MALAYSIA PROPOSES WEO TO ANCHOR GLOBAL EFFORTS FOR ENVIRONMENT

correction: changing WEA to WEO




KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has Wednesday proposed to the
United Nations (UN) to create World Environment Organisation (WEO), to anchor
global efforts for the environment.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said the proposed environmental
body should be consultative and facilitative to assist countries to meet the
commitments derived from mutual agreements.

He said only with a major overhaul of the governance system would the world
be able to address the challenges of environmental sustainability.

"It has become virtually impossible for developing countries to participate
meaningfully. The only countries that cope with the system are the richest
countries of the world while the developing nations are becoming
disenfranchised.

"A new body like the WEO can help facilitate the participation of
developing countries in a more realistic and meaningful way," he said in his
speech at the First Preparatory Meeting of the World Congress on Justice,
Governance and Law for Environmental Sustainability, here, Wednesday.



Najib's speech text was read out by Minister in the Prime Minister's
Department Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.

The prime minister said that over the years, the international community had
adopted hundreds of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAS), all with their
own secretariats and administration.

Between 1992 to 2007, the 18 major MEAs alone convened some 540 meetings
which produced over 5,000 decisions that countries were supposed to act upon
through national efforts, he added.

Najib said the World Congress on Justice, Governance and Law for
Environmental Sustainability in Brazil on June 4 to 6, next year, would provide
a timely opportunity to examine contemporary norms and principles of justice,
governance and law in the area of environmental sustainability and the inherent
linkages among them.

He said the congress would further provide an opportunity to decide on steps
for the evolution and implementation of these norms and principles, which would
in turn provide a way forward for addressing the sustainability challenges of
the 21st century.

Najib said the participants of the preparatory meeting would also have the
opportunity to send clear messages on how they could move forward on
international environmental governance at all levels by bringing a new
perspective to the debate.

"This preparatory meeting is particularly important because it will give the
chance to lay the foundations for the deliberations at the World Congress.

"The World Congress is a unique opportunity to engage in the Rio+20 debates
on governance and to become an active participant, especially for developing
countries, with proposals matching our needs for development," he added.

Director of the Division of Environmental Law and Conventions of the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Bakary Kante, said Najib's proposal
towards environmental sustainability was a giant step forward for the global
environment.

"This is the first time a leader is stating an advance position to call for
WEO. The prime minister has understood how environment is important for the
future of this country and the world," he said in welcoming the statement made
by Najib.

"On behalf of the UN, we express our deepest gratitute to the prime minister
(for the statement made)," he added.

The 34 participants of the two-day meeting which ends Thursday, comprise
judges and legal experts from 19 countries who exchange views, knowledge and
experience related to the implementation of environmental law.

-- BERNAMA