Statement by The Sisters of Mercy and the NGO Mining Working Group 5th Interactive Dialogue of the General Assembly on Harmony with Nature: Towards achieving sustainable development goals including addressing climate change in the Post-2015 Development Agenda 27 April 2015 Thank you Mr. Moderator, Madam Chair, Mr. President, Excellencies for the opportunity to make a brief statement today on the occasion of the Fifth Interactive Dialogue of the General Assembly on Harmony with Nature. My name is Avery Kelly. I am speaking on behalf of the Sisters of Mercy and the NGO Mining Working Group. I would like to begin my statement by expressing our condolences to the people and the government of Nepal at this most tragic time. As the NGO Mining Working Group, we address unjust and unsustainable extractive practices and policies through the lens of the rights of local communities and indigenous peoples and Earth’s carrying capacity. Given the experiences of our members on the ground throughout the world who know first-hand of the devastation and unsustainable development due to the extractive growth model, we believe that a rights-based approach to Sustainable Development is at the heart of a shift away from the current economic development model exploitative of people and Earth, which is essential. By a rights-based approach to sustainable development, we refer to the diverse range of all social, political, and economic processes that effectively serve to preserve, restore, or create the environmental, social, and economic conditions necessary for all persons, including future generations, to fully enjoy their civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. NGO Mining Working Group 777 UN Plaza, 6H, NY, NY, USA 10017 [email protected] 1 It has been shown time and time again and recognized by several UN Special Rapporteurs that as ecological rights are violated, human rights are violated in a parallel fashion. Similarly, as human rights are respected, our Earth thrives. Keeping this in mind, I will now turn to the Post-2015 Development Agenda. As Member States are currently giving input to what will become the political Declaration of this Agenda, we join panelist Maude Barlow and renew our earlier call by the global water justice movement to ensure that the human right to water and sanitation be explicitly named. Upholding the human right to water and sanitation is fundamental to a rights-based approach to sustainable development that puts people first and respects the limits of our earth. This human right is often violated in the face of extractivism, in tandem with devastation of the environment and vital ecosystems. The General Assembly recognized the human right to water and sanitation in 2010; thus, if we assume that this right will be grouped in with rights only outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we risk ignoring this human right in the critical Post-2015 Agenda. On this Fifth Anniversary of General Assembly Resolution 64/292 recognizing the human right to water and sanitation as a human right that “is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights” and in particular, on this special day recognizing the importance of Harmony with Nature, we urge Member States in the room to take a step forward by ensuring that the human right to water and sanitation is included in the Declaration of the Post-2015 Agenda. Statement delivered 27 April 2015 NGO Mining Working Group 777 UN Plaza, 6H, NY, NY, USA 10017 [email protected] 2