WSSD Report on Prep Comm IV in Bali, Indonesia
(May 27-June 7, 2002) |
Overview
The Fourth Preparatory Conference for the World Summit for Sustainable
Development (WSSD) was convened in Bali, Indonesia from May
27 to June 7, 2002. An estimated 6,800 participants attended
the meeting. This was the final preparatory conference before
the World Conference for Sustainable Development (Johannesburg
Summit).
The official conference consisted of multiple segments: negotiation
of an implementation document, multi-stakeholder dialogues,
partnership discussions and the drafting of a political declaration
at the ministerial level. The first week was allocated for continuous
negotiation of implementation documents from Prep Com III and
multi-stakeholder dialogues. The last three days of the conference
were ministerial-level segments in which almost 100 ministers
engaged in interactive dialogue on the elements of the political
declaration. Informal negotiation processes on the implementation
document began from May 24 prior to the official conference
opening on May 27.
ISF participation
Ms. Hiroko Sugimoto, Chief Officer of ISF's New York Center,
represented ISF at the Bali meeting. She attended briefings
for Japanese NGOs and participated as a member of World Council
of Churches/the Ecumenical Team, Energy Caucus, and Asian Caucus.
(See them in the paragraphs below.)
UN Official Meeting
＜WSSD's Two Types of Approaches＞
The organizers of WSSD characterize the most significant
approaches to the World Summit for Sustainable Development as
Type I and Type II. The outcome of the Type I approach will
be two negotiated documents: an Implementation Document and
a Political Declaration. Type II initiatives are called partnerships,
voluntary-based projects initiated by partnerships with public,
private, international agencies and civic society.
The Implementation Document, titled the 'Bali Plan of Action,'
will contain action-oriented programs based on Agenda 21 and
other internationally agreed documents, to serve as indicators
for the next ten years of global sustainable development. The
Political Declaration will be a statement that will be endorsed
by the heads of state during the Johannesburg Summit. The Declaration
will express the broader political spectrum of the international
community's commitment for sustainable development.
Negotiation of Implementation document
＜Background＞
A few weeks prior to Prep Com IV, Dr. Emil Salim, the Chairman
of the Preparatory Committee for the Summit issued a new document
called "Chairman's Text for Negotiation Document,' which
became the starting point for negotiations at the Bali meeting.
At the end of Prep Com III in New York in early April, Dr. Salim
traveled around the world to consult with the major parties
about issuing a new document out of a over 150 pages of compilation
text (amendments and deletions suggested by member states) which
was issued at the end of Prep Com III. 
NGOs' initial comments on "Chairman's Text for Negotiation
Document" were quite critical. Despite his speech of emphasizing
the importance of an "action-oriented document," the
new document mentioned very few targets and timetables for implementation
of programs, some NGOs began to call the Text "Rio minus
ten" rather than "Rio plus ten." The Chairman's
Text and a separate document focused on sustainable development
governance, issued on May 12, were two documents to be negotiated
at the Bali meeting.
＜Negotiation at the Bali Prep
Com＞
As at Prep Com III in New York, the organizers divided the document
into three working groups to accelerate negotiation processes.
In addition to those major working groups, several smaller groups,
called contact groups, were established to discuss contentious
parts of the negotiation documents. Those groups were: Energy,
Ocean, Biodiversity, Finance and Trade, Good Governance, and
Africa.
Despite having started earlier than the official meeting, negotiations
progressed slowly. On many issues, there were disagreements
and little less space for compromise among major countries and
groups. By early in the second week, it was clear to everyone's
eyes that certain issues in the negotiation documents will be
left for heads of state to consider during their political discussions
at the Johannesburg Summit. Those issues mainly deal with time
tables and targets on energy, biodiversity, oceans, water, and
health, finance and trade, and an institutional framework on
sustainable development. The most updated implementation document
is available from the UN official Website:
http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/html/documents/prepcom4.html
"Draft Plan of Implementation on World Summit for Sustainable
Development"
Ministerial Segment and political
declaration
The Ministerial Segment of Prep Com IV began on the morning
of June 5 with Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri's
welcoming speech. For the next three days, about 100 ministers
from all over the world were engaged in interactive dialogue
on private-public partnerships and the draft text of the WSSD
Political Declaration.
During the interactive dialogue, several small island states
vocally congratulated Japan's decision to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
One minister said, "This kind of good initiative should
be welcomed. Global warming is a survival issue for my country.
We do not want to become refugees because of the negative effect
of global warming."
NGO participation
NGO participation in the official process was limited to multi-stakeholder
dialogues during the first three days of official meetings.
Nine major groups defined by the UN had addressed their concerns
and offered their suggestions on 'sustainable development governance',
'capacity building', 'frameworks for partnership initiatives',
and 'future priorities.' Significantly, all major groups requested
that Type II partnerships should not serve as substitutes for
Type I commitments. At the NGO meetings, several NGOs expressed
their doubts regarding the value of holding multi-stakeholder
dialogues, one reason being that very few member state representatives
attended the dialogues as the majority of government delegations
were engaged at the negotiation tables.
Indonesian
People's Forum
In addition to the official Prep Com meetings, Indonesian NGOs
organized an Indonesian People's Forum, which offered a variety
of workshops and presentations, ranging from local fishery issues
to issues on international financing institutions. Other NGOs,
such as a group demonstrating solar cooking near the Amphitheatre
where many local NGOs were situated, promoted their activities
and projects.
NGO delegates were disappointed to hear that government authorities
had deprived Indonesian civil society organizations of their
right to free speech and assembly by stopping their planned
peaceful rally to the Bali International Convention Center (BICC)
through a combination of local militia and police. Many delegates
and NGOs had witnessed a peaceful demonstration organized by
Green Peace International in front of the BICC without any intervention
by authorities. An organizer of the People's Forum contended
that such unfair treatment of Indonesian citizens by her own
government was a form of racism.
Japanese NGOs
About 15 Japanese NGOs participated in the Bali Prep Com. Under
newly assigned WSSD Ambassador to Civil Society Kaoru Ishikawa,
the Japanese government organized frequent NGO briefings to
update information on the negotiations and dialogue sessions
between governments and NGOs. Two side events were organized
by Japanese NGOs: an event on environmental education organized
by OISCA, and an event on the current state of Japanese ODA
sponsored by several NGOs. During the environmental education
event, it was proposed to create a 'United Nations Decade of
Sustainable Development Education.'
Ecumenical
Team
WCC/The Ecumenical Team was active in various segments of Bali
Prep Com, organizing one side event, "Let the Justice Flow,"
concerning the issue of water privatization in developing countries,
as well as a press conference on Global Warming hosted by the
Government of Fiji.
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Report and photograph by
Hiroko Sugimoto, ISF New York Center chief officer |
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