Major Group for Children and Youth Rio+20 Closing Statement

I  want  you  to  imagine  a  generation  that  has  been  damned,  imagine  children  deprived  of  a   world  without  war,  imagine  a  community  where  human  beings  are  slaves  to  fellow  beings   and  where  disease  and  hunger  are  the  order  of  the  day.  That  is  the  future  we  warned  you  of   in  92  and  that  future,  is  today.      

If  these  sheets  of  paper  are  our  common  future,  then  you  have  sold  our  fate  and  subsidised   our  common  destruction.  Where  was  our  voice,  the  voice  of  our  children  and  grandchildren   in  this?  How  can  you  listen  to  them  in  the  future  if  you  did  not  show  the  will  to  create  the   space  now?      

We  have  one  planet.  Our  being,  our  thinking,  and  our  action  should  not  be  constrained  by   national  boundaries  but  by  planetary  ones.  You  failed  to  liberate  yourself  from  national  and   corporate  self-­‐interest  and  recognise  our  need  to  respect  a  greater  more  transcendental  set   of  boundaries.      

We  came  here  to  celebrate  our  generation.  We  have  danced,  and  dreamed,  and  loved  on   the  streets  of  Rio  and  found  something  to  believe  in.  You  have  chosen  not  to  celebrate  with   us.      

You  were  supposed  to  show  leadership.  It  was  not  just  your  job  to  seek  consensus.  It  was   your  responsibility  to  commit,  show  ambition  and  to  lead.  You  have  failed.      

You  have  worked  hard  to  close  a  deal.  So,  if  any  of  you  think  this  document  is  the  ambitious,   action-­‐oriented  outcome  you  said  you  wanted,  please  stand  up.      

If  you  are  unable  to  stand  up,  then  you  must  be  unwilling  to  move  forward.  So  we  will  move   forward  for  you.      

We  know  this:      

We  need  intergenerational  cooperation.   

We  need  innovation  and  creativity.  

We  need  to  embrace  the  values  of  sustainability,  equity,  justice  and  respect  for  human   rights.  

We  need  to  recognise  that  material  resources  are  finite,  but  human  potential  is  not.        

And  so,      

We  will  create  strong  global  institutions  

We  will  create  new  paradigms  of  wealth  and  prosperity  

We  will  act  as  the  voice  for  future  generations,  one  that  you  so  wilfully  ignored.  

We  will  stand  united  beyond  borders  and  bridge  the  national  interests  that  divide  us  

We  will  implement  what  you  have  not.      

We  are  moving  forward  decisively  with  action.  

We  are  not  deterred.