The Earth Charter, as a declaration of fundamental principles for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society for the 21st century, created by the largest global consultation process ever associated with an international declaration, endorsed by thousands of organizations representing millions of individuals, seeks to inspire in all peoples a sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility for the well-being of the human family and the larger living world. The Earth Charter is an expression of hope and a call to help create a global partnership at a critical juncture in history.

As an authoritative synthesis of values, principles, and aspirations that are widely shared by growing numbers of people, the youths of Sierra Leone have accepted and endorsed the Charter as a working and guiding instrument of fundamental principles for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century. We have also sought to inspire in the youths, opinion leaders, community leaders, local government councilors, members of parliament and ministers, specifically the Minister of Youths, a new sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility for the well-being of the human family and the larger living world.

In this regard, the Earth Charter Youth Group in Sierra Leone was initiated and has undertaken the following activities:

• Outreach programs to schools and communities
• Youth leadership training
• Environmental sensitization, education and protection
• Media programs
• Awards
• Networking of affiliate groups

In all of the events of the aforementioned activities, the ECYG Sierra Leone has observed that the expected cooperation from stakeholders has not been forth coming. In fact, it seems as if the stakeholders continue to be oblivious of the Earth Charter and its global implications.

Another significant shortcoming that hinders the efforts of these youth groups is the lack of adequate resources to undertake programs that will improve stake holder participation in the process of adopting the Earth Charter as an instrument of national relevance.

The negligence of stakeholders in facilitating recognition and adoption by the authorities was made clear during a sensitization exercise with ex-combatants at a training center in Freetown. In other events of the ECYG Sierra Leone, the almost non-existent response and non-participation of relevant stakeholders have also been made clear.

It is against these experiences that ECYG-SL is of the opinion that certain external factors need to be explored in order to get stakeholders to be fully committed towards the ratification, adoption and acceptance of the Earth Charter.

There is therefore the need to support ECYG youth groups in facilitating the domestication of the Earth Charter. It is important to facilitate the domestication of the Earth Charter by the community, local government and central government if governments of West Africa, and elsewhere, are going to give the Earth Charter the leverage of importance it deserves, and also to give appropriate support to ECYGs in making the youth mark felt and also ensuring that the Earth Charter becomes incorporated in youth development, especially for a country like Sierra Leone in post war recovery period.

Domestication of the Earth Charter includes consistent lobbying of parliamentarians, local government councilors, ministers of government and all other relevant stake holders. This may involve huge resources and commitment. The latter is sacrosanct while the former should be solicited with the help of international partners. The ECYG Sierra Leone is unflinchingly committed to enhancing the work of the Earth Charter out here in Sierra Leone, but a regional integration will be of a better advantage in ensuring the Charter reflects its global outlook at a regional level.

Also, it would be worthy on the part of fostering youth inclusion and participation if our international partners recommend that third world countries like Sierra Leone will stand to benefit from international financial assistance only after the country has accepted and domesticated the Earth Charter.

It is only after the domestication of the Earth Charter in Sierra Leone, other West African countries and other parts of Africa that the Earth Charter shall become a potent document in fostering its vision of globalization of justice, sustainability, and peace.

This will obviously lay the foundation for political and people-oriented globalization which will eventually engender economic globalization from which the rural poor in Africa will stand to benefit.

Some of the current critics of globalization say that it disadvantages third world and under developed countries with low GDP at the expense of developed and wealthy countries. Thereby, wealthy countries are given an undue advantage that frustrates the overall development of third world countries rather than facilitating economic stabilization and growth.

The principles of the Earth Charter, however, seek to cement the cracks in the globalization process that have been proved inimical to the progress of developing countries.

Consequently, issues such as the arms trade that promotes wars and chaos in Africa will become a thing of the past as globalization will be based on a just and equitable leverage in accordance with the concepts of the Earth Charter.

For Sierra Leone, and other West African countries recuperating from war and violence, this new dimension in the activities of the Earth Charter will surely foster the post war/ post violence reconstruction activities by opening the windows of a kind of globalization that will prove beneficial to Africa and less developed countries rather than promote the interest of the highly developed and industrialized countries.

Indeed there ought to be a renewed concept of globalization: one that promotes peace and facilitates the socio-economic development of the rural and urban poor and largely underdeveloped countries in the world.

Sylvanus Murray
Sierra Leone
ECYG Coordinator
ECYI International Core Group Member