Dear Ole,
At 2:09 PM +0100 12/17/98, you wrote:
>According to the Internet, at least the following other
>broadly and globally aiming potential TERMINATORS exist.
[i.e.: 1. Karnataka State Farmers Association, KRRS
The Cremation Monsanto action of KRRS in South India is a
historical big leap forward.
2. Peoples Global Action, PGA
KRRS's Cremation Monsanto action is carried out in the name
of PGA .
3. The anti - MAI groups around the world
4. Alliance for Democracy `s Take Back America campaign
5. The ATTAC association to campaign against the dictatorship
of the financial markets.]
>As the
>list undoubtedly is incomplete, others are invited to
>supplement it on the same premises.
I have 2 suggestions:
1. The World Federalists' campaign fot a democratically elected UN
Parliamentary Assembly, and
2. The Citizens Public Trust Treaty, written by Joan Russow and myself.
A recent draft of the treaty can be found at:
http://www.gn.apc.org/negreens/newcptt.htm
Here is the latest (ands hopefully final) text:
CITIZENS' PUBLIC TRUST TREATY
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this Treaty is to demand that governments stop devolving
their power to corporations, and to call upon governments to discharge the
obligations, act on the commitments and fulfill the
expectations undertaken through United Nations documents and through
national and regional agreements.
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 of 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.
THE CALL
We call upon the nations of the world to ensure the rights of present
and future generations 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, 1998
CITIZENS' PUBLIC TRUST TREATY
(TREATY OF ETHICS, EQUITY AND ECOLOGY)
A PROPOSED United Nations General Assembly Resolution,
to be circulated to governments by their citizens.
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 HALT the consequences of unprincipled economic growth;
RECOGNIZING the Interdependence of Peace, Environmental Protection, and
Human Rights and 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 human rights, environmental integrity, sustainable, 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, is 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) to act upon the commitments arising from conference action plans.
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 paragraph 2. (1) be immediately
discontinued.
3. To demand compensation and reparations from investors or
corporations, and from administrations that have permitted investors
or corporations to, or assisted them in, degrading the environment,
violating fundamental human rights, or causing harm to human health,
especially where those actions occurred:
(a) in developed and developing countries, or
(b) 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) if they fail 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 conditional on and
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 criteria for partnership with the United Nations so as to
ensure the exclusion of corporations and to ensure 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 greenhouse gas emissions.
10. (1) To act upon the commitments made at recent United Nations
Conferences to move away from the overconsumptive 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 economic dogma that maximum
economic growth will resolve the urgency of the global situation.
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 developing-nation debt arising from loans by
international bodies such as the World Bank and the IMF, and to
terminate all structural adjustment programs (SAP's) 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 of producing of 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:
(a) practices that are unacceptable in the controlling corporation's
state of origin,
(b) activities that are banned or restricted in the controlling
corporation's state of origin, or
(c) manufacturing or transferring substances that are banned or
restricted 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 justify 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 expectation to ensure the realization of the global
Public Trust. This treaty will provide an effective means of counteracting
corporate globalization that threatens to undermine over 50 years of
international Public Trust agreements.
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
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Manuel Pérez Rocha
Spanish version
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are two ways to sign in support of this treaty:
- via one of the several websites on which the Treaty has been published
- via email.
To sign by email please send a message to (DAVE RESTALL TO
SUPPLY THE DETAILS)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* To avoid broken lines and arrows when forwarding,
please copy & paste to a new message *
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
