FYI
> ----------
> From: Caspar Davis[SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
>
> Dear Friends,
>
> Here is the official release of our CITIZENS' PUBLIC TRUST TREATY. It
> is being circulated world wide in English, Spanish, and French, for
> signature.
>
> Please circulate it and post it anywhere you have not yet seen it.
>
> Caspar Davis
>
> THE CALL:
>
> We call upon the nations of the world to ensure the rights of present and
> future generations to genuine peace, social justice and ecological
> integrity
> by implementing the principles of this Citizens' Public Trust Treaty.
>
> We urge you to support the Treaty by adding your name to the petition,
> by passing it on, and by sending copies to heads of states and
> legislators.
>
> January 1st, 1999
>
> _____________________________
>
>
> WE, THE CITIZENS OF THE WORLD,
>
> DETERMINED
> * to create a world based on true participatory democracy within a
> framework of public trust principles;
>
> * to accept the inherent limits to the Earth's resources and to promote
> the peaceful coexistence of all nations, races, and species;
>
> * to develop a stable and peaceful international society founded on the
> rule of law;
>
> * to prevent the damaging consequences of unprincipled economic growth;
>
> * to ensure that the economy conforms to the limitations of the ecosystem;
>
> RECOGNIZING
> the interdependence of Peace Building, Human Rights, Environmental
> Protection, and Advocacy for Social Justice;
>
> NOTING
> that through more than 50 years of concerted effort, the member states
> of the United Nations have created international Public Trust
> obligations, commitments and expectations:
>
> 1. to Promote and fully guarantee respect for human rights including
> labour
> rights, the right to adequate food, shelter and health care, and
> social justice;
> 2. to Enable socially equitable and environmentally sound development;
> 3. to Achieve a state of peace, justice and security;
> 4. to Create a global structure that respects the rule of law; and
> 5. to Ensure the preservation and protection of the environment, respect
> the inherent worth of nature beyond human purpose, reduce the
> ecological
> footprint and move away from the current model of over-consumptive
> development;
>
> AFFIRMING
> that the freedom from fear and want can be achieved only if conditions
> are created whereby everyone is able to enjoy economic, social and
> cultural rights, as well as civil and political rights
> (Universal Declaration of Human Rights);
>
> AWARE
> that the rule of law and the good-faith implementation of international
> legal principles are the foundation for peace, security, and
> co-operation amongst States (Declaration on Principles of International
> Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in
> Accordance with the Charter of the UN [General Assembly Resolution
> 2625 (XXV)]);
>
> RECALLING
> the obligations of States under the Charter of the United Nations to
> guarantee respect for human rights as set out in the International Bill
> of Rights, and to "prevent the scourge of war";
>
> * the expectations created through the United Nations Universal
> Declaration of Human Rights (1948), now accepted as part of customary
> international law, to guarantee "the inherent dignity and the equal and
> inalienable rights of all members of the human family";
>
> * the obligation undertaken by States in various multilateral treaties on
> human rights, that there must be no discrimination on the following
> grounds:
>
> - race, tribe, or culture;
> - colour, ethnicity, national ethnic or social origin, or language;
> - nationality, place of birth, or nature of residence (refugee or
> - immigrant, migrant worker);
> - gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or
> - form of family;
> - disability or age;
> - religion or conviction, political or other opinion, or
> - class, economic position, or other status;
> (1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the
> 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
> among others);
>
> * the obligations of States to ensure full employment and enjoyment of
> just and favourable conditions of work (1966 Covenant on Economic,
> Social and Cultural Rights);
>
> * the expectation, created by the adoption of the precautionary principle
> as part of customary international law, that where there is a a threat
> of serious environmental damage or of harm to human health, the lack of
> full scientific certainty will not be used as a reason for postponing
> measures to prevent that threat;
>
> * the expectation, created by the adoption of the principle of
> intergenerational equity, that the rights of future generations to an
> ecological heritage will be respected (Convention on the Preservation of
> Cultural and Natural Heritage, 1972);
>
> * that the potential irreversibility of environmental harm gives rise to
> special responsibility to prevent such harm (1994 Draft Declaration of
> Principles of Human Rights and the Environment);
