The following list was adopted as the Principles of Environmental
Justice at the People
of Color Environmental Leadership Summit. This list
was adopted on October 27, 1991, in Washington, D.C.
1. Environmental justice affirms the sacredness of Mother Earth,
ecological unity and the interdependence of all species, and the right to
be free from ecological destruction.
2. Environmental justice demands that public policy be based on mutual
respect and justice for all peoples, free from any form of discrimination
or bias.
3. Environmental justice mandates the right to ethical, balanced and
responsible uses of land and renewable resources in the interest of a
sustainable planet for humans and other living things.
4. Environmental justice calls for universal protection from nuclear
testing, extraction, production and disposal of toxic/hazardous wastes and
poisons and nuclear testing that threaten the fundamental
right to clean air, land, water, and food.
5. Environmental justice affirms the fundamental right to political,
economic, cultural and environmental self-determination of all peoples.
6. Environmental justice demands the cessation of the production of all
toxins, hazardous wastes, and radioactive materials, and that all past and
current producers be held strictly accountable to the
people for detoxification and the containment at the point of production.
7. Environmental justice demands the right to participate as equal
partners at every level of decision-making including needs assessment,
planning, implementation, enforcement and evaluation.
8. Environmental justice affirms the right of all workers to a safe and
healthy work environment, without being forced to choose between an unsafe
livelihood and unemployment. It also affirms the right of those who work
at home to be free from environmental hazards.
9. Environmental justice protects the right of victims of environmental
injustice to receive full compensation and reparations for damages as well
as quality health care.
10. Environmental justice considers governmental acts of environmental
injustice a violation of international law, the Universal Declaration On
Human Rights, and the United Nations Convention on Genocide.
11. Environmental justice must recognize a special legal and natural
relationship of Native Peoples to the U.S. government through treaties,
agreements, compacts, and covenants affirming sovereignty and
self-determination.
12. Environmental justice affirms the need for urban and rural ecological
policies to clean up and rebuild our cities and rural areas in balance
with nature, honoring the cultural integrity of all our communities, and
providing fair access for all to the full range of resources.
13. Environmental justice calls for the strict enforcement of principles
of informed consent, and a halt to the testing of experimental
reproductive and medical procedures and vaccinations on people of color.
14. Environmental justice opposes the destructive operations of
multi-national corporations.
15. Environmental justice opposes military occupation, repression and
exploitation of lands, peoples and cultures, and other life forms.
16. Environmental justice calls for the education of present and future
generations which emphasizes social and environmental issues, based on our
experience and an appreciation of our diverse cultural perspectives.
17. Environmental justice requires that we, as individuals, make personal
and consumer choices to consume as little of Mother Earth's resources and
to produce as little waste as possible; and make the conscious decision to
challenge and reprioritize our lifestyles to insure the health of the
natural world for present and future generations.
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