Rio+20 closing youth: 20 years on, the words haven't changed and the world is in greater danger

Reposted from Taiwan Youth Climate Coalition, reported by Taiwan youth Chang Liang-yi on June 23, 2012

The United Nations Rio Earth Summit in Brazil officially closed on the 22nd. The core agenda of this conference was for leaders of various countries to speak and present their country's work and commitments. From the 20th to the 22nd, a total of three days were spent, but only one 49-page outcome document was adopted. Yet officials from various countries still declared a smooth closing in a "posture of complete victory," with applause and celebratory headlines. The final conclusion lacked ambition. Many young people from around the world decided that on the last day, inside the venue, they would use the method of "Occupy" Occupy Rio+20 to let the true voices of the people be heard, and not be ignored again and again.

To this end, the major youth and children's group MGCY also issued the following declaration at the final closing session:

---------------The following is translated from the press release issued by MGCY---------------

I hope you can imagine a generation that has already been convicted, imagine children without war but deprived by the world, imagine a society where humans are slaves to their fellow humans, and disease and hunger are commonplace.

This is the future we warned about in 1992,
and it is today.

If these documents are our common future, then you have sold our fate and funded our common destruction.

Our voices, where are the voices of our children and grandchildren here?
If you have not shown the space for your own will, how can you listen to their future?

We have only one Earth. Our existence, our thoughts and our actions should not be bound by national borders, but should be global. You have not freed yourself from the self-interest of nations and corporations, and recognized that we must respect a larger, more transcendent intersection. We came here to celebrate our generation.

We danced, we dreamed, we cried in the streets of Rio de Janeiro, and we found something worth believing in to belong to. But you chose not to celebrate with us. You showed leadership. This was not only because your work was merely seeking consensus. This is your commitment, work that shows ambition and leadership.

But you have failed.

You worked hard and reached an agreement.
So, if you think this document is an ambitious and action-oriented outcome, please stand up.
If you cannot stand up, then you must be unwilling to move forward.

Therefore, we will move forward for you.

We know this:
We need cooperation between two generations.
We need innovation and creativity.
We need to embrace the values of sustainability, equity, justice and respect for human rights.
We must recognize that material resources are limited, but human potential is unlimited.

So please clear the path for us to the future..

We will build strong global institutions
We will create new models of wealth and prosperity
We will represent the voices of future generations, (a voice you deliberately ignored).
We will stand beyond national borders, united and undivided
On the basis of our national interests, we will achieve what you did not achieve.
We will resolutely move forward with action.
We have not backed down.

---------------The following are other ideas from young people of various countries during the discussion of the declaration---------------

The process of this meeting has already been confirmed as the most democratic in the United Nations. Because it attempted to include, in the process, those in society who are powerless in the discussion. But through the process of observation, we now know how undemocratic and opaque that was.

20 years ago, we said the same thing.

Now nothing has changed, but our world is closer to destruction.

We call for recognizing the boundaries of the Earth, but you continue to focus on "unlimited growth."

Despite our continued contributions, you chose to support the status quo. This contempt is not merely passive. You have actively removed from the text the rights of producers, the participation of civil society and gender, and you merely "considered" the needs of future generations.
You agreed to the common good of those lowest standards, and tried to sell it in a quick compromise manner, but in reality, this is just a victory for "blocking action."

So it is time for you to step aside, and let us do what you have always failed to accomplish!

"Please take action immediately!"
We have no time to keep waiting for your failure to continue.
If you will not move forward, we will push you forward.

We will overcome enormous challenges, using our time and our ways to make the right decisions:
With the full participation of global society,
We will use that eye toward justice, fairness and true solutions,
to satisfy all interests, not just a little.

The following is from "Occupy Rio+20,"
an image of an eleven-year-old girl speaking to everyone at the venue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XhA8f9Z5UKo