Watchdog group to ensure govts respect pledges
Peer pressure, public opinion to be used as weapons
RIO DE JANEIRO — Diplomats attending the Earth Summit have said that they have achieved a broad consensus in favour of setting up a high-level watchdog group to ensure that governments respect the pledges they make here.
The new international body, to be called the Sustainable Development Commission, would rely heavily on evidence gathered by private environmental groups.
It would be modeled on the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva and like it use peer pressure and public opinion to shame countries into following policies that are compatible with environmental preservation.
It would not be empowered to impose fines or other sanctions against offenders.
The commission would also seek to ensure that industrial countries stand by the commitments they give here to supply developing nations with aid and technology to help them meet the costs of conservation measures.
"There is growing acceptance that the follow-up to the Rio summit should be entrusted to a Sustainable Development Commission," said Britain’s environment minister, Mr David Maclean, a leader of the push for the new agency.
"It will be a forum for peer pressure that will identify gaps and problems."
According to a draft document drawn up for adoption by the UN General Assembly, the commission will be charged with monitoring government compliance with Agenda 21, the ambitious plan the summit meeting is preparing for cleaning up the world in the coming century.
It will also monitor compliance with the new conventions against global warming and on preserving the Earth’s biological resources.
The commission is being given a wide-ranging mandate that allows it to check not only the environmental activities of governments but also those of international development agencies like the World Bank, to receive reports from UN bodies and to draw on the expertise of private environmental watchdog organizations as well as industry and the scientific community.
"The commission will have a total picture of follow-up and implementation of Agenda 21," Mr Maclean said.
The General Assembly is to. decide where the commission should be located and how often it should meet.
The draft document stipulates that the commission will have delegates from 53 nations. — NYT.
Lighter side of Rio summit
Portable phones prove to be a new menace
• Delegates are battling a new form of pollution during their meetings — portable phones.
The summit is spread over a large area and several sites, making a cellular telephone a "must" for both journalists and delegates, with Brazilian companies renting out more than 1,500 of the machines for the duration.
But they are proving a menace at summit sessions, not only because of the ringing which can break out at any moment, but also because delegates and journalists do not realize that when they answer their calls, they are shouting because they have one ear plugged into the simultaneous translation equipment. —AFP.
A lot breathing easier because of greenbacks
• The most popular green at the Earth Summit is not on the trees or in the rain forests the negotiators have come to save. It is on the US dollar.
Three days into the environmental conference, greenbacks are on almost everyone’s mind.
Prices at the Rio Centro, the site of the conference, have jumped by 25 per cent. Last week’s US$1 (2,800 cruzeiros) ham and cheese sandwich is this week going for US$1.25.
The price hike does not faze foreign delegations, but has left the Brazilians working here importing sandwiches from home.
"We ought to host one of these summit things every year," said Mr. Maurice Carvalho, 54, part-owner of a Rio steakhouse.
"The money we’re making is making a lot of people breathe easier." — AP, Reuter.
Source : The Straits Times, June 8, 1992
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