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22 April 20

General AssemblyGA/10823

Department of Public Information News and Media Division New York

Sixty-third General AssemblyPlenary

80th Meeting (AM)

GENERAL ASSEMBLY PROCLAIMS 22 APRIL INTERNATIONAL MOTHER EARTH DAY

ADOPTING BY CONSENSUS BOLIVIA-LED RESOLUTION

In Address, Bolivias President Says 60 Years after Human Rights

Declaration Mother Earth Is Now, Finally, Having Her Rights Recognized

As the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed today International Mother Earth Day,Bolivian President Evo Morales Ayma applauded the Members of the world body who had taken ahistoric stand for Mother Earth by acknowledging humanitys common interest in the protection of theplanet and its environment.

Sixty years after adopting the [Universal Declaration of Human Rights], Mother Earth is now,finally, having her rights recognized, said President Morales, immediately following the Assemblysunanimous adoption of a resolution designating 22 April each year as International Mother Earth Day(A/63/L.69).

Assembly President Miguel dEscoto Brockmann thanked Bolivia for having taken the lead in bringingthe resolution to the Assembly and added that, by declaring the International Day, Member States recognizedtheir responsibility, as called for in the Rio Declaration, adopted at the 1992 United Nations Conference onEnvironment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Earth Summit, to promote harmony with natureand the planet to achieve a just balance among economic, social and environmental needs of the presentand future generations of humanity.

By the text, the Assembly acknowledged that the Earth and its ecosystems are our home, andexpressed its conviction that, in order to achieve a just balance among the economic, social andenvironmental needs of present and future generations, it is necessary to promote harmony with natureand the Earth.

The resolution, spearheaded by the Bolivian Government and supported by over 50 MemberStates, noted that Earth Day is observed each year on 22 April in many countries. The Assembly invitesall Member States, the entire United Nations system, regional and subregional bodies and non-governmental organizations to observe and raise awareness of International Mother Earth day, asappropriate.

In his address, President Morales appealed to all Members of the United Nations to live up totheir responsibility to ensure life on the planet by working for unity, equality, dignity and, above all,humanity, which inherently involved protecting - and restoring - Mother Earth.

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Action to that end had never been more vital, as the toll of years of environmental degradationand callous exploitation of the planets natural resources and ecosystems could no longer be ignored, hesaid. The incremental yet increasingly obvious impacts of manmade climate change were putting MotherEarth at even more peril, as in his region alone the snow capped peaks of the Andean mountain rangewere receding every day; islands were buffeted by ever-more violent storms; and arid areas werebecoming even drier.

We are strangling the planet - strangling ourselves, President Morales declared, stressing that,for too many years, the world had been held captive by the seductive notion of capitalism. However, itwas now clear that we dont own the planet, we belong to it, he said, calling for the twenty-first centuryto be dedicated to protecting and supporting Mother Earth and her ecosystems.

Some 60 years after activists had fought so hard to win acknowledgement of human rightsworldwide, including social, economic, political and cultural rights, Mother Earth was now having her rightsrecognized, he continued. Indeed, animals and plants -- all living creatures and beings -- had rights thatdeserved to be respected and protected. Those that had supported the text in the Assembly would beheralded for their historic action, he said, expressing the hope that, as the twentieth century had beencalled the century of human rights, this new era would be known as the century of the rights of MotherEarth.

Continuing, President Morales said that, by proclaiming the International Day, United Nations Member

States now had the opportunity to begin laying out a Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth. Such aCharter must enshrine the right to life for all living things; right to regeneration of the planets biocapacity;right to a clean life -- for Mother Earth to live free of contamination and pollution; and the right to harmonyand balance among and between all things.

In closing remarks, Assembly President dEscoto said the world body was sending a specialmessage of hope with Mother Earth Day. Even as scientists and biologists sounded the alarm that theworld may already be at the tipping point, at which the damage wrought on the environment might beirreversible, the United Nations had moved to put people and the well-being of the planet at the centre ofour attention and recognize good stewardship of the planet and our dwindling resources as a sharedresponsibility.

It is only right that we, as sisters and brothers, take care of Mother Earth [] as Mother Earth,after all sustains [] our very humanity, Mr. dEscoto said. He urged listening to the voices of indigenouspeople, who, despite all odds, had sustained their profound links with nature. He urged support for theworlds small farmers and food producers, who, with sustainable farming methods, could provide us withhealthy food, while not being driven into poverty by unfair trade policies and the actions of rapacious agro-industries. Our decision today marks one more symbolic step in changing the dominant mindset that hasbrought us so close to self-destruction, he said.

At the outset of the meeting, President dEscoto announced that Cape Verde had made thenecessary payment to reduce its arrears below the specified in Article 19 of the Charter. [Article 19 of theUnited Nations Charter states that a Member State in arrears in its contributions to the Organization shallhave no vote in the General Assembly if the amount of the arrears equals or exceeds the amount of thecontribution due from it for the preceding two years.]

The General Assembly will meet again at a date and time to be announced.

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