>
> * that respect for human rights, environmental integrity, socially
> equitable and environmentally sound development, and peace are
> interdependent and inseparable (1994 Draft Declaration of Principles
> of Human Rights and the Environment);
>
> * the commitment to prevent activities on the land of indigenous peoples
> that would harm the environment or be culturally inappropriate
> (Agenda 21, 1992);
>
> * the commitment to eliminate the production of weapons of mass
> destruction (UNCHE, 1972);
>
> * the obligations of States to eliminate the indiscriminate use of certain
> conventional weapons (1983 Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on
> the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be
> Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects);
>
> * the diverse obligations incurred through the Framework Convention on
> Climate Change (1992), the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992),
> the Basel Convention on the Transfer of Hazardous Waste, the Vienna
> Convention on the Elimination of the Production and Consumption of Ozone
> Depleting Substances (1985), and other relevant international
> environmental agreements;
>
> * the expectations created through diverse resolutions of the General
> Assembly, commitments made in Conference Action plans, and obligations
> incurred through Conventions:
>
> - to guarantee "the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights
> of all members of the human family",
> - to "prevent the scourge of war",
> - to recognize the "peoples' right to peace",
> - to ensure that "the use of scientific technology should be in peace and
> for the benefits of humanity",
> - to "reduce the military budget and transfer the savings into promoting
> social programs particularly in developing countries",
> - to "ensure social justice and the equitable distribution of resources",
> - to respect "the right to work for equal pay for work of equal value",
> - to "ensure the rights of future generations", and
> - to "respect the inherent worth of nature beyond human purpose";
>
> CONCERNED
> that trade organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and
> Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and trade agreements such as
> the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the proposed
> Multilateral Agreement on Investments (MAI) undermine the UN's work of
> over 50 years in creating obligations, commitments and expectations with
> respect to the matters set out above;
>
> DISMAYED
> by the continued global urgency resulting from the failure of member
> states of the United Nations to discharge their obligations arising from
> conventions, treaties and covenants, to act on commitments made in
> conference action plans, and to fulfill expectations arising from
> General Assembly resolutions.
>
> RECALLING
> the commitment made by all the member states of the United Nations to
> "ensure that corporations including transnational corporations comply
> with national codes, social security laws, and international law,
> including international environmental law" (Platform of Action at the UN
> Conference on Women: Equality, Development and Peace, Beijing, 1995,
> and also in the Habitat II Agenda, Istanbul, 1996);
>
> NOTING
> that December 10, 1998, was the 50th Anniversary of the Universal
> Declaration of Human Rights, and that the year 1999 is the culmination
> of the decade devoted to the furthering of international law;
>
>
> WE CALL UPON THE MEMBER STATES OF THE UNITED NATIONS TO TAKE THE
> FOLLOWING ACTIONS:
>
>
> 1. To discharge the obligations, act on the commitments, and fulfill the
> expectations arising from international Public Trust agreements,
> including:
>
> a. signing and ratifying any existing international conventions,
> treaties, and covenants that have not yet been signed and ratified;
> b. enacting the domestic legislation necessary to implement them or to
> fulfill the legitimate expectations created by General Assembly
> resolutions and declarations; and
> c. acting upon the commitments arising from conference action plans
> such as
> Agenda21 and the Rio Declaration from the United Nations Conference
> on
> Environment and Development (1992);
>
>
> 2. (1) To establish mandatory international standards and regulations
> (MINS), based on international principles and on the highest and
> strongest regulations of member states, harmonizing standards and
> regulations continually upwards with respect to:
>
> a. Promoting and fully guaranteeing respect for human rights including
> labour rights, the right to adequate food, shelter and health
> care, and
> social justice;
> b. Enabling socially equitable and environmentally sound employment;
> c. Achieving a state of peace, justice and security;
> d. Creating a global structure that respects the rule of law; and
> e. Ensuring the preservation and protection of the environment, reducing
> the ecological footprint and moving away from the current model of
> overconsumptive development.
