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Johannesburg, South Africa (26 August-4
September 2002)
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Monday 26 August | Tuesday
27 August | Wednesday 28 August
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| Thursday 29 August | Friday
30 August | Tuesday 3 September
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| Wednesday 4 Septembert |
Tuesday 3 September
- The
negotiations on the major outcome document for the World Summit
on Sustainable Development is essentially complete as round-the-clock
negotiations at the ministerial level concluded with agreements
on all major issues. There are still two or three objections
on issues relating to health and human rights. Summit Secretary-General
Nitin Desai said, in a press conference today, that the Summit
had been successful sustainable in imparting a sense of urgency,
in achieving "reasonably clear commitments to action
in key areas," and in creating partnerships in the five
priority areas-water, energy, health, agriculture and biodiversity.
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Among
the agreements reached was a goal to reduce the proportion
of people who lack access to proper sanitation, an agreement
to work to increase access to modern energy services, to
work toward increasing the use of renewable energies, and
a number of targets and timetables aimed at protecting or
restoring ecosystems.
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Today,
85 speakers, including heads of state or government are
expected to address the Summit's plenary session. Yesterday,
at the opening session of the high-level plenary, Secretary-General
Kofi Annan said, "Let us face the uncomfortable truth
"The model of development we are accustomed to has
been fruitful for the few, but flawed for the many. A path
to prosperity that ravages the environment and leaves a
majority of humankind behind in squalor will soon prove
to be a dead-end road for everyone." In addition to
the Secretary-General and South Africa's President Thabo
Mbeki, 71 speakers addressed the plenary yesterday.
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Several
European leaders, such as the UK Prime Minister Tony Blair,
French President Jacques Chirac, and German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder said they would increase their official development
assistance in the years ahead. Leaders from developing countries
stressed that greater international cooperation was necessary
to promote sustainable development.
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The
Summit is expected to wrap up tomorrow with the remaining
speakers, which includes US Secretary of State Colin Powell,
and then with a final plenary session where the Summit outcome
documents will be submitted for approval.
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