AG/RES. 1926 (XXXIII-O/03)
Human Rights and the Environment in the Americas

(Adopted at the fourth plenary session held on June 10, 2003)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

HAVING SEEN the report of the Permanent Council (CP/doc. /03 add. );

TAKING NOTE of the report of the Secretary General (CP/CAJP-2042/03) and the presentations before the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs of the Permanent Council by the Executive Secretariat of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Office for Sustainable Development and Environment, on their work in the field of human rights and the environment (CP/CAJP-1996/02 and CP/CAJP-1998/02), and contributions of civil society human rights and environment experts (CP/CAJP-1999/02);

RECALLING the commitments of Heads of State and Government with respect to sustainable development, climate change, environmental protection, and disaster management, as set out in the Declaration and Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas, held in Quebec, and in the Declaration of Santa Cruz de la Sierra and the Plan of Action for the Sustainable Development of the Americas;

GUIDED BY the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, the American Convention on Human Rights, the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the area of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, and other related human rights instruments;

GUIDED ALSO BY the Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development and the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, adopted in South Africa on September 4, 2002;

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the work done by the United Nations, as reflected in the 1972 Declaration of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the 1992 Convention on the Protection of Biological Diversity, the 1989 Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (Basel Convention), and other relevant instruments of international environmental law;

RECALLING resolutions AG/RES. 1819 (XXXI-O/01) and AG/RES. 1896 (XXXII-O/02), on Human Rights and the Environment, in which the OAS took on a leading international role, stressing the importance of promoting environmental protection and the full realization of human rights; and

ACKNOWLEDGING a growing awareness of the need to manage the environment in a sustainable manner to promote human dignity and well-being,

RESOLVES:

1. To continue to promote institutional cooperation in the field of human rights and the environment between the Organization of American States and other multilateral institutions, including the United Nations and its specialized agencies, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and regional development banks.

2. To continue to encourage institutional cooperation in the area of human rights and the environment in the framework of the Organization, in particular between the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Office for Sustainable Development and Environment.

3. To instruct the Secretary General, through the Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment in coordination with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, to continue the dialogue with member states and civil society organizations and the implementation of activities in the field of human rights and the environment, taking into account the work done on this topic within the United Nations, including the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, the Economic and Social Council, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, and the United Nations Development Programme.

4. To instruct the Permanent Council to hold a meeting of the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs, during the second half of 2003, to which it should invite the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and in which the Office for Sustainable Development and Environment should participate, for continued examination of their work in the field of human rights and the environment.

5. To request the Secretary General to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-fourth regular session on the implementation of this resolution, which will be carried out within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.