Committing to the future we want: a High Commissioner for Future Generations at Rio+20

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Posted on: 12 April 2012
By: mackene
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Filed under: News

In this discussion paper, which follows on from an earlier summary paper, Halina Ward makes the case for the creation of a High Commissioner for Future Generations within the United Nations, and sets out proposals on the powers and responsibilities of a High Commissioner and how it could work in practice. The mission of the High Commissioner for Future Generations, the paper argues, should be inspired by the original Brundtland definition of sustainable development: “to promote and protect the interests of future generations in the context of the imperative to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. As the paper shows, the creation of a High Commissioner for Future Generations would build on and complement existing references to future generations in a wide range of regional and global treaties and other international instruments. The paper also proposes a set of possible powers and responsibilities for the role of the High Commissioner for Future Generations; considers how it might evolve over time; and where it could be sited. Annexes to the paper are  available here.

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