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United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library - Research
Guide : Quick Links
 Introduction |
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Although the Charter of the United Nations
does not specifically mention the environment or sustainable development, the Preamble to the Charter states that the United Nations is determined "to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom", while Chapter 1 declares that one of the basic
purposes of the United Nations is “to achieve international cooperation in solving international
problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging
respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion”.
The United Nations first considered environmental issues at the 45th
session of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), when in
resolution 1346 (XLV) of 30 July 1968 it recommended that the General Assembly
consider convening a United Nations conference on “problems of the human environment”.
At its 23rd session the General Assembly adopted
resolution 2398 (XXIII) of 3 December 1968 convening a United Nations Conference on the
Human Environment noting the “continuing and accelerating impairment of the quality
of the human environment” and its “consequent effects on the condition of man, his
physical, mental and social well-being, his dignity and his enjoyment of basic human
rights, in developing as well as developed countries,” thus relating the Charter to emerging
environmental issues. The resolution also recognized that “the relationship between
man and his environment is undergoing profound changes in the wake of modern
scientific and technological developments”.
The United
Nations Conference on the Human Environment took place in Stockholm from
5 to 16 June 1972 and led to the establishment of the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the lead programme within the UN working
on environmental issues.
In 1983 the General Assembly by
resolution 38/161 of 19 December 1983 welcomed the establishment of a special commission to report on
"environment and the global problematique to the year 2000 and beyond". In 1987 the
World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) submitted its report
(also known as the "Brundtland report") to the General Assembly. The report, based on a four-year study,
developed the theme of sustainable development, the type of development that "meets
the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs".
Pursuant to the report of the World Commission, the General Assembly adopted
resolution 44/228 of 20 December 1988, convening the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (also known as the "Rio Conference" or the "Earth Summit") to "elaborate strategies and
measures to halt and reverse the effects of environmental degradation". The resolution listed nine
areas "of major concern in maintaining the quality of the Earth's environment and especially in
achieving environmentally sound and sustainable development in all countries".
The United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED), which took place in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992,
led to the establishment of the Commission
on Sustainable Development. At the Conference three major agreements were adopted: Agenda 21 (pdf)
a global plan of action to promote sustainable development; the Rio Declaration
on Environment and Development, a series of principles defining the rights and
responsibilities of States and the
Statement of Forest Principles, a set of principles to underpin the sustainable
management of forests worldwide. In addition, two legally binding instruments were
opened for signature: the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological
Diversity. The Earth Summit called for several major initiatives in other key areas of sustainable development,
such as, a global conference on Small Island Developing States; negotiations began for a Convention to Combat
Desertification and for an agreement on highly migratory and straddling fish stocks.
In 1997 the General Assembly, in its resolutions
47/190 and 51/181,
convened a special session on the environment
(also known as "Earth Summit + 5"), to review and appraise the implementation of Agenda 21.
In the Session's final document (resolution S-19/2),
Member States recognised that "time is of the essence in meeting the challenges of sustainable development as set out in the
Rio Declaration and
Agenda 21"
and made a "pledge to continue to work together, in good faith and in the spirit of partnership,
to accelerate the implementation of Agenda 21".
During its 55th session the General Assembly adopted resolution 55/199 of
20 December 2000, convening the World Summit on Sustainable
Development (WSSD) (also known as "Rio + 10"), a ten-year review of progress achieved since 1992
in the implementation of Agenda 21.
The World Summit was held in Johannesburg from 26 August to 4 September 2002 and its report (A/Conf.199/20
+ Corr.1) includes a Political Declaration, in which
Member States assumed "a collective responsibility to advance and strengthen the interdependent and
mutually reinforcing pillars of sustainable development, economic development, social development and
environmental protection at the local, national, regional and global levels" and a Plan of Implementation,
in which Member States committed themselves "to undertaking concrete actions and measures at all levels
and to enhancing international cooperation".
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| Principal Environmental Bodies |
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Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
United Nations negotiations on climate change are supported by the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a worldwide network of 2,500
leading scientists and experts who review scientific research on the issue. The full text of reports is available
on the Panel website.
Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
The Governing Council, the policy-making organ of UNEP,
was established by General Assembly resolution 2997 (XXVII)
of 15 December 1972. The Council meets annually and
reports to the General Assembly (GA).
Commission on Sustainable Development
The General Assembly, in its
resolution 47/191 of 22 December 1992, requested the Economic and Social Council to
establish, as a functional commission of the Council, a high-level
Commission
on Sustainable Development to ensure effective follow-up to the Conference on Environment
and Development (UNCED).
Therefore, while General Assembly
resolution 47/191 contains its mandate, the Commission was established by
Economic and Social Council decision 1993/207 of 12 February 1993.
The Commission meets annually and reports to the Economic and Social Council.
United Nations Forum on Forests
The United Nations
Forum on Forests was established by ECOSOC resolution 2000/35 of 18 Oct. 2000 to "strengthen political commitment to the management, conservation and sustainable development
of all types of forests". The Forum meets annually and reports to the Economic and Social Council.
Inter-governmental Forum on Forests (IFF)
The Inter-governmental Forum on Forests (IFF) was established by ECOSOC resolution 1997/65 of 25 July 1997.
The Forum met annually from 1997 to 2000 and reported to the Economic and Social Council.
Ad hoc Inter-governmental Panel on Forests
The Ad hoc Inter-governmental Panel on Forests was established by ECOSOC decision 1995/226 of 1 June 1995.
The Forum met at irregular intervals between 1995 and 1997 and reported to the Economic and Social Council.
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| Treaty-based
bodies |
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Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
The Conference of the Parties, the "supreme body", was established
pursuant to Article 7 of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change. The Conference meets annually.
States Parties to the Convention are required by Article 12 to report on the steps
they are taking to implement the Convention. The full text of recent reports as well as
guidelines on report preparation can be retrieved from the UNFCCC website, executive summaries of the reports of
States Parties, issued under the series symbol FCCC/NC/-, (e.g., FCCC/NC/1
report submitted by the Netherlands) can be retrieved from the UNFCCC website, UNBISnet and the Official Document System of the United Nations (ODS). The current status of the Convention is posted on the Convention website.
Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA)
The Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA)
was established pursuant to Article 9 of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change. The Subsidiary Body traditionally meets in parallel with the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) at least twice yearly.
Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI)
The Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI)
was established pursuant to Article 10 of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change. The Subsidiary Body traditionally meets in parallel with the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) at least twice yearly.
Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol
The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties was established pursuant to Article 13
of the Kyoto Protocol to review the implementation of the Protocol.
The current
status of the Protocol is posted on the UNFCCC website. The meeting of the Parties takes place annually.
Annex I
Parties to the Protocol are required by Article 7 to submit annual greenhouse gas
inventories, as well as regular national communications, demonstrating their compliance with
the Protocol. The full text of country reports as well as
greenhouse gas inventories and national inventories can be found on the
UNFCCC website.
Report
preparation guidelines can be retrieved from the UNFCCC website, UNBISnet and the Official
Document System of the United Nations (ODS). Individual
targets for Annex I Parties are listed in Annex
B of the Protocol.
Conference of the Parties to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer
The Conference of the Parties was established pursuant to Article 6 of the Vienna
Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer to review the implementation of the Convention.
The current
status of the Convention is posted on the UNEP website.
The Conference currently meets every three years.
States Parties to the Convention are required by Articles 2, 3 and 4 to
conduct research and scientific assessments and to exchange scientific, technical, socio-economic,
commercial and legal information.
Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol
The Meeting of the Parties was established pursuant to Article 11
of the Montreal Protocol to review the implementation of the Protocol.
The current status of the Protocol
is posted on the UNEP website. The Meeting takes place annually.
States Parties to the Protocol are required by Article 7 to report annually
on their production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances. The full text of recent reports as well as report preparation
guidelines can be retrieved from the Data reporting/Access section of the UNEP website.
Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal
The Conference of the Parties
was established pursuant to Article 15 of the Basel
Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal
to review the implementation of the Convention. The current status of the Convention is
posted on the Convention website. The Conference has met at irregular intervals since 1992.
States Parties to the Convention are required by Article 13 to submit
annual reports on the generation and movement of hazardous wastes. The full text of recent reports as well
as country fact sheets and report preparation guidelines can be retrieved from the Conference website.
The Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity
The Conference of the Parties was established pursuant to Article 23 of the Convention on Biological Diversity
to review the implementation of the Convention. The current status of the Convention is
posted on the Convention website. The Conference meets annually.
- Working documents are issued under the series
symbol UNEP/CBD/COP/-. The full
text of documents is available on the Conference website.
- The sessional reports are issued under the series symbol UNEP/CBD/COP/[session]/-
(e.g., UNEP/CBD/COP/9/29).
They provide summaries of the work concluded and contain the texts of resolutions and decisions
adopted by the Conference. A complete listing of these reports (1994 onwards)
can be found in the UN-I-QUE database.
The full text of the sessional reports is available on the Conference
website.
- Press releases for the Conference are accessible from the Convention
website.
States Parties to the Convention are required by Article 26 to report on
measures taken to implement the Convention and their effectiveness in meeting its objectives.
The full text of recent reports, as well as report preparation guidelines can be retrieved from the conference website.
Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA)
The Subsidiary Body
on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) was established pursuant to
Article 25 of the Convention on
Biological Diversity to provide advice on the implementation of the Convention. The
SBSTTA reports to the Conference and has met at irregular intervals since 1995. The full
text of working documents and reports are available on the SBSTTA website.
Press releases for the Subsidiary Body can be retrieved from the CBD Press Room.
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Documentation on the Environment |
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A more comprehensive listing of United Nations
documents and publications on environmental issues can be identified through the UNBISnet database. UNBISnet provides links to the full text of recent documentation. Subject
terms which might prove useful in conducting a search are: sustainable development; forests; biological diversity; environment; development;
oceans; law of the sea; marine resources; climate change; ozone-depleting substances; acid rain; developing island countries; renewable energy sources; etc.
Additional descriptors may be identified through the UNBIS
Thesaurus. Proper names (e.g., UN Forum on Forests; Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) may
also be used for constructing subject searches.
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