Preliminary Comments on the Chairman’s Paper dated 9 May 2002 Fourth Session of the Preparatory Committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development

This briefing from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) provides preliminary comments and proposed textual amendments to the Chairman's Paper dated 9 May 2002 for the Fourth Session of the Preparatory Committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development. CIEL argues that while the draft has improved, it still lacks critical protections for human rights, community-based property rights, and rigorous regulation of biotechnology, and it fails to sufficiently address the risks associated with intellectual property rights and the liberalization of trade in services.

• CIEL recommends that the Chairman's paper explicitly recognize human rights as both a tool and a goal of sustainable development, noting that human rights are currently absent from Sections I-IX. They advocate for a "rights-based approach" to protect the rights to health, life, and an adequate standard of living.
• The document suggests replacing the term "tenure" with "community-based property rights (CBPRs)" to better secure legal recognition for indigenous and other local communities. CIEL argues that "rights" is a more legally understood concept than "tenure" for the half of humanity dependent on rural natural resources.
• CIEL expresses concern that current multilateral, regional, and bilateral intellectual property agreements promote overly strong rights that benefit producers in the North at the expense of users in the South. They argue this trend may hinder the transfer and dissemination of technology necessary for sustainable development.
• The briefing highlights a significant gap regarding biotechnology, which is barely mentioned in the draft. CIEL warns that biotechnology carries risks of "irreversible and serious harm," including the creation of invasive species and massive changes to global flora and fauna, and calls for comprehensive national regulation and international laws to manage its movement.
• CIEL proposes that export credit agencies (ECAs) should take a leadership role in sustainable development by adopting binding international guidelines. Specifically, they suggest that ECAs should adopt World Bank Group environmental and social standards by 2005 for sensitive private sector projects and establish renewable energy portfolio targets of 20% by 2015.
• The document warns that the liberalization of international trade in services could prevent governments from pursuing domestic policy objectives related to health, environment, and social needs. CIEL insists that such liberalization must be preceded by transparent and participatory impact assessments, with financial aid provided to developing countries to conduct these assessments.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2002). Preliminary Comments on the Chairman’s Paper dated 9 May 2002 Fourth Session of the Preparatory Committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Comments_9may02_Chairman.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Preliminary Comments on the Chairman’s Paper dated 9 May 2002 Fourth Session of the Preparatory Committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development. 2002. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Comments_9may02_Chairman.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Preliminary Comments on the Chairman’s Paper dated 9 May 2002 Fourth Session of the Preparatory Committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development |date=May 2002 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Comments_9may02_Chairman.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2002preliminary, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Preliminary Comments on the Chairman’s Paper dated 9 May 2002 Fourth Session of the Preparatory Committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2002}, month = may, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Comments_9may02_Chairman.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }