Earth Summit NGO Action Treaties On Sustainable Development June 11,1992

These treaties are meant to be new models for agreements unlike traditional government treaties. NGOs which agree to sign on are committing themselves with the other signatories to take action and work in collaboration with other signatories lo achieve the goal(s) of each treaty. They are not meant to direct others or indicate what should be done by governments or international institutions, but only refer to our own commitments.

PROPOSED TREATY STRUCTURE

1. General Principles: a short set of principles of an ethical nature which NGs agree should guide decision-making and action in this particular area. These should be specific to the issue at hand, while much broader points such as respect for human rights and democratic process, would be developed separately, perhaps by the group dealing with NGO cooperation.

2. Specific agreed action areas: Each should indicate a specific action which will be undertaken by one or more signatories. NGOs will be encouraged to sign on to each action which they can commit to, but will not be forced to agree to all of the actions in total. Therefore disagreements about different approaches can be avoided, as long as the general principles are followed.

3. Coordination and Monitoring: NGO signatories should outline how they plan to carry out their commitment, i.e. how it fits in with their current work plans and how they will coordinate with other signatories to each particular action. This could range from planning to communicate monthly by e-mail, etc. to agreeing to work through an existing coordinating body, etc. NGOs should also set goals in each area and agree how they will monitor or assess their progress over time.

4. Others who should be involved: As no particular meeting can be fully representative of all NGOs, and many key organizations may not be here at this time, please note other key organizations you know of which should be specifically informed and invited to sign on.

5. Resources Committed: Since groups are committing themselves because they are
prepared to include this work in their plans, a sense of the time and funding
commitments being made through their commitment should be given. Also, if
groups agree that they see a need for additional resources for coordination, etc., a
process should be agreed on lo work together to find the needed resources to
achieve the agreed goals.

READ THE NGO ACTION TREATIES

NGO FOOD SECURITY TREATY JUNE 11, 1992

NGO SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE TREATY JUNE 11, 1992