its original source. It has been copy-edited by Peter Willetts making minor lay-out changes.

    A. OVERVIEW

    1. The non-sustainability and bankruptcy of the ruling world order is evident. The need for alternatives has never been stronger.
    2. The impact of market deregulation has reduced the state’s role in the economy and state power is increasingly weakened by unaccountable corporate powers. In the process, justice, rights, democracy and the environment continue to be undermined. The divide between rich and poor becomes ever wider and the exclusion and disaffection of people ever stronger.
    3. We note that elite groups are able to set their own agendas and further their own interests by using violence and oppression.
    4. Justice, peace and sustainability are indivisible. Without a sustainable and just sharing of the earth’s resources there is no justice. Without justice there can be no peace. Sustainable development must place people at the center and include addressing environmental, political, military and socio-cultural systems and structures as well as relationships between people and groups, behaviours and attitudes.
    5. Economic development must be integrated with social, environmental and health rights.
    6. The implementation of the WSSD outcomes need to put the poorest people at the centre of sustainable development. Therefore any development programme must include the full participation of people for whom the programme is intended. Local and national planning and decision-making should take priority over global policy processes and implementation.
    7. Sustainable development requires the equalization of opportunities for and equal participation by all marginalized groups including disabled, youth, children, women and rural communities. To this end, resources must be allocated to provide barrier free access to all services, facilities, programmes and other activities that are generally available or created for society as a whole.
    8. Women shall have equality in terms of their rights, their access to natural resources and their ability to participate and to have a voice in all decision-making processes especially with regard to natural resources.
    9. The priority of production is to meet the needs of the people.
    10. Basic services are not to be commodified. The public sector must be the provider of basic services. Free lifeline tariffs for basic services need to be implemented within a rising block tariff system that, and address the basic needs of all.
    11. We strongly object to the coerced drive towards the privatization of basic services led by the international financial organizations. We reject privatization being used as a conditionality for international funding.
    12. We call for the unconditional cancellation of the debt of governments in the South and the payment of the ecological debt, including measures to address reparations to victims of colonialism. We call for redress mechanisms including direct reparations for victims of colonialism.
    13. We call for equal access to technological advances in urban and rural areas in developing countries, particularly in relation to the digital divide.
    14. Information, education, training and awareness must be targeted towards the primary beneficiaries of sustainable development and in particular targeted in appropriate local languages.
    15. Traditional knowledge must be recognized by all governments, international financial institutions and civil society. The role of local natural resource managers, especially women, should be recognized.
    16. A compliance and enforcement mechanism for the implementation of existing and new Multilateral Environmental Agreements must be developed.
    17. We call on developed countries to meet the target of contributing 0.7% of their GDP to Official Development Assistance.
    18. We call on developed countries to provide new and additional financial resources to implement the recommendations contained in this declaration.

      19. B. ACCESS TO INFORMATION, DECISION MAKING AND JUSTICE

    19. Development should be integrated with a human rights framework.
    20. Public consultation processes should lead to access into the decision making process by local communities and civil society organizations.
    21. We endorse the principles behind the Access Initiative, which calls for the full implementation of principle 10 of the Rio Declaration.
    22. Governments and private bodies should ensure that they adopt the "right-to-know" approach where as much information as possible pertaining to sustainability and the environment is distributed as widely as possible.
    23. Governments and development agencies should reaffirm their commitment to the implementation of the Principles of Agenda 21, which has faltered due to the demands of globalization.
    24. Local authorities should integrate the principles of Agenda 21 with their Integrated Development Plans.
    25. Civil Society Organizations should engage governments to provide a legal and institutional framework for local strategies for sustainable development. These should in turn be fed into the National Strategy for Sustainable Development.
    26. Multilateral institutions should ensure that legislation aimed at providing access to information, and administrative justice, is informed by universally adopted principles and guidelines. Mechanisms should be put into place to provide access to justice for all, especially to indigenous people, women, youth and disabled people.

      27. C. HEALTH

    27. Access to basic services, including water, sanitation, energy, health services, housing and education are the foundations upon which health and wellbeing are built.
    28. There is a need to increase the availability of medicines and measures to prevent the transmission of HIV/Aids. We call on pharmaceutical companies to redirect at least 50% of research funds to build the capacity of people living with HIV/Aids and the directly affected.
    29. We object to the fact that patent rights and trade related intellectual property rights protect profits rather than provide health care for all.
    30. We acknowledge the contribution of traditional medicines and practices to health care, and urge its recognition by other parties.

