Durban mayor Obed Mlaba and Archbishop Desmond Tutu this week joined former Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev to produce an alternative vision of the future of the planet. Other Nobel peace laureates and mayors of large cities around the world also endorsed Gorbachev’s “Johannesburg Declaration”, which sets out ways to achieve a “sustainable and peaceful future”.
As the World Summit wound up, the statement provided a counterpoint to the political declaration adopted by 104 heads of state at the end of the mega-event. That declaration, drafted by President Thabo Mbeki, commits countries to work together for “universal prosperity and peace”.
The difference between the two statements of intent — “sustainability” versus “prosperity” — lies at the crux of bitter criticism of the summit. Critics say trade and financial interests hijacked the summit agenda, at the expense of the environment and sustainable development.
“We are declaring our planet in danger, and accuse the self-interested politics of ‘business as usual’ pursued by governments …” says the Gorbachev statement. The former president, founder of the era of perestroika (restructuring) in the former Soviet Union, was unable to attend the summit because of ill-health.
Ethics and responsibility in global leadership are the two main thrusts of Green Cross International, the organisation Gorbachev heads. Since the original Earth Summit in Rio 1992, Green Cross has been pushing for the acceptance of these standards in global governance through the adoption of Gorbachev’s “Earth Charter”.
In his statement on the World Summit this week, he demanded that heads of state and government “act on their responsibility to turn rhetoric into real action”. He endorsed the millennium development goals and called on leaders to implement the Rio declaration.
Green Cross representative Matt Petersen says it has been networking with mayors and peace laureates because national leaders at the summit were not prepared to commit to important targets and time frames. “These mayors, particularly in the large cities of the world, represent millions of citizens.”