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Women’s Vision for Rio+20:
an Equitable and Sustainable World
Social equity, gender equality and environmental justice must form the heart of sustainable development, and of the outcomes of the Rio+20 UN conference in 2012. Twenty years after the first Rio conference, great social and economic inequities still remain. These inequities especially affect women and children, who make up the majority of those living in poverty.
Sign the Women‘s Position Statement for Rio+20
More than 70 women-environment-development organizations from all over the world have worked together to present their visions and recommendations for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development – Rio+20 – where world leaders will agree on renewing their commitment to sustainable development and on measures to strengthen and accelerate progress.Go to the next page - „sign document“ to add your voice. Join the many organizations and individual supporters, see the last page.
Women‘s vision:
- Gender equality in all spheres of our societies: education, employment, ownership and control over resources, access to justice, political representation, institutional decision- making, care giving and household and community management. A world where women can fully deploy their potential in all spheres of our societies, meaning without gender-based violence, where women share in land ownership and financial resources, where women and girls are equally represented in all areas and in which women’s sexual and reproductive rights are assured.
- Respect for human rights and social justice: building societies based on respect for human rights of all people, ensuring social protection, sustainable livelihoods and environmental security, and fair distribution of the earth’s natural and economic resources. A world where economic, social and environmental rights for women and men are fully respected.
- Environmental conservation and protection of human health: creating societies which function within the earth’s ability to support life and human livelihoods, preventing disruptive climatic changes as well as pollution and contamination of ecosystems and human settlements. A world where women’s livelihoods are not irreversibly harmed by environmentally destructive economic activities.
The Women‘s Rio+20 submission paper to the UN consists of 9 pages, which can be downloaded here.
Key recommendations from the Women’s Major Group for Rio+20 include:
- Human and women’s rights as a cornerstone of all agreements in Rio+20
- Halt Land grab and assure Food sovereignty
- Halt Irreversible damage - Nuclear/uranium/extraction/chemicals
- Poverty eradication as the basis for sustainable development
- Redistribution of wealth and access to energy and resources for women
- Women’s sexual and reproductive rights and health
- Women’s economic rights – e.g. land tenure
- Gender equality as a basis for all agreements in Rio+20
- Human and Women’s rights assured in all new Sustainable Development Goals
- Gender criteria for new institutional structure for sustainable development – e.g. quota
- Gender criteria for financial global instruments
- UN instruments which will specifically benefit women
- Precautionary Principle, because the poor cannot discount the future and need protection now
- Polluter Pays Principle, i.e. Liability and Accountability instrument – assure redress for the environment and human victims
- Rio Principle 10, citizen’s environmental rights on public access to information, public participation and access to justice
- Special rapporteur / UPRs on irreversible damage (nuclear, chemicals, extraction)
- Independent Technology Assessment and Monitoring regarding wide-scale application
- Financial instruments
- Provide Basic Income for Women as an anti poverty measure, i.e. Social Protection Floor
- Halt negative side-effects of financial instruments for climate adaptation and mitigation
- Assure Women’s access to funding through earmarked “windows”
- Commit to 50% of all GEF funding to go to local level, re-instalment of small grants programme
- Fiscal instruments
- Reform fiscal system - internalization of external costs
- Going beyond GDP – new economic indicators which take women’s contributions and natural capital into account
More information at: www.uncsd2012.org - major group women.
The Women‘s Rio+20 submission paper to the UN is a summary of the longer Women Rio+20 compilation document, which can be downloaded here.
The content of the longer document is the visible below.
