61st Annual DPI/NGO Conference

Reaffirming Human Rights for All:

The Universal Declaration at 60

Title of Break out Session:

Human Rights, Sustainable Development, and the Earth Charter

Date and time:

Thursday, 4 September 2008 / 4:30 – 6:00pm

Paragraph Description of Breakout Session:

The primary aim of the breakout session is to provide participants with an overview of the Earth Charter and how its vision of global interdependence and universal responsibility complements and supports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the global human rights movement. The breakout session will also focus on the sharing of best-practices regarding the way in which the Earth Charter is used to support grass-roots efforts to address human rights violations and to promote an integrated approach to sustainable development.

Description Phrase:

The breakout session will explore the linkages between the Human Rights and the Sustainable Development movements and the role the Earth Charter can play in advancing these causes.

Questions:

 What is the transition to sustainable development all about and what are its relationships with the Human Rights movement?

 How does the Earth Charter complement and expand the ethical vision in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

 What are some concrete examples of the ways individuals, organizations, and governments have used the Earth Charter to address the challenges of human rights and sustainable development?

Speakers:

Mary Evelyn Tucker, Yale University, The United States

Ruud Lubbers, Former Prime Minister of The Netherlands and Earth Charter Commissioner, Netherlands

Moderator: Johannah Bernstein, Environmental Law and Policy Consulting, Canada

More information at http://www.un.org/dpi/ngosection/conference/workshops.asp