Diaries of a Disgruntled Development Worker

Entry 1: Rio+20

 “I want you to imagine a generation that has been damned. Imagine children deprived of a world without war, imagine a community where human beings are slaves to fellow beings and where disease and hunger are the order of the day. That is the future we warned you of in 92 and that future, is today”. – Major Group for Children and Youth Closing Statement Draft, Rio+20

The Rio+20 Conference, otherwise known as the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), took place in Rio de Janeiro from 13 to 22 June 2012. This ten-day summit ending with a three-day high-level UN Conference sought to be as inclusive as possible, with the UN organizing nine “Major Groups” to participate alongside heads of state and government. The Major Groups were:  Business and Industry, Children and Youth, Farmers, Indigenous Peoples, Local Authorities, NGOs, Scientific and Technological Community, Women, Workers and Trade Unions.  The third of its kind, the UNCSD marked a 20-year follow-up to the 1992 Earth Summit.  Twenty years is a long time, right? We must have had time to get our act together since then, right? Wrong. The UNCSD, in my opinion, was an overwhelming disaster. Here are a few key highlights:

• The Casualties of Consensus

The consensus principle adopted by the United Nations often leads to a slow and futile negotiating process. Let’s recap some of the casualties of consensus, shall we? The elimination of concepts such as “unsustainable consumption and production patterns”, a virtual scrapping of the concept of common but differentiated responsibility, no deadlines or targets established, no sense of urgency and no concrete action plan. Don’t worry though, we “acknowledged” our “deep concern” for the environment, and we “recognized” the need for action. Viva la revolución!

• Same ****, Different Conference

The only concrete and substantial thing to come out of this conference was a reaffirmation of the principles put forth by the 1992 Earth Summit. Yes, we spent millions of US dollars, convened this massive conference, brought together hundreds of people from around the world, only to “reaffirm”. The final agreement adopted basically perpetuated business as usual.

• The Mirage of Multiplicity

Perhaps what is most frustrating in processes such as this is the massive disconnect between perception and reality. Preparation committees and an extensive consultation process is undertaken, giving the illusion that input will be valued and considered. The reality, however, is quite the opposite – as evidenced by the Zero Draft Document delivered in January 2012 that put forth little to no substantive proposals. How can you hope to achieve real change when the foundation upon which you are building is so weak? Thankfully, our lovely government representations did not have to fret. Days before the summit, the host nation of Brazil produced a new nonnegotiable version of the Outcome Statement. Yup, that’s it. Done.

• Civil Society Storm Out

On the second day of the high-level conference, 150 civil society representatives walked out after mounting frustrations at the lack of proactive decisions being made in the negotiations. What added insult to injury, in my eyes, is the UN press announcement following the conference proclaiming that the results of the negotiations were achieved with the full participation of civil society. No mention of the walk out, no mention of the disappointment and disillusionment it signified, and no mention of the outright protest by civil society to everything this document stood for.

• “Sustainability” Say What?!

You’d think a series of conferences solely dealing with sustainability would kind of entail a definition of what the concept is, right? Wrong. The term itself has been the victim of constant reconfiguration. The concept of sustainability proposed in 1992 soon changed into sustainable development, then sustainable growth, and ultimately graced us in 2012 as “sustained growth”. Any thought into the matter would make you realize that “sustained growth” in a planet with finite resources is actually an antonym to sustainability. But hey, who am I to judge? If the UNCSD’s final document confirms the dedication of the international community to sustained growth a whopping 16 times, it must be right!

Rio+20 is a definitive missed opportunity. All the ingredients for success were present. Unfortunately, however, so were all the ingredients for failure. Rio+20 was an excellent forum – bringing together all stakeholders in the debate, including high level government officials and the public alike, serving as a check on past promises made by the international community and providing all the key players a chance to cooperate and take concrete action. However, this was done within the framework of an international system that fails – time and time again – to make any real impact.

Now that my rant is done, and I have sufficiently crushed your spirits, you may be wondering why I chose to write about this now. The reason is simple – there is cause for hope. Granted, Rio+20 was an overwhelming failure in my opinion. However, people have not given up hope. I recently came across a video compiled by representatives of the MGCY regarding Rio+20 and my hope was reignited.

Something To Believe In // MGCY Rio+20 Declaration (ENGLISH) from MACONDO FILM on Vimeo.

This video is a physical representation of the following commitment at the end of the conference:

“We will create global institutions. We will create new paradigms of wealth and prosperity. We will act as the voice for the future generations, one that you so willfully ignored. We will stand united beyond borders and bridge the national interests that divide us. We will implement what you have not. We are moving forward decisively with action. We are not deterred.”

So long as there are youth with such vision and dedication in the world, all is not lost.

WE SAID THIS: Please watch the video and share it. Show others that the same experience can be both a cause for disappointment and hope, failure and success, frustration and optimism. Spread this message of inspiration and action as far and wide as you can.