Live from Rio +20: Part 4

By Timothy Herrmann | June 15, 2012

Well folks, it’s day three.

The atmosphere here is one of utter exhaustion and frustration. The shuttle buses to and from the city center are never on time. Delegates are missing their meetings. The negotiations are dragging on and have yet to reach any conclusions. Small countries, with tiny delegations have all but given up on the process if they even bothered to come at all. NGOs here continue to complain that country negotiators don’t really care about their issues. And it’s true, they are too tired to care. They just want to be done with this and go home. However, it is nearly guaranteed, especially after last night’s endless negotiations, that we will continue to drag on through the weekend. Just remember, the more tired delegations become, the more they are willing to compromise, and the more they are willing to compromise the more bad language finds its way into the document.

Why?

Well, countries like the US and groups like the EU, have more people on their delegations. That means they have more stamina. Countries with smaller delegations, usually less supportive of radical agendas, just can’t last as long. And that is the moment the opposition waits for to get its way. Tired, ready to go home, many delegations will be willing to give in. Let’s hope this isn’t the case.

For now, a small piece of bad news. It looks like the term “reproductive rights” will remain in the final outcome document. The G77 may have given up the fight. Instead of asking for the term to be removed entirely, they have decided to “reserve”. This means that the language will be in the document even though, officially, the G77 does not support it.

Negotiations ended last night at a stand still. They will begin again this morning and end late. As always, we are here keeping you posted and fighting the good fight, even through the exhaustion.

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