A/HRC/RES/16/11
Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, the Johannesburg Declaration on
Sustainable Development and the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on
Sustainable Development,
Recalling further the principles of the Rio Declaration on Environment and
Development, including Principle 7, which states that States should cooperate in a spirit of
global partnership to conserve, protect and restore the health and integrity of the Earth’s
ecosystem; that in view of the different contributions to global environmental degradation,
States have common but differentiated responsibilities; and that developed countries
acknowledge the responsibility that they bear in the international pursuit of sustainable
development in view of the pressures their societies place on the global environment and of
the technologies and financial resources they command,
Reaffirming that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and
interrelated,
Welcoming the decision to organize, in 2012, the United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and taking note of the invitation of the
General Assembly, in its resolution 64/236 of 24 December 2009, to organizations and
bodies of the United Nations to contribute to the preparatory process for the Conference,
Reaffirming the Millennium Development Goals, including Goal 7, on ensuring
environmental sustainability,
Reaffirming also that good governance, within each country and at the international
level, is essential for sustainable development,
Recognizing that human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable
development, that the right to development must be fulfilled in order to meet the
development and environmental needs of present and future generations equitably, and that
the human person is the central subject of development and should be the active participant
and beneficiary of the right to development,
Taking note of decisions 1/CP.16 and 1/CMP.6 made at the United Nations Climate
Change Conference, held in Cancun, Mexico, in 2010, and in particular the seventh
preambular paragraph and paragraphs 7, 8 and 12 of decision 1/CP.16, and subparagraphs 2
(c) and (d) of appendix I to decision 1/CP.16, and desirous to contribute positively to a
successful outcome of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, to be held in
Durban, South Africa, in 2011,
Noting that sustainable development and the protection of the environment can
contribute to human well-being and the enjoyment of human rights,
Noting, conversely, that environmental damage can have negative implications, both
direct and indirect, for the effective enjoyment of human rights,
Recognizing that, while these implications affect individuals and communities
around the world, environmental damage is felt most acutely by those segments of the
population already in vulnerable situations,
Recognizing also that many forms of environmental damage are transnational in
character and that effective international cooperation to address such damage is important
in order to support national efforts for the realization of human rights,
Reaffirming that human rights obligations and commitments have the potential to
inform and strengthen international, regional and national policymaking in the area of
environmental protection and promoting policy coherence, legitimacy and sustainable
outcomes,
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