Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development,
Having met at Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992,
Reaffirming the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the
Human
Environment, adopted at Stockholm on 16 June 1972, and seeking to
build upon it,
With the goal of establishing a new and equitable global partnership
through
the creation of new levels of cooperation among States, key sectors of
societies and people,
Working towards international agreements which respect the interests
of all
and protect the integrity of the global environmental and
developmental system,
Recognizing the integral and interdependent nature of the Earth, our
home,
Proclaims that:
Principle 1
Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable
development. They
are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.
Principle 2
States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and
the
principles of international law, the sovereign right to exploit their
own
resources pursuant to their own environmental and developmental
policies, and the
responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or
control do
not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond
the
limits of national
jurisdiction.
Principle 3
The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet
developmental and environmental
needs of present and future generations.
Principle 4
In order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection
shall
constitute an integral part of the development process and cannot be
considered
in isolation from it.
Principle 5
All States and all people shall cooperate in the essential task of
eradicating poverty as an indispensable requirement for sustainable
development, in
order to decrease the disparities in standards of living and
better meet the needs of the majority of the people of the world.
Principle 6
The special situation and needs of developing countries, particularly
the
least developed and those most environmentally vulnerable, shall be
given special
priority. International actions in the field of environment and
development
should also address the interests and needs of all countries.
Principle 7
States shall cooperate in a spirit of global partnership to conserve,
protect
and restore the health and integrity of the Earth's ecosystem. In view
of the
different contributions to global environmental degradation, States
have
common but differentiated responsibilities. The developed countries
acknowledge the responsibility that they bear in the international
pursuit to
sustainable development in view of the pressures their societies place
on the
global environment and of the technologies and financial resources they
command.
Principle 8
To achieve sustainable development and a higher quality of life for all
people, States should reduce and eliminate unsustainable patterns of
production and
consumption and promote appropriate demographic policies.
Principle 9
States should cooperate to strengthen endogenous capacity-building for
sustainable development by
improving scientific understanding through exchanges of scientific and
technological knowledge, and by enhancing the development, adaptation,
diffusion and
transfer of technologies, including new and innovative technologies.
Principle 10
Environmental issues are best handled with participation of all
concerned
citizens, at the relevant level. At the national level, each
individual shall
have appropriate access to information concerning the environment that
is held by
public authorities, including information on hazardous materials and
activities
in their communities, and the opportunity to participate in
decision-making
processes. States shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and
participation by making information widely available. Effective access
to judicial and
administrative proceedings, including redress and remedy, shall be
provided.
Principle 11
States shall enact effective environmental legislation. Environmental
standards, management objectives and priorities should reflect the
environmental and
development context to which they apply. Standards applied by some
countries
may be inappropriate and of unwarranted economic and social cost to
other
countries, in particular developing countries.
Principle 12
States should cooperate to promote a supportive and open international
economic system that would
lead to economic growth and sustainable development in all countries,
to
better address the problems of environmental degradation. Trade policy
measures
for environmental purposes should not constitute a means of arbitrary
or
unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on
international trade.
Unilateral actions to deal with environmental challenges outside the
jurisdiction of the importing country should be avoided. Environmental
measures
addressing transboundary or global environmental problems should, as
far as
possible, be based on an international consensus.
Principle 13
States shall develop national law regarding liability and compensation
for
the victims of pollution and other environmental damage. States shall
also
cooperate in an expeditious and more determined manner to develop
further
international law regarding liability and compensation for adverse
effects of
environmental damage caused by activities within their jurisdiction or
control to areas beyond their jurisdiction.
Principle 14
States should effectively cooperate to discourage or prevent the
relocation
and transfer to other States of any activities and substances that
cause severe
environmental degradation or are found to be harmful to human health.
Principle 15
In order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall
be
widely applied by States according to their capabilities. Where there
are threats
of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty
shall not
be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent
environmental degradation.
Principle 16
National authorities should endeavour to promote the internalization of
environmental costs and the use of economic instruments, taking into
account the
approach that the polluter should, in principle, bear the cost of
pollution,
with due regard to the public interest and without distorting
international trade
and investment.
Principle 17
Environmental impact assessment, as a national instrument, shall be
undertaken for proposed activities that are likely to have a
significant adverse impact
on the environment and are subject to a decision of a competent
national
authority.
Principle 18
States shall immediately notify other States of any natural disasters
or
other emergencies that are likely to produce sudden harmful effects on
the
environment of those States. Every effort shall be made by the
international
community to help States so afflicted.
Principle 19
States shall provide prior and timely notification and relevant
information
to potentially affected States on activities that may have a
significant
adverse transboundary environmental effect and shall consult with
those States at an
early stage and in good faith.
Principle 20
Women have a vital role in environmental management and development.
Their
full participation is therefore essential to achieve sustainable
development.
Principle 21
The creativity, ideals and courage of the youth of the world should be
mobilized to forge a global partnership in order to achieve
sustainable development
and ensure a better future for all.
Principle 22
Indigenous people and their communities and other local communities
have a
vital role in environmental management and development because of their
knowledge and traditional practices. States should recognize and duly
support their
identity, culture and interests and enable their effective
participation in the
achievement of sustainable development.
Principle 23
The environment and natural resources of people under oppression,
domination
and occupation shall be protected.
Principle 24
Warfare is inherently destructive of sustainable development. States
shall
therefore respect
international law providing protection for the environment in times of
armed
conflict and cooperate in its further development, as necessary.
Principle 25
Peace, development and environmental protection are interdependent and
indivisible.
Principle 26
States shall resolve all their environmental disputes peacefully and by
appropriate means in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.
Principle 27
States and people shall cooperate in good faith and in a spirit of
partnership in the fulfilment of the principles embodied in this
Declaration and in the
further development of international law in the field of sustainable
development.
Source: Report of the United Nations Conference on the Human
Environment,
Stockholm, 5-16 June 1972
(United Nations publication, Sales No. E.73.II.A.14 and corrigendum),
chap. I.