News

Last week, the zero draft document for Rio+20 was released. This is the first version of the document which will be discussed and amended over the coming months, and after revision and addition, hopefully accepted by Member States attending the Rio+20 conference in Brazil, June 2012.

As SI UN Representative Bette Levy reported last week, Rio+20 is a milestone in a series of major UN conferences going back more than 30 years which seek to establish sustainable development as a top international priority. Rio+20 will bring together the UN, governments, international institutions and major ‘thematic’ groups (including Women) to agree on a range of initiatives which protect the environment and reduce poverty whilst promoting economic growth and equitable use of natural resources.

The Rio+20 ‘zero-draft’ document is the product of the many hundreds of submissions from Governments, NGOs and private sector organisations received towards the end of 2011. In total, submissions amounted to more than 6,000 pages which have now be distilled into this 19 page outcome document.

Soroptimist International contributed to the call for submissions through the Women’s Major Stakeholder Group and the DPI NGO conference which took place in Bonn in September 2011. Through working together with like minded organisations, Soroptimist International focussed on the language around gender, lobbying for women to be recognised as particularly important stakeholders in the sustainable development agenda – especially rural women in the Global South.

The document, hopefully titled ‘The Future We Want’, certainly reflects the expectations attached to Rio+20 with an ambitious array of topics, statements and intentions captured. Some commentary has likened it to a ‘shopping list’ for the ideal planet – suggesting the broad range of topics may prove counter productive. However, it is hoped that by including so many topics, therefore touching on many different political and national interests, there is more chance of broad agreement.

Rio+20 and Gender

The role of women as particular stakeholders in sustainable development is recognised (paragraphs 102-104). More specifically, the economic contribution of women, both in and outside of the formal ‘cash’ economy, is recognised as crucial in establishing a sustainable, equitable and green economic model for the future. The inequities which continue to deny women full economic empowerment is acknowledged with concern and identified as something national Governments must work to overcome.

Should this section of the zero draft document be accepted without change, Member States agree to prioritise measures to promote ‘gender equality in all spheres of our societies, including education, employment, ownership of resources, access to justice, political representation, institutional decision making, care giving and household and community management’ (para 103). Soroptimist International welcomes the recognition that sustainable development also requires societies to be socially sustainable and equitable, in addition to economically and environmentally sustainable. For this reason, Soroptimist International strongly supports the Rio+20 definition of ‘sustainable development’ being comprised of three thematic areas: the environment, the economy, and society.

SI welcomes the attention drawn to the contribution of women, small holders and indigenous farmers to global, national and sub-national food security. Soroptimist International is pleased to see that the language of this recommendation, forwarded in part by the Soroptimist International delegation during the DPI NGO conference in Bonn, has been included in this zero-draft document.

Rio+20 and Civil Society

The document does not focus on legally binding agreements. Instead, the circumstances of each country are permitted to guide the response to the outcomes of Rio+20:

“We recognise that each country, respecting specific realities of economic, social and environmental development as well as particular conditions and priorities, will make the appropriate choices” (para 28).

Rather than viewing this as a reason to be pessimistic about the likelihood of radical and swift action as a result of Rio+20, the document sees this as a chance to allow each country to respond as it sees fit, taking into account the particular stage of their economic development and the composition of their economy.

Civil society, in the broadest understanding of the term, is urged to step forward and hold Government to account, leading by example. The document clearly states that “a fundamental prerequisite for the achievement of sustainable development is broad public participation in decision making” (para 17). Citizens must be as invested in a sustainable future as their decision makers, and urge their Governments to make the “appropriate choices” to ensure Rio+20 is not another missed opportunity for global change.

Soroptimist International, as a global network of community level clubs, has a responsibility to speak out in response to their Government’s proposals and to hold their decision makers to account when possible. Present in 124 countries/territories around the world, with a global membership of more than 85,000, Soroptimists have the potential to influence over 60% of the UN member states attending Rio+20.

Soroptimist International will be posting more news relating to Rio+20 over the coming months and we urge you to monitor the response of your Government to both this version of the draft document, and subsequent versions, as we move further down the road to Rio. If you have any questions about Rio+20, or would like to discuss ideas for engaging your local and national decision makers, please contact hq@soroptimistinternational.org.

Related Documents

Click here to read the full Rio+20 Zero Draft Document.

Click here to read the UN press release.

Related articles from Soroptimist International:

SI Attends Rio+20 Second Intersessional Meeting in New York

SIE Attends Rio+20 Preparatory Meeting in Geneva

SI Attends International Women's Forum on Sustainable Development in Beijing

SI Signs Women's Major Group Submission to Rio+20 

SI Additions to the Final DPI/NGO Conference Declaration Accepted 

DPI/NGO Conference: On The Road to Rio