- Development & Aid - Economy & Trade - Human Rights - Global
Governance - Civil Society Thursday, June 20, 2013 - With only a
few days to go before the start of the United Nations Conference
on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, there are
disturbing signs that developed countries are attempting to
backtrack from the commitments they made at the original Earth
Summit of 1992 to assist the developing countries to move
towards the path of sustainable development. There are also
fears that the conference, dubbed Rio plus 20, may not fully
reaffirm the political commitments made twenty years ago. Some
progress on the summit’s declaration was made during the final
preparatory meeting for the Conference that ended on Jun. 2 in
New York City. But only 70 paragraphs out of a total of 329 have
been agreed on, leaving negotiators with the daunting task of
coming up with an agreed text by the time the political leaders
meet on Jun. 20-23. The Rio+20 summit is facing the same hurdles
of a North-South divide that