The Hague Declaration
on the atmosphere

The Declaration of the Hague calls upon all states to participate in the development of a framework convention on climate change. The Declaration was issued by a conference of heads of state and government convened in the Hague in March 1989 at the initiative of the Dutch, French, and Norwegian governments. Because a number of major countries were not invited, the resulting declaration cannot claim to reflect the opinion of the world community. Among the states that were not invited were the US, the USSR, China, Belgium, and Greece. The United Kingdom declined to attend.

The Declaration emphasizes the need for new institutional mechanisms. It advocates "a new approach, through the development of new principles of international law including more effective decision-making and enforcement mechanisms", to counter the unprecedented challenge to the atmosphere. The conference participants discussed the need for an institution within the framework of the UN that would have the main responsibility for combating further global warming. After some debate, the question of whether this should be achieved by creating a new institution or whether existing UN bodies, notably the United Nations Environment Programme UNEP), should be strengthened, was left open.

The Declaration also spelled out specific features of the proposed new institution. The signatories pledged to promote the following ideas:

The institution should have the responsibility to combat global warming and should be empowered to make effective decisions, even if unanimous agreement has not been reached.

This institution should be responsible for undertaking the necessary studies, for which it should be granted appropriate information. In addition, it should promote the exchange of information and technology transfer. It should develop standards and then monitor statesā compliance.

Disputes regarding the institutionās decisions should be decided by the International Court of Justice.

Countries for whom measures to protect the atmosphere are a special burden should be compensated early and equitably.

Legal instruments, including institutional and financial mechanisms, need to be developed to provide a foundation for application of these principles.

For further reading:

"Environmental Policy and Law", Vol. 19/2 (1989), p. 45.

Last revised 1 May 1993 by the Information Unit on Climate Change (IUCC), UNEP, P.O. Box 356, CH-1219 Ch‰telaine, Switzerland. Tel. (41 22) 979 9111. Fax (41 22) 797 3464. E-mail iucc@unep.ch.