Content of the Women Rio+20 compilation document
1. Introduction
1.1. Women’s and Nature’s invisible contribution – Bedrock of our Economies
1.2. Women are key actors in the transition to a more equitable and sustainable world
1.3. Recalling the key Rio 1992 outcomes on women’s role and gender equality
1.4. Recalling the Women’s Action Agenda 21
2. Women’s Vision for Rio+20: an Equitable and Sustainable World
2.1. Gender equality in all spheres of societies
2.2. Human rights and Social justice
2.3. Environmental conservation and protection of human health
3. Caring, Green and Inclusive Economies: Women’s vision on Rio+20 ‘Green Economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication’
3.1. Current damage to women and environment by our economic systems
3.1.1. Current economy system: inequitable and unsustainable
3.1.2. Gender Blind – current economic indicators
3.1.3. Poverty Eradication that benefits women
3.1.4. Preventing toxic and radioactive harm on women’s and children’s health
3.1.5. Agriculture – lack of access and decision making power for women
3.1.6. Energy - women lack access to safe sources
3.1.7. Nuclear energy – women and children at greatest risk
3.1.8 Climate Change, natural disaster preparedness and women
3.1.9.Women’s lack access to safe water and sanitation
3.1.10. Biodiversity decline negatively impact on women
3.1.11 Oceans, fisheries and food security for women
3.2. Rio+20 Recommendations for Sustainable and Equitable Economies
3.2.1. Principles of Sustainable (green) and Equitable Economies
3.2.1.1. Sustainable development must promote social equity, gender equality and intergenerational equity
3.2.1.2. Sustainable development must be based on the precautionary principle
3.2.1.3. Sustainable development must be based on democracy, transparency and justice
3.2.1.4. Sustainable development must be based on ethical values and global responsibility
3.2.2. Measuring and operationalizing sustainable and equitable economies
3.2.2.1. Policies should recognize and promote women’s economic contributions
3.2.2.2. Beyond GDP
3.2.2.3. Financial sector reform – encouraging long term perspectives
3.2.2.3. Fiscal sector reform – redistribution of wealth
3.2.2.4. Investing in women’s education, skills and entrepreneurship
3.2.2.5. Investing in the health care, child-care and social security nets
3.2.2.6. Ending violence against women
3.2.2.7. Peace, women and sustainable development
3.2.3. Sector Specific Recommendations
3.2.3.1. Energy access for women
3.2.3.2. Nuclear phase-out – women’s priority
3.2.3.4. Climate mitigation – gender equitable
3.2.3.5. Waste management and recycling
3.2.3.6. Measures against land grabbing
3.2.3.7. Women’s access to safe water and sanitation
3.3. Regional perspectives
3.3.1.Latin American Caribbean (LAC)
3.3.2.West Asia
3.3.3.Asia & Pacific
3.3.4.Africa
3.3.5.Europe/North-America
4. Transparent and balanced governance: Women’s vision on Rio+20 ‘institutional framework for sustainable development’
4.1. Stronger Institutional framework for Sustainable Development at Global Level
4.1.1. Shifting the priorities from the Economic to the Social and Environmental areas
4.1.2.International Environmental Governance needs to be strengthened
4.1.3.Governance of Sustainable Development should be placed at the highest level of the UN
4.1.4.Gender mainstreaming of the Sustainable development structure
4.1.5.Create global instruments to protect rights of Future Generations
4.1.6.UN Women should be strengthened and adequately financed
4.1.7. Strengthening of effective and balanced civil society participation
4.2.Pillars of Governance of Sustainable Development (global, national, local)
4.2.1.Rio Principle 10: Right to public participation, Right to information, Right to justice
4.2.2.Rio Principle 20: full participation of women
4.2.3. Implementation of the Convention to End All Discrimination Against Women
4.2.4. Safeguard environmental social conditions for the benefit of present and future generations
4.2.5.Valuing the unrecognized contributions of women and the environment to our economies
4.2.6.Criteria for financing of sustainable development
4.2.5.Gender considerations of financial mechanisms for Sustainable Development
4.3. Regional perspectives
4.3.1. Latin America and the Caribbean
4.3.2. Arab region
4.3.3. Asia and Pacific region
4.3.4. African region
4.3.5. European/UNECE region
5. Emerging issues
5.1.Women’s priorities among the UNEP Foresight 21 Challenges for the 21st Century List
5.1.1. Women and Children’s greater harm from radiation – need for phasing out of nuclear
5.1.2. Women and children at risk - need for new approaches to minimizing risks of novel technologies and chemicals
5.1.3. Food security needs food sovereignty
5.1.4. Rush for Land: women’s land rights and ownership tenure, and prevention of land grabbing
5.1.5. Women and Migration
5.1.6.New challenges to water availability -– burden for women
5.1.7.Privatization and commodification of the commons
5.1.8. Promotion of clean renewable energy technologies and phasing out of unsustainable energy
5.1.9. Strengthen gender priority in Climate Change policies
6. Recommendations for Rio+20 Outcome document
6.1. Sustainable and equitable economies: Commit to gender-sensitive development of binding international and national measures
6.2. Governance of sustainable development: Commit to gender-sensitive development of binding international and national measures
6.3. Commit to targets and indicators for women’s engagement
6.4. Sustainable Development Goals – add Gender Equality goals