>
>
> 2. (2) to require that all use of natural resources must be in
> accordance with the principles set out in paragraph 2. (1), that all
> users pay a fair rent to the community for the use of those resources,
> and that all public subsidies to activities, individuals or companies
> that do not conform to the principles set out in paragraph 2. (1) be
> immediately discontinued.
>
>
> 3. To demand compensation and reparations from investors or
> corporations, and from administrations that have permitted or assisted
> investors or corporations to degrade the environment, violate
> fundamental human rights, or cause harm to human health, especially
> where those actions occurred in economically poor countries or on the
> lands of indigenous peoples, or in the communities of marginalized
> citizens in either developing or developed countries.
>
>
> 4. To revoke the licences and charters of corporations, including
> transnational corporations, if those corporations have persistently:
>
> a. violated human rights or denied or colluded in denying social justice,
> b. caused unremediated environmental degradation or harm to human health,
> c. disregarded labour rights,
> d. contributed to conflict and war, or
> e. failed to pay compensation for past environmental degradation or
> non-compliance with international agreements.
>
>
> 5. To reduce military budgets by at least 50% and to use the savings:
>
> a. to guarantee:
> - the right to safe and adequate food, which has been not
> genetically altered or irradiated, or grown with pesticides,
> - the right to safe and affordable shelter,
> - the right to universal health care,
> - the right to safe drinking water,
> - the right to a safe environment,
> - the right to education, and
> - the right to peace;
>
> b. to fund socially equitable and environmentally
> sound employment; and
>
> c. to fund education and research free from corporate direction and
> control.
>
>
> 6. To increase funding for United Nations agencies and for
> international, national and regional educational institutions so that
> their missions will not be undermined by corporate direction or control.
> All funding to the United Nations should be dedicated to furthering the
> objectives of international Public Trust law, not vested interest
> economic agreements such as GATT, WTO, MAI, etc. Since
> the Security Council is controlled by the nuclear armed states, the
> Security Council should be disbanded, and a rotational council should
> be selected from the membership of the General Assembly.
>
>
> 7. To develop the criteria for partnership with the United Nations that
> were
> introduced at Habitat II so as to ensure:
>
> i. the exclusion of corporations and
> ii. that no partner has in any way, in any of its activities, violated
> human rights, (including labour rights), caused environmental
> degradation, contributed to war and conflict, or failed to promote
> socially equitable and environmentally sound employment.
>
>
> 8. To distinguish "civil society" from the "market economy" by defining
> civil society as those elements of society whose goals are to guarantee
> human rights, foster justice, protect and conserve the environment,
> prevent war and conflict, and provide for socially equitable and
> environmentally sound employment; and to declare and affirm the
> principle that civil society has a valid and important role to play,
> distinct from the market economy.
>
>
> 9. To prevent the transfer to other states of substances and activities
> that cause environmental degradation or that are harmful to human
> health, as agreed in the Rio Declaration, UNCED, 1992. This prohibition
> must cover activities such as those related to:
>
> a. producing, importing or exporting toxic, hazardous, or (non-medical)
> atomic substances and wastes,
> b. producing or consumping ozone-depleting substances,
> c. extracting resources by environmentally unsound methods,
> d. producing or distributing genetically-engineered food substances and
> genetically modified organisms,
> e. producing or distributing genetically engineered crop/pesticide
> systems, and
> f. creating or increasing dependency on activities or processes which
> contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.
>
>
> 10. (1) To act upon the commitments made at recent United Nations
> Conferences to move away from the over-consumptive model of development,
> to replace the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as an indicator of economic
> well-being with the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), the Criteria of
> Public Trust (CPT) or some other measure which reflects the general
> quality of life rather than gross economic activity.
