Columnists
Johannesburg Summit: Business As Usual?
> BY JACK FREEMAN
Copyright © 2002 by The Earth Times. All rights reserved

The US and other rich nations are being accused by some nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) here of seeking to ëhijackí the Johannesburg summit to meet their own free-trade agenda. It was the rich countries that, during the preparatory process for the summit, raised objections to sections of the summitís draft document endorsing ëthe principle of common but differentiated responsibilitiesí of the rich and poor countries to protect the global ecosystem. That principle was endorsed by the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro 10 years ago, and it has been hailed by some environmentalists as a key component of sustainability. (President Bushís father, George H. W. Bush, attended the Rio summit as President of the US, but he refused to endorse several of its initiatives.)

Other disputed sections of this summitís text include those that seek to set firm timetables and targets for action on several issues, those dealing with trade and finance, including debt relief, the impact of subsidies, expanding trade opportunities for developing nations, technology transfers and increased official development assistance (ODA).

At a press briefing Sunday afternoon, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, South Africaís Foreign Minister, reported that delegates working over the weekend to resolve their differences about the document prior to the official start of the summit today were "making good progress." She declined, however, to give any specific examples of progress achieved since the last PrepCom, the preparatory conferenceheld in Bali, ended in disarray.

Roughly 25 percent of the text remains in brackets, indicating a lack of consensus on the way it is worded. Dr. Zuma said she would regard the summit a success if it can bring the North and South to work together and create "a plan that will invest in the people of this planet--one that will meet the ëdreams and aspirations of millions of poor people out there."

The rich countriesí opposition to parts of the draft text has inspired protest marches in and around Johannesburg by NGOs and other activists. Dr. Zuma issued a stern warning to such protesters, reminding them that South Africa will tolerate no violation of its laws requiring that protest marchers get permits in advance and not deviate from the marchesí announced routes. "We have to protect the citizens and the property of this country," she said. "We can't allow people to go scaling the walls of nuclear power plants and trying to create problems. No country can allow that." She added that this was "a question of national security" and "this is not a summit for anarchy."

In response to a question from Earthtimes, Nitin Desai, Secretary General of the summit, said he did not think its outcome would be affected by the absence of President Bush, noting that "the United States, throughout the summit process, has been fully engaged." He added that he expects the US to be "actively involved" in the deliberations here as well. (The US delegation in Johannesburg is to be headed by Gen. Colin Powell, the country's Secretary of State.)

Desai said he expects that the document approved by the summit "will be credible in terms of action on the ground." He added that he hopes, by the summit's conclusion on September 5, to be able to go through the document, section by section, and show how the "clear, specific actions" it calls for would benefit specific groups of people in specific parts of the world.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has identified five key areas in which the summit can make a difference. They are water and sanitation, energy, health, agricultural productivity, and biodiversity/ecosystem management.

Summit delegates have already reached consensus on sections of the document dealing with specific actions to be taken in each of those areas, but--as at the Earth Summit in Rio 10 years ago--they are still at odds over how those actions are to be funded.