Pax Romana - ICMICA Asia Pacific Regional Advocacy Workshop on Human Rights and Sustainable Development

Bali, Indonesia
22-28, May 2002

Bali Declaration on Human Rights and Ecologically Sustainable Development in the Various Parts of The Asia Pacific Region

We, over seventy men and women, from eleven country members of Pax Romana-ICMICA[1], met in Bali, Indonesia, from 22 to 28 May 2002 for the Asia Pacific Advocacy Workshop on Human Rights and Sustainable Development in association with the 4th PrepCom of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)[2] from 27 May to 7 June 2002.

We shared our peoples’ concern and struggle for human rights and analysed these issues in Asia Pacific with the help of inputs by experts. We were encouraged by the presence of civil society groups and Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) committed to work with governments and United Nations (UN) Agencies toward the realisation of sustainable development and were inspired by the effect of the local Balinese community initiatives in realising this issue. Our commitment toward strengthening human rights and sustainable development was further strengthened by our reflections on realities of Asia in the light of our Christian faith and other great spiritual traditions of Asia Pacific peoples.

We:

1. welcome the decision of the UN General Assembly at its 55th session to hold the WSSD in Johannesburg in 2002 to take forward the process initiated at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992;
2. recognise that, despite progress in some areas, the principles and objectives of Rio contained in Agenda 21 have not been sufficiently implemented in particular in the Asia Pacific region;
3. assert that the growing influence of the business sector at government and inter-governmental levels demands accountable and legally binding principles to ensure that industry and business incorporate human right and sustainable development principles;
4. express our deep concern at the lack of effective mechanisms for civil society to fully and effectively participate at all levels of sustainable development policies and implementation;

These concerns are best served by an ethical imperative rooted in the sacred dimension of human life. The universe is not so much an aggregate of commodities but rather a community of beings. Normative human values grow from this understanding of the world.

Asia Pacific cultures and religious traditions clearly express such inter-connectedness and inter-dependence in social relations, ethical norms and ritual action. When development is divorced from an ethical imperative and the world is treated merely as a material resource for human use, development becomes unsustainable while cultures and religious traditions rooted in cosmic spirituality are marginalized. We believe human rights are inter-dependant with ecologically sustainable development.

In line with these insights, we seek to discern key areas that need to be rethought in terms of sustainability where social progress, human rights and environmental protection are seen as integral parts of authentic human development for present and future generations.

Issues of sustainable development in Asia

1. The unfettered exploitation of natural resources deprives people of their basic rights to a clean and safe environment.
2. Disregard for preserving biodiversity depletes the renewable processes of the earth and the capacity of future generations to use these resources in sustaining their livelihood.
3. Unequal access to basic necessities and other environmental resources is a strong contributing factor to poverty. Renewable resources diminished by extractive modes of production exacerbate poverty.
4. Financial globalisation leads to unregulated flow of capital and this is inherently unsustainable and may lead to financial crisis. Trade liberalization leads to unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, which inevitably lead to impoverishment of resources that is detrimental to human development.
5. Indigenous and tribal peoples’ rights are integrated with the ecosystem. Acknowledging indigenous people’s rights includes recognising ownership and protection of traditional practices and knowledge.
6. Marginalization of minorities and social repression, especially of women and children, impede any integral realisation of economic, social and cultural rights.
7. Denial of the right to self-determination, politically and resource motivated wars, military dictatorships, inter-religious strife and ethnic conflict damage infrastructure and society’s ability to live a sustainable existence.
8. Undemocratic governments, as in many Asia Pacific countries, lead to violation of human rights and misuse of natural resources. Good governance based on the principles of democracy is a prerequisite for sustainable development.
9. Corruption of all forms based on any unaccountable exercise of power ultimately diminishes the capacity for self-governance and the ability to reform the social structure to be equitable and participatory.

Changes Needed to Achieve Sustainability

1. Governments should develop tools and mechanisms that will enable more effective and efficient preservation of biodiversity and protection of the environment. This includes developing adequate national regulations for pollution prevention and protection of biodiversity and natural resources, allocation of sufficient manpower and resources to ensure enforcement of these regulations, assessing the country’s need and access to new environmentally sound technologies at free of cost and increasing public awareness on environmental issues.
2. Governments, businesses and the international financial institutions must act with integrity and to be genuinely pro-poor, integrating poor people’s human rights and environmental concerns with effective policies and practices. It is imperative to secure for poor people access to financial and natural resources and provide the means by which they can participate in government’s decision on resource allocations.
3. Governments, businesses and inter-governmental institutions such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) must ensure its work programmes are not narrowly focused on market liberalization as the prime and overall objective. Instead, the focus must be on the need for making trade a tool that serves sustainable development, incorporating social, environmental and human rights concerns.
4. The operations of the business sector are not only for their own profits, but also for common good. We call upon the international community to increase accountability and transparency within the corporate sector by legally binding conventions, and to redirect corporations toward behaviour that genuinely serves the common good. This includes building a code of conduct, wherever possible, with affirmative action for the poor.
5. The rights of local communities and indigenous peoples to natural resources are essential. We call for the respect of indigenous peoples’ territories and self-determination as a basic precondition for strengthening the processes of partnership and governance for sustainable development. Indigenous peoples should be guaranteed full and effective participation at all levels of sustainable development institutions, programs and policies, and recognize their prior roles as traditional knowledge bearers.
6. Governments must encourage local level and community-based participatory planning processes, which provide a voice for poor people, particularly women and other marginalized groups. Viable local economies should be promoted to support community-based entrepreneurship and job creation.
7. Communal harmony, involving building and keeping peace, is imperative for sustainable development. Promotion and establishment of people-chosen governments need to be based on participatory democracy, equity, transparency and justice to strengthen good governance.

Vision

There is no sustainable development without human rights, no human rights without an ethical imperative, and no ethical imperative without a deep spiritual appreciation of our interconnected universe. We are aware that such an ethical worldview is fundamentally at odds with the consumerist values of a market-driven economy. This poses new challenges for political structures and human relationships.

As humans we are connected to all of its forms, and are responsible and accountable for the preservation of this bountiless earth that sustains life.

We call upon communities to engage in proactive interfaith and intercultural dialogue to broaden their understanding of how other faiths inform human sustainability through their spirituality and ways of life.

We, members of Pax-Romana ICMICA, commit ourselves to this vision and urge the leadership within the Church and its partner organisations to work with us towards the realization of a model of life that is based on ecologically sustainable development founded upon the principles of human rights.

[1] An international Non Governmental Organization (NGO) in consultative status with United Nations Economic and Social Council and a member of the Conference of International Catholic Organization (ICO).

[2] The WSSD itself will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa from August 26 to September 4, 2002.