>
>
> 10. (2) To reduce the ecological footprint, to move away from
> car/truck-dependency, and to reject the dogma that economic growth
> assures well-being.
>
>
> 11. (1) To prohibit all trade zones that have the effect of circumventing
> obligations and commitments intended to guarantee human rights,
> including social justice and labour rights, or to protect, preserve and
> conserve the environment.
>
>
> 11. (2) To phase out all socially inequitable and environmentally
> unsound industries while implementing a fair transition program for
> affected workers and communities.
>
>
> 12. To forgive all debt arising from loans by international bodies such as
> the World Bank and the IMF, and to terminate all structural adjustment
> programs (SAPs) which seek to ensure repayment of such debt at the
> expense of ordinary people, including programs which mandate:
>
> a. the indiscriminate privatization of state-owned enterprises,
> b. the indiscriminate reduction of government expenditures,
> c. the indiscriminate liberalization of trade regimes,
> d. the indiscriminate opening of states to increased foreign investment,
> especially where this entails the attraction of foreign capital by
> deregulating markets, offering low wages, implementing high interest
> rates, or providing little or no environmental protection,
> e. the indiscriminate encouragement to produce goods for export at the
> expense of crops, products or services which serve the needs of
> domestic
> peoples, or
> f. the creation or exacerbation of an imbalance between imports and
> exports.
>
>
> 13. (1) To ensure that no state relaxes environmental, health, human
> rights or labour standards in order to attract industry, and that no
> corporation allows a branch or subsidiary to engage in manufacturing,
> transferring substances, or other practices that are banned, restricted
> or otherwise unacceptable in the controlling corporation's state of
> origin.
>
>
> 13. (2) To ensure that fulfilling a state's obligations under
> international Public Trust Law shall be an absolute defense against
> legal action by any state, corporation, or investor.
>
>
> 13. (3) To expose the extent to which citizens have allowed their
> pension and investment funds to support corporations that have violated
> the public trust, and to urge citizens to invest in the promotion of the
> public trust.
>
>
> 14. To ensure that no state shall engage in trade with a country that
> violates human rights, including labour rights, on the grounds that such
> trade will lead to a betterment of human rights, except where such trade
> is conditional on eliminating human rights abuses.
>
>
> 15. To establish an International Court of Compliance to which citizens
> can bring evidence of state and corporate non-compliance with
> international Public Trust Law, including the duty to:
>
> a. protect and advance human rights, including the right to adequate
> food, shelter and health care, labour rights, and social justice,
> b. protect and conserve the environment,
> c. prevent war and conflict, and
> d. enable socially equitable and environmentally sound employment.
>
>
> 16. To abolish the doctrine of "corporate personality" - the notion that
> corporations are persons and have the rights of ordinary people - and
> thus preventing corporations from invoking the rights proper to
> individuals.
>
>
> 17. To ensure the right of citizens to sue corporate owners and
> officers, in criminal and civil courts, for any violation of human
> rights, including labour rights, for denying social justice, for causing
> serious harm to the environment or to human health, and for contributing
> to suffering and waste through the international arms trade.
>
> _____________________________
>
>
> We believe that the solution to the many problems which inspire the
> creation of this treaty lie in a combination of:
>
> i. adopting regulations which embody Public Trust principles;
> ii. eliminating subsidies which encourage the misallocation of natural
> resources or the violation of international Public Trust principles;
> iii. clarifying the true social and ecological costs of the misallocation
> of natural resources which is caused by the "externalization" of
> those
> costs and the "internalization" of benefits which come from the
> beneficence of nature and should therefore properly accrue to all
> people;
> iv. requiring that the true social and ecological costs be factored into
> the prices of all products and services;
> v. ceasing the waste, suffering and instability caused by the
> international arms trade; and
> vi. encouraging a conscious effort by all people, individually and
> collectively, to reduce the ecological footprint.
