In June 2012 we will have a unique opportunity to change the sustainability scenario at a global level: the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development – Rio+20 (www.uncsd2012.org)

The conference will be the right occasion to establish an effective and democratic institutional framework for a development model based on environmental balance and social equity, defining concepts and ways towards a new economy and helping the disruption of deadlocks observed in many of the UN’s ongoing negotiations.

We are all tired of fruitless meetings and political barriers while the world’s social, economic and environmental problems dramatically worsen. The technical and social solutions already exist, and it’s intolerable that they are still blocked by selfish and short-term interests.

Heads of state and global leaders: we, citizens of the world, want you at Rio+20! And expect you to be ready for solid and coherent decisions!

Heads of State and global leaders from around the world are expected to meet in Rio de Janeiro between June 4th and 6th, 2012 for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development – Rio+20 (www.uncsd2012.org). A great number of civil society representatives will also be present.

Twenty years have gone since the Earth Summit in 1992, and the fact that we are still trapped in fruitless meetings, with few or no practical results, while social, economic and environmental problems dramatically worsen is just not acceptable. Rio+20 must not be one more event on the calendar with no commitment to effective and urgent changes.

The implementation of a sustainable new economy, on a global scale, to achieve well-being and social equity will be at the center of the debate. The creation of an institutional framework for sustainable development, based on democratic principles practices and the respect for human rights, is essential to meet such a goal and will also be in the agenda. Rio+20 can be nothing less than the tipping point for changing the dangerous course that  humanity is currently on.

Heads of State and global leaders: We, citizens of the world, want to see you at the Rio+20 conference! And we expect you to be ready for effective coherent decisions. Your responsibility is to produce a global agreement on the political guidelines, institutional conditions and action plans that will lead to poverty eradication, sustainable development and social justice.  

In Rio+20 we must:

- Define the institutional framework for sustainable development and take the first steps towards its implementation

- Expose the fact that the technical and material conditions needed to promote global sustainable prosperity with social equity already exist, agreeing on adequate political and institutional conditions to make it real

- Establish guidelines to a fair transition towards a new economy, based on principles that guarantee well-being and social equity in fair and sustainable models, contemplating both nonprofit and business initiatives

- Utilize the conference’s high level and its large thematic coverage to make political decisions capable of disrupting the deadlocks in the UN’s ongoing negotiations, related to issues such as: climate change, poverty and inequalty erradication, biodiversity, desertification, international trade, human rights and employment protection, among others

 - Build and strengthen ties between political, economic, social, religious and cultural leaders all over the world, whose commitment is crucial to the solution of the challenges we face 

SAVE THE DATE, and be ready: between June 4th and 6th we want you at Rio+20!

This petition will be presented in four United Nations official events on the road to Rio+20, demanding concrete and meaningful results from the conference:

2nd Intersessional Meeting of Rio+20
15-16/Dec/2011
New York, EUA
United Nations preparatory meeting towards Rio+20

3rd Intersessional Meeting of Rio+20
05-07/Mar/2012
New York, EUA
United Nations preparatory meeting towards Rio+20

3rd Preparatory Committee Meeting of Rio+20
28-30/May/2012
Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
Last United Nations preparatory meeting towards Rio+20

Rio+20 – United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development
04-06/Jun/2012
Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

Supporting organizations and networks can also utilize the petition to demand adequate attitude and preparation from their governments.