5TH ANNUAL UN STUDENT CONFERENCE ON HUMAN RIGHTS

The 5th Annual United Nations Student Conference on Human Rights was held on December 6th 2002. Eleven sites from around the world joined together via video conferencing for the all day student-run event. Under the direction of the UN Department of Public Information and with the cooperation and support of the Carol Baur Foundation, Global Education Motivators, Interconnections 21, LePage Educational Consultants, UNA Dominican Republic and UNA-USA, an all day live interactive video conference was held bringing young people together from the Europe, Latin and North America to discuss Sustainable Development and Human Rights: A Better Future for All. GEM brought eight students to the United Nations in New York as student leaders for the conference.

Sites involved were Barrie, Ontario, Canada; Prague, Czech Republic; Mexico City, Mexico; Magherafelt, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom; Cape Cod, MA, USA; Fairfax, VA, USA; Ovid NY, USA; Philadelphia, PA, USA; and Sicklerville, NJ, USA. The conference was webcast live around the world and can be seen by going to GEM Website Archives and Student Human Rights Conference 2003 or: Morning Session or Afternoon Session.

The Opening Plenary was highlighted with remarks from Mr. Bertrand Ramcharan, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, in Geneva. Students had the opportunity to discuss with him their issued and concerns on Human Rights. Students worked throughout the day on the 2002 Student Declaration on Human Rights, and students from each location were able to join in the deliberations through the video conferencing format. The action plan was completed in the afternoon session, and then submitted to Acting President of the 57th General Assembly, Mr. Clifford Sibusiso Mamba, of Swaziland.

The Action Plan below was the result of their interactive work that took place on December 6th even though they were thousands of miles apart.

Global Education Motivators (GEM) is proud to have worked with more than 1,300 students from 43 schools worldwide, in preparation for Human Rights Day 2002.

CZECH REPUBLIC British International School; English International School; Gymnazium Jizni Mesto; Gymnazium Litomericka; Gymnazium Spitalska; Gymnazium Melnik; Gymnazium Kladno; Gymnazium Jana Nerudy; Gymnazium Voderadska; Gymnazium Heyrovskeho; Gymnazium Slovanske namesti Brno, Prague

NORTHERN IRELAND Rainey Endowed School, Magherafelt, Londonderry

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Delaware - Wilmington Friends School, Wilmington; Massachusetts - Cape Cod Academy, Cape Cod; Cape Cod Light House School, Cape Cod; Nauset HS, Hyannis New Jersey - Blessed Sacrament School, Margate; Camden HS, Camden; Woodrow Wilson HS, Camden; BRIMM HS, Camden; Creative Arts HS, Camden; Galloway Township HS, Absecon; Passaic Valley HS, Little Falls; St. Lawrence School, Lindenwold; Sterling HS, Somerdale; Roosevelt HS, Union City; Jordan Road School, Somers Point; Schalick HS, Pittsgrove; Camden County Technical HS, Sicklerville, Eastern HS, Voorhess; New York - South Seneca HS, Ovid Pennsylvania - Akiba Hebrew Academy, Archbishop Carroll HS, Chestnut Hill Academy, Haverford HS, Havertown; Mt. St. Joseph's Academy, Flourtown; North Penn HS, Lansdale; Norristown HS, Norristown; Patton HS, Kennet Square; Penn Charter School, Philadelphia; Ridley HS, Folsom; Upper Dublin HS, Fort Washington; Virginia - Mantua School District, Fairfax

We, the future leaders of the 21st century that have convened on December 6th, 2002, to acknowledge that:

The ultimate human right is the right to a future and that a healthy and productive planet is essential to making that future a positive one...

Humanity as a whole does not only possess the power to change the future, but the obligation to preserve it...Sustainable Development cannot be thought of as a single issue, but as the conglomeration of many important issues that it is. Sustainable Development is meeting the needs of the present without of compromising the needs of the future by balancing what is needed and what is wanted, as it relates to the world community.

We, through this declaration, implore the governments, organizations and people of the world to:

1. Support the education of people worldwide about conservation, strong ecosystems, the effects of global warming, ecosystem management, harmful chemicals, native endangered species, and environmental cooperation;
2. Encourage direction of the global economy to address the global ecosystem through corporate sector cooperation, incentives for those who respect their local ecosystems, development of renewable and clean resources, and the development of safer and cleaner technology and more environmentally-friendly products;
3. Support funding for vaccines, free health care, free clinics, better doctors and more efficient facilities for the countries that need it most, recognizing that the more availability and accessibility there is for treatments, doctors, facilities, and health care, the more our overall quality of life will improve;
4. Support the idea that with more deucation and awareness, the death rate from HIV/AIDS will decrease, people will take better care of themselves, and the future will become brighter for upcoming generations;
5. Recognize that every human has a right to safe drinking water, proper sanitation, and a cleaner environment, which will all contribute to the overall sustainability of the international community and the healthier the population will be;
6. Promote education on the proper and improper use of water, and the benefits of sanitation;
7. Urge the support, cooperation, and funding of NGOs and governmental organizations to promote technology for the improvement of unprotected well/springs, public latrines, dams, filtration systems, water maintenance resources, and waste disposal systems;
8. Urge research in order to improve existing resources and promote and make available alternative energies and renewable resources;
9. Encourage education for consumers and companies about the advantages of alternative forms of energy, long-term profitability, and advantages of alternative sources for self-sufficiency in maintaining established energy infrastructures;
10. Seek to enlist international support from NGOs, private companies, governments, and individuals or consumers in order to spread the availability of energy;
11. Encourage environmentally friendly types of farming to produce safe crops, the promotion of sanitary water, the increased efficiency of water use, and the implementation of new methods to reduce the use of harmful technologies;
12. Urge efficient consumption and productivity patterns, thereby ensuring the open access of products.
13. Understand that discrimination is wholly an obstacle to the progress of sustainable development, whether it be gender inequality, racism, xenophobia, religious discrimination or any other form of violation to human rights.
14. Urge all nations to incorporate international relations and sustainable development into their educational infrastructure.
15. Recognize that peace is a right granted to all humans. Understand that peace is not only the cessation of war, but also peace and balance between human activity and the environment; peace between animals - human and non-human alike; peace between the interest of big business and local economies; and peace between the needs of the present and those of the future.