Earth Summit Plans Proceed with Mixed Blessings
Episcopal News Service. April 24, 1992 [92102C]
Numerous church representatives attended the final preparatory committee meeting at the United Nations for the Earth Summit, set for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 1-12. Bishop Paul Reeves, a Maori and current observer for the worldwide Anglican Communion at the United Nations, spoke on behalf of indigenous peoples at the preparatory meeting, held in New York City during March 2-April 3. Several delegates of the Geneva-based World Council of Churches (WCC) and about 35 members of the Eco-Justice Working Group of the U.S. National Council of Churches also attended. The working group, chaired by William Somplatsky-Jarman of the Presbyterian Church (USA), sponsored a "religious roundtable" and expressed their concerns to U.S. delegate Robert Ryan. Jean Sindab, a member of the working group, said that the U.S. government had played an "obstructionist" role to date with regard to the proposed Earth Summit. Critics have said that the United States remains vague concerning what policies it will support at the summit or whether President Bush will even attend. The WCC will convene a parallel conference during the summit. The Earth Summit is formally known as the Conference on Environment and Development.