-
- The reader, who has thumbed
the pages of this publication with more or less attention,
could make certain of the immensity of the problem
of environment protection and sustainable development
and of that actually thorny way towards its resolving.
The intellectual and social inertia of many people,
especially of officials from the topmost to lowest
rank, sets one of the most exhaustible barriers on
this way.
- More than ten years have passed since
the germination of the idea of the World Ecological
Constitution and the control bodies for its implementation.
It was clear from the very beginning that in a case
of employing this idea our young state, which, therewith,
has rejected the nuclear weapons and has borne the
Chornobyl’ tragedy, would “earn” the solid external
political capital. This book evidently displays that
the topmost governmental institutions have been informed
about all these concerns in proper time. However,
this deal didn’t go further than proclamation of the
first part of the idea by the President of Ukraine
at the 19-th special session of the
UNGA in 1997 and its second part in his Address on
the occasion of Chornobyl’ Nuclear Power Plant closure.
Not a few favorable chances have been lost, no matter
that we were sending in advance the adequate information
to appropriate institutions.
- Saying in figurative language, “usually,
holy place is not empty”. What will not be done by
Ukraine, will be done by others. Recently, in February,
2002, the President of
the International Green Cross Mikhail Gorbachov
has proclaimed in French city of Lion the necessity
to establish the “International Tribunal on Environment”.
It means, accordingly to the terminology of the earlier
proclaimed Ukrainian proposals, nothing less than
the International Ecological Court. M. Gorbachov has
fairly emphasized: “If we are not to believe in mechanism
of international environmental law, we will stay amongst
those, who are chattering without the result”. (INTERNET,
Correspondent.net, February 23,2002). Without
fail quite a few countries will arrive next fall to
Johannesburg with a solid luggage of concepts. Ukraine
may lose the regular chance, as it seems of present
state of our preparation to the Rio+10 Summit.
- However, the mission of saving the
life on the Earth and securing sustainable development,
in any case, is worthy lest to spare the efforts towards
its implementation. We would like to expect that our
book will facilitate, to some extent, the perception
of this important mission and extension of its membership.
- The elaboration and adoption of the
World Ecological Constitution might become the outstanding
event in the world history, after which the essentially
new stage in interrelations between man and nature
on the basis of sustainable development would be launched.
- Certainly, the World Ecological Constitution
(WEC) should not be treated as an authentically legal
act. Due to its function this is the economic and
legal document of long-term effect, being oriented
to preservation of the integral Earth Ecosystem and
all kinds of life on the planet. The mission of this
document is to ensure the following accomplishments:
to preserve and develop the integral ecological system
of the Earth for the needs of man, sustainable economic
and social development of society, rational utilization
of world natural resources for prosperity of present
and future generations.
- The WEC would not threaten the sovereignty
of whatever country, but considering both national
interests and common interests of all countries of
the world, it would obligate each of them to use their
own natural resources and natural living environment
on the basis of sustainability, as it has been required
by the Agenda-21 and other documents of the Rio-92
Summit. The WEC would ensure the right of each human
being to live in healthy environment, the right to
use reasonably all natural resources and services.
That is to say, the WEC as the main law of global
ecological security and sustainable development should
consolidate in legal sense those resolutions of the
Rio-92 Conference, which have been adopted by almost
all countries of the world on the basis of consensus.
- At present time both scientists and
governmental bodies of Ukraine should move heaven
and earth in order to ensure the adoption of, at least,
three documents at the WSSD:
- ·
Declaration about the necessity to elaborate the WEC;
- ·
Conception of UN institutional reforms for implementation
of the WEC requests;
- ·
Special resolution concerning the establishment of
ad hoc committee
for drafting the WEC.
- We understand the viewpoint of those
specialists, particularly lawyers, who, acknowledging
the necessity to elaborate the global legal act for
ecological security of the planet, at the same time
have a doubt: can it be named as “constitution”? It
seems to be logical, since one couldn’t find the similar
document in the constitutional practice.
- Responding to such arguments we are
willing to explain that by its structure and content
the WEC essentially differs from the traditional constitutions
of the states. The WEC has another mission. In this
document it should be determined the legal status
of human being not only as a citizen of his own state,
but as a citizen of the planet also.
- Unlike traditional constitutions, where
the rights and freedoms of a citizen of either state
as well as an assuring the quality of his life are
treated as the main object of constitutional regulation,
the WEC should ensure the rights and freedoms of a
citizen of the planet for friendly natural environment
and rational use of natural resources. The observance
of the WEC requests as well as preservation of natural
environment and resources for future generations should
become the constitutional duty of a citizen of the
planet.
- Finally, the author would like to apologize
for numerous iterations of identical reasoning concerning
the WEC. It wasn’t possible to avoid them because
of necessity to keep the content of each original
document, presented in this book.
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