      31. D. WOMEN

    31. We recognize that women are fundamental to sustaining communities. Women are particularly vulnerable. They have high rates of HIV infection, women are infected earlier than men, they become ill earlier than men and they carry the major burden of caring for the sick and the dying. The major contributing factors are their economic marginalization, biological vulnerability, their exposure to coercive sex and to a generally aggressive masculinity.
    32. Gender inequality in the context of the HIV/Aids pandemic is fatal. We welcome the South African government’s agreement to make anti-retrovirals available to women who have been raped.
    33. We support the rapid extension of anti-retrovirals together with care, to all people living with HIV/Aids.
    34. The key issues for women are access to comprehensive health care and reproductive and sexual health services that fully and effectively meet their needs. Women need access to services and measures to reduce maternal mortality and pre- and post-natal complications. Women need autonomy to make decision about their own lives including decision about their sexuality.
    35. We call for investment into women’s unique diseases such as cancer of the cervix and the breast, which do not receive the necessary support, funding and comprehensive care they require.
    36. We call for special care and resources for older women who are at risk of osteoporosis.
    37. Women’s right to respect for the integrity and security of their own bodies is a fundamental necessity for women’s wellbeing.
    38. Women spend many hours each day securing natural resources such as firewood for energy and water. These needs are barely met in degraded environments.
    39. Women and children are the main victims in every situation of conflict. They need special protection when they are displaced.
    40. Women as the main caretakers of society need adequate resources to cope with this additional burden. They need assistance with child-care.

      41. F. CHILDREN

    41. With reference to the designated major groups in Agenda 21, we declare that is not possible for the needs, realities and issues facing children to be subsumed in the sector of women and youth. We therefore call for the establishment of a new sector for children that will create a platform for children to voice their visions and concerns. Of special concern are the core issues of the UN Convention on the Rights of Children (1989).
    42. Taking due account of the traditions and cultural values of each person, we call for the provision of support and assistance to families so that a family can uphold its responsibilities for the survival, protection and harmonious development of children.
    43. Noting with concern the increasingly high levels of criminal injustice against children, we call for adequate protection of children to halt these acts of sexual assault, trafficking, abduction, genital mutilation, muti killings, and other such prevalent occurrences.
    44. We call for children’s participation to be facilitated in the WSSD process and in the subsequent rollout of commitment between this and the next Summit, so as to empower children as significant person within society who are able to impact on the success of initiatives that affect their lives.
    45. Acknowledging the social, economic and environmental realities of children orphaned by the HIV/Aids pandemic, we call for a multi-sectoral approach to creating mechanisms that consistently integrate orphans into society, so that they are able to develop as empowered citizens, their human dignity intact.

      46. E. WATER

    46. Water is fundamentally a social and ecological good essential for the health and well being of humanity and the environment. Access to water and sanitation is therefore a basic need and a fundamental human right.
    47. We call for access to water for productive use by the rural and urban poor which is essential for sustainable livelihoods at the household level.
    48. We call for universal access to free water resources with at least 50 liter per person per day.
    49. We reject cost recovery as a basis for effective water programmes. We call for a progressive and redistributive tariff system.
    50. We reject private/public partnerships in the delivery of services.
    51. People must be part of the delivery process of basic needs. We demand gender equity and the empowerment of marginalized groups in the decision making and the management of water.
    52. We call for mechanisms for skills transfer and capacity building in the water sector.
    53. We urge all people to maintain and restore the ecological integrity of river systems and to ensure the environmental, social and economic integrity of all service delivery programmes and projects.
    54. We call for integrated water catchment management and wetlands protection.
    55. We call for the prioritization of small-scale, decentralized options rather than large projects such as large dams.
    56. In ensuring the equitable and just management and delivery of water services, the following needs to be ensured: People affected by decisions must be part of the decision making process; There must be clear lines of accountability by services providers to those they serve; There must be skills transfer and development; Gender sensitivity with bias in favour of women should be ensured.
    57. We understand the nexus between water, sanitation and health with poor water quantity and quality leading to infant mortality, cholera outbreaks and diarrhea, as well as worsening the quality of life of those living with and orphaned by HIV/Aids.
    58. We call on all people to ensure the conservation of remaining indigenous forests, mountains and grasslands.

