DECLARATION
OF THE 9TH WORLD SUMMIT OF NOBEL PEACE LAUREATES
PARIS
11-13 DECEMBER 2008

We, the Nobel Peace Laureates and Laureate organizations, who have gathered together in Paris from 11 to 13 December, 2008, to consider the state of human rights and the prospects for a world without violence, have adopted the following Declaration.

1. HUMAN RIGHTS

a. We celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We are encouraged by the progress of humanity since 1948 in extending democracy and entrenching human rights.

b. However, we are concerned about the failure of over forty countries, including more than one third of humanity, to join in the march to democracy and human rights. We deplore, in particular, continuing human rights abuses in Burma and Zimbabwe.

i. We call on the government of Burma to release Aung San Suu Kyi and for a national dialogue to restore democracy to Burma;
ii. We call on the countries of the Southern African Development Community to take urgent steps to bring about a democratic solution to the problems of Zimbabwe;
iii. We urge all states to sign and ratify all the international human rights treaties and to establish independent national bodies to monitor and promote their implementation.

c. We are concerned about the continuing deprivation of women’s rights in many parts of the world.
i. We call on all countries to end gender discrimination and to extend full and equal protection of all human rights to women as well as to men;

d. We are alarmed by the serious threat posed to a range of human rights by the continuation of extreme poverty.

i. We urge all countries to fulfil their obligations to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and to establish independent and credible national bodies to monitor and promote performance in this regard.

e. We are fully cognisant of the impact of the current financial crisis and its implications for the right to decent work.

i. We call on the international community to take concerted action to address the causes and consequences of the current financial crisis and its implications for workers and for the most vulnerable members of society.

f. We deplore the violation of prohibitions against torture and degrading treatment of prisoners. We reaffirm the right to due process of law and the presumption of innocence.
i. We urge that judicial proceedings be brought against persons guilty of gross violations of human rights.
ii. We support the undertaking of President-elect Obama to close Guantanamo Bay prison and call for the closure of all such facilities everywhere.

2. A WORLD WITHOUT VIOLENCE

In the area of international security we are encouraged by the great reduction in interstate conflict since 2003.

a. However, we are concerned about the continuation of serious conflicts within states primarily between ethnic, cultural and religious communities, and the threats that such conflicts hold for international peace and terrorism. W e are particularly concerned about the recent situation in Georgia/South Ossetia and the ongoing conflicts in Darfur, the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sri Lanka.

i. We call upon the Secretary General of the United Nations to hold an international conference on this topic with to review and strengthen the rights of cultural, ethnic and religious minorities, as well as the rights of newly arrived immigrant communities.
ii. We call on all states to support and implement the recently adopted Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
iii. We call on all parties involved in the Georgia/South Ossetia conflict to resolve the dispute by peaceful means in accordance with international law.

b. We are deeply concerned about the unresolved conflict between Israel and Palestine, which is a continuing source of instability in the region.

i. We call for the acceptance by all parties of the early implementation of a viable two-state solution and for the immediate cessation of all violence, threats of violence and repressive counter-measures. We call on all Palestinian organizations and all countries to recognise the right of Israel to exist within secure borders. We call on Israel to use its power to initiate negotiations and to promptly alleviate the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

c. We are deeply concerned about on-going violence in Colombia.

i. We call for the immediate release of all remaining hostages and for negotiations between all the relevant parties to bring about a peaceful, just, and democratic solution in accordance with fundamental human rights.

d. We deplore the continuing increase in expenditures on armaments despite the reduction of interstate conflict. We support the Costa Rican Consensus, proposed by our colleague, President Oscar Arias. In terms of the Consensus, mechanisms will be created to forgive national debts and to support financially developing countries that increase their domestic expenditures on environmental protection, education, healthcare and housing and that decrease their military expenditures.

i. We urge the adoption of the Costa Rican Consensus by institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF.
ii. We call on all states to support the adoption and implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions signed on 3 December, 2008 in Oslo, Norway, and proposed International Convention on the Arms Trade.
iii. We call for decreases in military expenditures to free up resources for human development.

e. There is no greater threat to human rights than nuclear weapons.

i. We call for the global legally verifiable elimination of all nuclear weapons through the prompt adoption of a nuclear weapons convention. This convention must include incremental threat-reducing steps such as termination of the production of weapons-grade fissile materials and a reliable verification system. We call for the universal ratification of the existing Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

3. THE ENVIRONMENT

We are acutely aware of the threat posed to peace and fundamental human rights by the medium and long-term implications of global warming, environmental degradation and the growing scarcity of water resources.

i. We call on the international community to address this crisis and to co-ordinate the development of policies to ensure environmentally sustainable human development.
ii. We call on all states to keep the earth’s temperature rise within 2 degrees C limits over the course of this century and to bring this commitment into a legally binding instrument to be adopted at the Climate Talks in Copenhagen in December 2009.
iii. We call on all local, regional, national and international authorities to develop enforceable policies to address the environmental crisis.
iv. We call on all countries to develop and adopt a Universal Right to Water Convention and to adopt national legislation to give effect to the Convention.
v. We call on all individuals to commit to changing their lifestyles to leave a lighter footprint on the earth.