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I whole heartedly support the childrens’ demand to include “the right to a safe future” in the UN Declaration of the Rights of the child. As Graca Machel, UN Secretary General’s Expert on the impact of Armed Conflict on Children said in 1995, “I come from a culture where traditionally children are seen as our present and our future, so I have always believed it is our responsibility as adults to give children futures worth living.” Indeed in November 1997 UNESCO adopted a Declaration on the Responsibilities of Present Generations Towards Future Generations which aims to ensure through action today, a viable future for the coming generations. It was recognized “the fate of future generations depends to a great extent on the decision and actions taken today, and that the present day problems including poverty, technological and material underdevelopment, unemployment, exclusion, discrimination and threats to the environment must be solved in the interests of both present and future generations.”

The future is more important than the present and yet it is more difficult to secure than the present due to the contradictions inherent in the present which render the future more unpredictable and unsafe.

The greatest challenge that faces the world today is securing the survival of human kind. The major threats to the human race consist of an ecological disaster and a nuclear war. We must promote sustainable development so that development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. We must respect international law and settle our conflicts peacefully in order to avoid intermittent armed conflicts. We must disarm and prevent the stockpiling of arms of mass destruction. We must develop systems of governance that promote fundamental human rights, peace, security and development.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 and other subsequent human rights instruments including the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 do not specifically contain the right to a safe future. It is now recognised that these instruments are not exhaustive on human rights and that new rights can be recognized. Indeed several “third generation” rights like the right to environment, the right to development and the right to peace, have been recognised as fundamental human rights. It is therefore my view that the right to a safe future should provide the most comprehensive right for future generations and must draw from the future and dynamic elements of the rights to peace, environment and development. The right to a safe future must take into account the human values set out in the UN Millennium Declaration 2000, of freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, respect for nature and a shared responsibility, as principles which underpin a New International Economic and Political Order.

In short, the right to a safe future must guarantee future generations a future free from fear and want, a future that recognizes and promotes the rights of children to education and health and protection from exploitation, and a future which guarantees them a healthy and peaceful environment in which they live and develop. It must be a world fit for children.

We must therefore build consensus on the content of the right to a safe future through discussion and advocacy and then call upon the UN to recognize and declare it. I congratulate you for starting the ball rolling.

- Hon’ble Mr. Justice B J Odoki
Chief Justice of Uganda