      59. F. FOOD SECURITY

    59. The implementation of organic farming must be linked to social and economic development, and the empowerment of women.
    60. We call for legislation that ensures humane treatment of all farm animals. This includes legislation related to growth hormones, anti-biotics and other harmful additives. Processing of food must be localized and free of harmful additives.
    61. We call for irrigation and cultivation methods that minimize loss of water by evaporation, and which prevent soil degradation by salinisation and erosion. Degraded land must be restored to fertility.
    62. National and local food and seed sovereignty need to be under the control of communities and government. Indigenous knowledge and methods of agricultural production must be respected.
    63. We call for the implementation of the precautionary principle and a moratorium on the use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).
    64. We call for effective land redistribution to the poor.
    65. We propose a ceiling on private land ownership.

      66. G. BIODIVERSITY

    66. We call for the creation of a global mechanism to finance and enforce all conventions related to biodiversity.
    67. We call for the protection of biodiversity and measures to combat climate change and desertification with penalty provisions at both national and global level.
    68. We call for an end to the destruction and overharvesting of biological resources.
    69. We call for an end to the introduction of toxic substances into the earth or water.
    70. We call for mechanisms to control and abolish the introduction of alien invasive species.
    71. There should be no patenting of life forms.
    72. We commit ourselves to promoting environmental awareness and education in all sectors of communities.
    73. We call for the ratification, implementation and monitoring of the Biosafety Protocol and the POPs Convention.
    74. We call for clear targets, sufficient funding and political will for the implementation of the Convention to Combat Desertification.

      75. H. OCEANS

    75. We call on all governments and international institutions to address the inequitable distribution of global rights to fishing which now marginalizes communities.
    76. We call for the coordination of international marine laws.
    77. We support measures that limit and eliminate the degradation of river mouths and estuaries.
    78. We call for a convention on the high seas.
    79. We call for effective control of mining and oil extraction along coastlines, followed by rehabilitation.
    80. We call for a global convention on illegal, unregulated, unreported fishing. We reaffirm the right of communities to subsistence fishing.
    81. In pursuit of the twin goals of sustainable access to energy and reduction of the adverse social and ecological impacts of energy service delivery, we call for:
    82. adoption and commitment to national, regional and global targets for achieving sustainable access to energy, including:
    83. a universal commitment to reduce by half the number of people without sustainable access to locally appropriate energy services by 2012;
    84. a commitment by industrialized nations (OECD) and transnational corporations to support provision of free basic electricity supply in developing countries or communities;
    85. adoption of national, regional and global energy efficiency targets and commitment to introducing sector specific standards including:
    86. a universal commitment to a four-fold increase in energy efficiency for all economies, national and transnational, relative to year 2000 baselines, by 2012;
    87. development of per capita fuel efficiency targets and reporting of energy use and efficiency trends for particular population groups, to raise awareness of individual impacts, particularly among the affluent, and encourage behavioural change and more responsible purchasing;
    88. adoption and/or commitment to national, regional and global targets for the deployment of renewable energy technologies, with differentiated targets according to development status, affluence and impact on regional and global environment, including:
    89. an OECD commitment to achieve 10% of primary energy supply from renewable sources by 2010 and 25% by 2020;
    90. a South African commitment to achieve 10% of electricity generation by renewable energy technologies (RETs) by 2012 and 20% by 2020.
    91. We call for an integrated approach to energy supply, where all existing hydrocarbon, biomass, wind and solar sources need to be developed equally along with measures to enhance energy efficiency and energy conservation in every sphere of the economy: public, private and household.
    92. Nuclear power is not to be considered as an option for future energy generation.

      93. J. TRADE AND AFRICA

    93. We commit ourselves to building a mass movement for the reconstruction and development of Africa.
    94. We acknowledge the importance of a continental vision and we will initiate a mass process of consultation and participation in the further development of this vision. This process should serve to reverse the legacy of colonialism, apartheid and the current neo-liberal agenda for sustainable development in Africa.
    95. We oppose the role of the Bretton Woods institutions in the implementation of this African vision.
    96. We call for people’s global solidarity opposed to capitalist globalization. The goal of people’s solidarity is to eliminate the wealth/poverty gap between and amongst people and nations.
    97. We call for the abolishment of the Security Council and in particular the veto rights of some nations. The UN General Assembly can then constitute a subcommittee to deal with peace and security.
    98. All international financial and economic institutions should be accountable and subjected to the UN process. We call for the closing down of the WTO, the World Bank and the IMF.

      99. K. CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILTY

    99. We call for a convention on Corporate Accountability to hold transnational companies accountable to people and not just their shareholders.

