Date: Fri, 1 Jan 1999 18:16:30 +0000 From: Paul Swann <•••@••.•••> Subject: Citizens' Public Trust Treaty - Press Release CITIZENS' PUBLIC TRUST TREATY RELEASED FOR WORLDWIDE SIGNATURES LAUNCHED JANUARY 1, 1999 On January 1st, 1999, the Citizens' Public Trust Treaty is circulating worldwide for signing by individuals, community groups and non governmental organizations. It is released initially in English, French and Spanish, with translations into the other official languages of the United Nations to follow. Eventually, it is intended that the proposed Treaty with signatures will be submitted to state goverments and to the United Nations. The Citizens' Public Trust Treaty calls upon member states of the United Nations to carry out and extend the international obligations, commitments and expectations they have made to fulfill the global public trust. This Treaty will provide an effective means of counteracting the process of corporate globalization that threatens to undermine over 50 years of international agreements related to the following obligations, commitments, and expectations: 1. to Promote and fully guarantee respect for human rights, including labour rights, the right to adequate food, shelter and health care, and social justice; 2. to Enable socially equitable and environmentally sound development; 3. to Achieve a state of peace, justice and security; 4. to Create a global structure that respects the rule of law; and 5. to Ensure the preservation and protection of the environment, respect the inherent worth of nature beyond human purpose, reduce the ecological footprint and move away from the current model of over-consumptive development; We live in an increasingly centralised global economy in which the interests of transnational corporations (TNCs) and financial institutions often take precedence over the welfare of ordinary people. Deregulation of the financial markets has created a volatile "global casino" in which massive speculative capital flows threaten the stability of national economies. International trade agreements such as NAFTA, GATT, and now the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) have diminished the power of governments and elevated the rights of corporations above those of nations and their citizens. We have just celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. When significant anniversaries of the United Nations are celebrated there is usually a flurry of congratulatory activity, and then the documents are put back on the shelf. Rights, however, are meaningless unless they are actually enacted, implemented and enforced. 1999 is the culmination of the International decade devoted to the furtherance of international law. The purpose of this Treaty is to strengthen that law by demanding that governments (a) stop devolving their power to corporations and (b) discharge the obligations, act on the commitments and fulfill the expectations they have undertaken through United Nations documents and through international and regional agreements. The intention is to provide a framework of international law within which local democracy can flourish. Successive drafts of the Treaty have circulated widely for over a year and a half in English, French and Spanish. It has evolved with input from many participants. The Treaty was sent to each country's UN Mission in New York in 1997 and again in 1998 on the anniversaries of the United Nations (October 24) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (December 10). The proposed Treaty is supported by a body of international documents and principles drawn from the commitments, obligations and expectations created through the UN system. A full list of the international instruments and other documents that have been reviewed for the drafting of this Treaty and is available upon request. The principles embodied in the Treaty are further supported by a "Charter of Obligations" prepared by the Global Compliance Research Project which lists, in an easy to find format, the text of many of the agreements undertaken by Nation States over the years. It is now apparent that we are suffering the consequences of half a century of unprincipled economic growth activity. We call upon the nations of the world not to relive and reinvent the errors of the past but rather, to ensure the rights of present and future generations by implementing the principles of this Citizens Public Trust Treaty. The Online Treaty can be found at: Northern Hemisphere http://www.gn.apc.org/negreens/cptt.htm Southern Hemisphere http://www.isis.aust.com/cptt French and Spanish verson, and background documents http://www.coastnet.com/~jrussow/francis.htm .rtf (English) downloadable document for hardcopy reproduction http://www.isis.aust.com/cptt/sign.htm For further information please contact: Canada and the United States Joan Russow (Ph.D) 1230 St. Patrick St. Victoria, B.C. V8S 4Y4 Tel/Fax 1+ 250 598-0071 mailto:•••@••.••• UK and Ireland Paul Swann 14 Beacon Hill, London N7 9LY Tel +44 (0)171 609 7764 mailto:•••@••.••• Australia Susanne Martain mailto:•••@••.•••
