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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE
JOHANNESBURG SUMMIT
THE SUMMIT AGENDA
Q. What key issues will be addressed at the Summit? Is this an environmental
conference? Poverty conference?
The Summit will address more than individual issues of concern such as poverty
or the environment. Sustainable development addresses the interface between
human society and the physical world. Specifically, the Summit will focus on
actions to address major sustainable development challenges, such as how to
spread the benefits of globalisation, alleviate poverty, manage natural
resources and promote responsible consumption and production. Special attention
will also be given to the special needs of Africa and Small Island Developing
States and to issues surrounding the health/environment nexus.
The Johannesburg Summit is not just a sequel to the Earth Summit in Rio, nor is
it just a follow-up to the recent International Conference on Financing for
Development in Monterrey. It builds upon the achievements of both, but it also
seeks to implement the goals agreed at many conferences - including those
adopted by world leaders at the Millennium Summit - under the umbrella of
sustainable development.
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Q. Many Summits and conferences have been held and decisions taken since the
1992 Earth Summit - for example, the Millennium Summit, where Heads of State
and Government adopted the Millennium Development Goals. How are these
decisions being integrated into the Johannesburg Summit agenda?
The Johannesburg Summit seeks to take the results from previous Summits and
conferences and move them onto the next level where words and agreements are
clearly transformed into concrete action that improves people's lives. The
Millennium Development Goals provide a clear framework within which for
sustainable development can be taken forward and some of the goals, such as the
goal to halve the number of people living in poverty by 2015, will specifically
be addressed by the Johannesburg Summit.
The recent international conferences in Doha and Monterrey on trade and
financing development respectively have also clearly set the scene for
Johannesburg. For example, significant new resources for development were
committed by governments in Monterrey; delegates in Johannesburg can take
decisions about how best to use this money to progress sustainable development
in the developing world.
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Q. What will happen during the Summit?
The overall focus of the Johannesburg Summit will be renewed political
commitment to, and further implementation of, Agenda 21 - the plan for
achieving sustainable development that was adopted at Rio in 1992. There are
likely to be three main outcomes from the Summit:
- a political declaration at the highest level
- a negotiated plan of implementation
- recognition of
"Type
2" partnerships and initiatives being taken around the world in
support of sustainable development.
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Q. How can I get a speaking slot at the Summit?
Delegates attending the Summit will be from governments and accredited
organisations from the nine Major Group categories identified in Agenda 21. It
will be for each Government and the organisers within each of the Major Group
categories to determine who represents their voice at the Summit.
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__________________________________________________________________
Copyright © United
Nations
Department of Economic and
Social Affairs
Division for
Sustainable Development
Comments and suggestions
24 August 2006
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