youth statement on chemicals
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Sascha Gabizon
May 6, 2011, 12:57:12 PM5/6/11
to Womens Sustainable Development, Women CSD Women Rio+20
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From: Johanna Salmi <johann...@lsu.se>Date: May 6, 2011 6:37:32 PM GMT+02:00To: Sascha Gabizon <sascha....@wecf.eu>Subject: Re: proposed women intervention on chemicals negotiations:
Thanks!Statement, 6th May 2011Mr. Chair, thank you for the floor.We, the Major Group for Children and Youth, believe that sustainable chemical management is a critical component of sustainable development, and we express deep concern for the continued mismanagement and abuse of chemicals that places our world in peril.It is vital to stress that sustainable management of chemicals must be based on the 4 principles of precaution, polluter-pays, right-to-know and substitution.We would like to remind you that the precautionary and polluter-pays principles have already been adopted in the Rio principles on Environment and Development. Building on this, we emphasize the equally fundamental importance of substitution and the right-to-know principles.To ensure sustainable chemical management, we must apply the substitution principle through an on-going process that ensures the development of alternative products and techniques. Many safer subsitutions for toxic chemicals already exist, so alternatives must not only be researched, but adopted.In addition, the right-to-know principle is of crucial importance to all society, ensuring the transparency and availabilty of information on the effects of chemicals.This is the International Year of Chemistry, when we celebrate the achievements and contributions of the field, under the banner of "Chemistry- our life, our future". Yet we all suffer the painful inflictions that the mismanagement of chemicals have wraught upon the world. So, let us change course and strive to forge a world where chemicals benefit and enhance the well-being of humankind.JOHANNA SALMI
LSU youth representative to theUN Commission on Sustainable Development 2011Phone 001 347 208 34 82Twitter JohannaSalmiLSU - The National Council of Swedish Youth OrganizationsAddress Gammelgårdsvägen 38, SE-112 64 StockholmWeb www.lsu.se
2011/5/6 Sascha Gabizon <sascha....@wecf.eu>dear women,please see below our proposed intervention on chemicals negotiations:Thank you Chair,I speak on behalf of the women’s major group.My organisation works particularly on the health effects on women and children from harmful chemicals in our food, consumer products and environment.Women working with harmful chemicals in their workplace, have increased levels of cancers, including breast cancer.Women are the first environment for their child. The harmful chemicals go through the placenta to the developing child, which is most vulnerable to even small doses of harmful chemicals.There are hundred-thousands of harmful chemicals used in everyday products,· from mercury in skin bleaching creams,
· to lead in paints and toys, to hormone disrupting and carcinogenic plastic softeners , pthatlates, in most cosmetics and plastics products, including toys and children’s pyjamas with printing.
· Bisphenol – A , which is extremely dangerous, continues to be used in plastic baby bottles.
· Formaldehyde – which has shown to create cancer – comes out of plastic puzzles and carpets, often used in kindergardens.
And now we also have the completely unknown health risks from nano-materials. All scientists say they are clueless about the health effects of nano materials, they might go straight through the brain-blood barrier. But already, nano materials are used in many sunscreen creams, in children’s clothing, even in babymilk.These harmful chemicals are often leading to ir-reversable long term terrible health effects.Each child which dies of cancer because of exposure to the chemical industry’s unsafe products, is a tragedy.We DO not accept that our bodies and these of our children are used as a testing field by chemical industry.That is why the 2020 Johannesburg chemicals goal is so important.We need the existing international mechanisms to be enlarged and strengthened much further.We need to support developing countries in creating their necessary legislation to protect their populations health.A basis for all chemicals management are the principles of right to know, precautionary principle, polluter pays, and no data no market.We therefore are very surprised to hear that a country has proposed to take out the reference to Right to Know and objected to references to existing regulations based on no data no market.We ask all delegations to not go back 30 years in time. These basic principles need to be upheld.Sascha Gabizon - Executive DirectorWECF -Women in Europe for a Common FutureWICF -Women International for a Common FutureEmail: sascha....@wecf.euTel NL: +31 (30) 23 10 300Tel DE: +49 (89) 23 23 93 80Tel Mobile: +49-172-8637586WECF/WICF is a unique network of over 100 grassroots women and environment organisations worldwide, working in multi-sector partnerships demonstrating sustainable development alternatives at the local level, and sharing lessons learned and promoting sustainable policies at the global level.Friends of WECF/WICFSupport our work, become a Friend of WECF! Friends join our campaigns, Friends follow us on Facebook, and when they can, Friends support us with at least 1 Euro per month. Join us as a friend of WECF at fri...@wecf.euSascha Gabizon - Executive DirectorWECF -Women in Europe for a Common FutureWICF -Women International for a Common FutureEmail: sascha....@wecf.euTel NL: +31 (30) 23 10 300Tel DE: +49 (89) 23 23 93 80Tel Mobile: +49-172-8637586WECF/WICF is a unique network of over 100 grassroots women and environment organisations worldwide, working in multi-sector partnerships demonstrating sustainable development alternatives at the local level, and sharing lessons learned and promoting sustainable policies at the global level.Friends of WECF/WICFSupport our work, become a Friend of WECF! Friends join our campaigns, Friends follow us on Facebook, and when they can, Friends support us with at least 1 Euro per month. Join us as a friend of WECF at fri...@wecf.euSascha Gabizon - Executive DirectorWECF -Women in Europe for a Common FutureWICF -Women International for a Common FutureEmail: sascha....@wecf.euTel NL: +31 (30) 23 10 300Tel DE: +49 (89) 23 23 93 80Tel Mobile: +49-172-8637586WECF/WICF is a unique network of over 100 grassroots women and environment organisations worldwide, working in multi-sector partnerships demonstrating sustainable development alternatives at the local level, and sharing lessons learned and promoting sustainable policies at the global level.Friends of WECF/WICFSupport our work, become a Friend of WECF! Friends join our campaigns, Friends follow us on Facebook, and when they can, Friends support us with at least 1 Euro per month. Join us as a friend of WECF at fri...@wecf.eu
Sascha Gabizon - Executive Director
WECF -
Women in Europe for a Common Future
WICF -
Women International for a Common Future
Email: sascha....@wecf.eu
Tel NL: +31 (30) 23 10 300
Tel DE: +49 (89) 23 23 93 80
Tel Mobile: +49-172-8637586
WECF/WICF is a unique network of over 100 grassroots women and environment organisations worldwide, working in multi-sector partnerships demonstrating sustainable development alternatives at the local level, and sharing lessons learned and promoting sustainable policies at the global level.
Friends of WECF/WICF
Support our work, become a Friend of WECF! Friends join our campaigns, Friends follow us on Facebook, and when they can, Friends support us with at least 1 Euro per month. Join us as a friend of WECF at fri...@wecf.eu
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