      100. L. PARTNERSHIPS

    100. We support the statement made by Minister Valli Moosa on the 9 April 2002 in the following way:
    101. There should be a strong, formal link between the partnerships and the corporate accountability/corporate social responsibility process;
    102. Partnerships must be based on contracts that respect and adhere to environmental and social laws, goals and targets.
    103. The WSSD outcomes must be action orientated. They should change the power relationships between North and South. They must be clearly anchored in the political commitments made by the heads of state. They should result in people centred partnerships.
    104. The implementation process should include monitoring and evaluation and should have milestones and success indicators. Information dissemination should lead to education, awareness, and access to knowledge of these partnerships.
    105. Partnerships must be real and effective. They should address job creation, poverty eradication and HIV/Aids. They should address the need for education to all designated groups especially in addressing illiteracy. They should facilitate training to all designated groups, so as to contribute to the economy. They should mobilize resources. They should focus on rural areas. They should lead to equity.
    106. For effective co-ordination there should be shared infrastructure for information dissemination and sharing of past successes, best practice and pooling of resources, creating an enabling environment for inputs into partnerships.
    107. Implementation processes should generate opportunities for active citizenship in all sectors, e.g. through volunteer opportunities that lead to economic and social growth and empowerment of the individual.
    108. Civil society should be strengthened through funding, and partnerships should strengthen access to additional UN funds.

      109. M. POLLUTION

    109. Integrated pollution control policy approaches must be developed at all levels.
    110. We call for the enforcement of the polluter pays principle.
    111. We call for incentives for recycling and waste management projects by community structures.
    112. We call for strict adherence to an industrial production investment code on waste and pollution management.
    113. A zero waste management strategy should be supported.
    114. Abolish the export of waste from North to South.
    115. Abolish the practice of generating energy through the incineration of waste.

      116. N. MINING

    116. Where mining and sustainable development regulations do not exist, these should be introduced.
    117. Existing regulations should be immediately implemented. To this effect both national and international mechanisms should be put in place.
    118. We call on government to appoint mining ombudspersons both at the national and international level.
    119. We call for a moratorium and phasing out of asbestos mining, the rehabilitation of asbestos mines and waste sites, and a moratorium on the use of asbestos products.
    120. The mining and oil extraction industries have an ecological debt that must be settled.

      121. O. PEACE

    121. Sustainable development should be rooted in an understanding that violence damages the environment, absorbs scarce resources and militates against sustainable development.
    122. We note with concern the intensified militarization of global political and economic affairs and refusal by superpowers to comply with the international conventions on the reduction, use or production of nuclear weapons.
    123. We call for the prioritization of social spending over spending on arms.
    124. We call for the suspension of the arms trade.
    125. We call for the enforcement of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
    126. We call for control over the use and production of chemical weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, and the strengthening and enforcement of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
    127. We call for a new dialogue, acknowledging the failures of the present approaches to development, security, justice and peace.
    128. We call for a paradigm shift towards more creative problem-solving and problem analysis of the causes of socio-economic and political conflicts and environmental injustice.
    129. Largely it has been civilians â€" women and children â€" who have suffered directly from the violence of civil and international war. The displacement of millions of people, fleeing from violence, has created pockets of humanity living in conditions which neither they themselves nor the surrounding environment can sustain.
    130. We call for the discussion of the refugee issue at the World Summit on Sustainable Development. We call on the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to live up to its mandate to defend, protect and advance the rights of refugees.
    131. We call on all African governments to implement the African Charter on People and Human Rights.

      132. Q. ADDENDUM: Resolution on Land

    132. Noting that in South Africa less than 2% of arable land has been reformed since 1994, in part because of the government’s willing-buyer, willing-seller policies and because of property rights; ownership of and access to land is highly contested by all social forces; productive land is critical for the realization of food security; land ownership in South Africa is highly political given the history of land dispossession, theft and forced removals; land is the basis of all terrestrial economic, social and environmental activity;
    133. We therefore resolve: to campaign for the speeding up of the land reform process; to campaign against government’s willing-seller, willing-buyer policies and market driven reform; to campaign for the removal of the property rights clause that sanctifies the historical ownership of land; to campaign for government recognition and support for communal ownership mechanisms in the land reform process.
    134. We call for the protection and expansion of commonage land as a mechanism of ensuring poor communities access to land.
    135. We call on government to outlaw absentee landlordism and introduce a progressive land tax on large landowners.
    136. We call on government to impose a moratorium on land ownership by multinational companies.
    137. We call on government to provide basic infrastructure for productive utilization of land by communities.
    138. We call for an agreed percentage of land restitution and restoration processes to benefit women.