>
> _____________________________
>
> RATIONALE
>
> 1999 is the culmination of the decade devoted to the furtherance of
> international law. We have just celebrated the 50th anniversary of the
> Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
>
> When significant anniversaries of the United Nations are celebrated
> there is usually a flurry of congratulatory activity before the
> documents are put back on the shelf. Rights, however, are meaningless
> unless they are actually implemented and enforced.
>
> The Citizens' Public Trust Treaty calls upon member states of the United
> Nations to implement both existing and new international obligations,
> commitments and expectations to ensure the realization of the global
> Public Trust. This treaty will provide an effective means of
> counteracting the process of corporate globalization that threatens to
> undermine over 50 years of international Public Trust agreements.
>
> _____________________________
>
> BACKGROUND
>
> The purpose of this Treaty is to demand that governments (a) stop
> devolving
> their power to corporations and (b) discharge the obligations, act on the
> commitments and fulfill the expectations undertaken through United Nations
> documents and through national and regional agreements. The intention is
> to provide a framework of international law within which local democracy
> can flourish.
>
> Successive drafts of the Treaty have circulated widely for over a year
> and a half. It has evolved with input from many participants via the
> internet and has been translated into Spanish and French. The Treaty was
> sent to each country's UN Mission in New York in 1997 and in 1998 on the
> anniversaries of the United Nations (October 24) and the Universal
> Declaration of Human Rights (December 10).
>
> The proposed Treaty is supported by a body of international documents
> and principles drawn from the commitments, obligations and expectations
> created by the UN system. A full list of the international instruments
> and other documents that have been reviewed for the drafting of this
> Treaty is available on request. The principles embodied in the Treaty
> are further supported by a "Charter of Obligations" prepared by the
> Global Compliance Research Project which lists, in an easy to find
> format, the text of many of the agreements undertaken by Nation States
> over the years.
>
> _____________________________
>
> CONTACTS
>
> Joan Russow (Ph.D.): Co-ordinator, Global Compliance Research Project
> 1230 St. Patrick St. Victoria, B.C. V8S 4Y4 Tel/Fax (250) 598-0071.
> e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> Caspar Davis (LL.B): Advisor, Global Compliance Research Project.
> e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> Paul Swann: Director, London Human Rights Forum.
> e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> Pierre Johnson: French version. e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> Manuel Pérez Rocha: Spanish version. e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> _____________________________
>
> PETITION
>
> There are three ways to sign in support of this treaty:
>
> * via the petition website http://www.gn.apc.org/negreens/cptt.htm
>
> * via e-mail
>
> To sign the petition by e-mail please send a BLANK message to
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> You will receive an e-mail petition form by return.
>
> * via local petitions
>
> To sign by local petition please print and copy the petition form at
> http://www.gn.apc.org/negreens/cptt-pet.htm
> or design your own with three columns for Name - Address - Signature
> and the heading:
>
> We, the undersigned, call upon the nations of the world to ensure
> the rights of present and future generations to genuine peace, social
> justice and ecological integrity by implementing the principles of the
> Citizens' Public Trust Treaty.
>
> Please send signatures to:
> Paul Swann
> 14 Beacon Hill
> LONDON
> N7 9LY
> UK
>
>
> To view the electronic petition and signatories' comments go to:
> http://www.restallnet.demon.co.uk/cptt
>
> To download an .rtf version of the Treaty for hardcopy reproduction go to:
> http://www.isis.aust.com/cptt/sign.htm
>
> For French and Spanish versons go to:
> http://www.coastnet.com/~jrussow/francis.htm
>
> _____________________________
>
> Copyright Global Compliance Research Project (1997, 1998, 1999).
>
> This document may be freely copied and distributed in its entirety.
>
> If you have a website please add a link to the proposed Treaty at
> one of the following sites:
>
> Northern Hemisphere:
> http://www.gn.apc.org/negreens/cptt.htm
>
> Southern Hemisphere:
> http://www.isis.aust.com/cptt
>
> _____________________________
>
> To avoid broken lines and arrows when forwarding
> this email, please copy & paste to a new message.
>
> Thank you !
> _____________________________
>
>
