1.At its 1st plenary meeting, held on 5 June 1972, the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, in accordance with rule 4 of its rules of procedure, appointed a Credentials Committee. The Committee was composed of the following States: Australia, Colombia, France, Ireland, Liberia, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, United States of America and Yugoslavia.
2. The Credentials Committee met on 15 June 1972 with all members present. It unanimously elected T. S. O'Hodhrain (Ireland) as Chairman.
3.The following information was provided to the Committee by the Secretary-General of the Conference:
(a)Formal credentials from 88 States, signed by the Head of State, Head of Government or Foreign Minister, had been submitted in accordance with rule 3 of the rules of procedure of the Conference;
(b)Cables had been received from 16 States, signed by the Head of State, Head of Government or Foreign Minister, informing the Secretary-General of the Conference of the accreditation of the delegation and indicating that formal credentials were being submitted;
(c)Cables had been received from 2 States, signed by the Head of State, Head of Government or Foreign Minister, informing the Secretary-General of the Conference of the accreditation of the delegation and requesting that the cable be accepted as credentials. In his reply, the Secretary-General of the Conference indicated that while the cable might be accepted provisionally, formal credentials in accordance with rule 3 of the rules of procedure should be submitted,-
(d)With respect to 4 States, the Secretary-General of the Conference had received assurances from the Heads of Delegations concerned that credentials in due form had been established and were being transmitted to him.
(e)Representatives of 3 States whose names had been forwarded to the Secretary-General of the Conference but for whom no formal credentials had been received were no longer present at the Conference. The Secretary-General of the Conference had received an indication that another State would participate but it was not represented at the Conference.
4. The Chairman proposed that, in accordance with usual United Nations practice and the practice of conferences convened under its auspices, the Committee should adopt the following draft resolution:
"The Credentials Committee,
"Having examined the credentials of the representatives to the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment,
"Accepts under the terms of rule 3 of the rules of procedure the credentials of all representatives to the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment and recommends to the Conference that it approve the report of the Credentials Committee."
5. The draft resolution proposed by the Chairman was adopted unanimously.
6. The Chairman then proposed that the Credentials Committee should recommend to the Conference the adoption of the following draft resolution:
"The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment,
"Approves the report of the Credentials Committee."
7. The Committee unanimously approved the recommendation.
8. The Credentials Committee accordingly recommends to the Conference the adoption of the draft resolution given in paragraph 6 above.
_ It is the people that propel social progress, create social wealth, develop science and technology and, through their hard work, continuously transform the human environment. Along with social progress and the advance of production, science and technology, the capability of man to improve the environment increases with each passing day.
6. A point has been reached in history when we must shape our actions throughout the world with a more prudent care for their environmental consequences. Through ignorance or indifference we can do massive and irreversible harm to the earthly environment on which our life and well-being depend. Conversely, through fuller knowledge and wiser action, we can achieve for ourselves and our posteriority a better life in an environment more in keeping with human needs and hopes. There are broad vistas for the enhancement of environmental quality and the creation of a good life. What is needed is an enthusiastic but calm state of mind and intense but orderly work. For the purpose of attaining freedom in the world of nature, man must use knowledge to build in collaboration with nature a better environment. To defend and improve the human environment for present and future generations has become an imperative goal for mankind-a goal to be pursued together with, and in harmony with, the established and fundamental goals of peace and of world-wide economic and social development.
7. To achieve this environmental goal will demand the acceptance of responsibility by citizens and communities and by enterprises and institutions at every level, all sharing equitably in common efforts. Individuals in all walks of life as well as organizations in many fields, by their values and the sum of their actions, will shape the world environment of the future. Local and national governments will bear the greatest burden for large-scale environmental policy and action within their jurisdictions. International cooperation is also needed in order to raise resources to support the developing countries in carrying out their responsibilities in this field. A growing class of environmental problems, because they are regional or global in extent or because they affect the common international realm, will require extensive cooperation among nations and action by international organizations in the common interest. The Conference calls upon the Governments and peoples to exert common efforts for the preservation and improvement of the human environment, for the benefit of all the people and for their posterity.
States the common conviction that:
1. (ex 1) Man has the fundamental right to freedom, equality and adequate conditions of life, in an environment of a quality that permits a life of dignity and well-being, and bears a solemn responsibility to protect and improve the environment for present and future generations. In this respect, policies promoting or perpetuating apartheid, racial segregation, discrimination, colonial and other forms of oppression and foreign domination stand condemned and must be eliminated.
2.(ex 2) The natural resources of the earth, including the air, water, land, flora and fauna and especially representative samples of natural ecosystems, must be safeguarded for the benefit of present and future generations through careful planning or management, as appropriate.
3. (ex 3) The capacity of the earth to produce vital renewable resources must be maintained and whenever practicable restored or improved.
4. (new) Man has a special responsibility to safeguard and wisely manage the heritage of wildlife and its habitat, which are now gravely imperiled by a combination of adverse factors. Nature conservation including wildlife must therefore receive importance in planning for economic development.
5. (ex 4) The non-renewable resources of the earth must be employed in such a way as to guard against the danger of their future exhaustion and to ensure that benefits from stock employment are shared by all mankind.
6. (ex 5) The discharge of toxic substances or of other substances and the release of heat, in such quantities or concentrations as to exceed the capacity of the environment to render them harmless, must be halted in order to ensure that serious or irreversible damage is not inflicted upon ecosystems. The just struggle of the peoples of all countries against pollution should be supported.
7.(new) States shall take all possible steps to prevent pollution of the seas by substances that are liable to create hazards to human health, to harm living resources and marine life, to damage amenities or to interfere with other legitimate uses of the sea.
8. (ex 6) Economic and social development is essential for ensuring a favorable living and working environment for man and for creating conditions on earth that are necessary for the improvement of the quality of life.
9. (ex 7) Environmental deficiencies generated by the conditions of underdevelopment and natural disasters pose grave problems and can best be remedied by accelerated development through the transfer of substantial quantities of financial and technological assistance as a supplement to the domestic effort of the developing countries and such timely assistance as may be required.
10. (new) For the developing countries, stability of prices and adequate earnings for primary commodities and raw material are essential to environmental management since economic factors as well as ecological processes must be taken into account.
11. (ex 8) The environmental policies of all States should enhance and not adversely affect the present or future development potential of developing countries, nor should they hamper the attainment of better living conditions for all, and appropriate steps should be taken by States and international organizations with a view to reaching agreement on meeting the possible national and international economic consequences resulting from the application of environmental measures.
. 12. (ex 9) Resources should be made available to preserve and improve the environment, taking into account the circumstances and particular requirements of developing countries and any costs which may emanate from their incorporating environmental safeguards into their development planning and the need for making available to them, upon their request, additional international technical and financial assistance for this purpose.
13. (ex 10) In order to achieve a more rational management of resources and thus to improve the environment, States should adopt an integrated and coordinated approach to their development planning so as to ensure that development is compatible with the need to protect and improve the human environment for the benefit of their population.
14. (ex 11) Rational planning constitutes an essential tool for reconciling any conflict between the needs of development and the need to protect and improve the environment.
15. (ex 12) Planning must be applied to human settlements and urbanization with a view to avoiding adverse effects on the environment and obtaining maximum social, economic and environmental benefits for all. In this respect projects which are designed for colonialist and racist domination must be abandoned.
16. (ex 13) Demographic policies, which are without prejudice to basic human rights and which are deemed appropriate by Governments concerned, should be applied in those regions where the rate of population growth or excessive population concentrations are likely to have adverse effects on the environment or development, or where low population density may prevent improvement of the human environment and impede development.