The proposed Treaty is supported by a body of international documents and principles drawn from over 50 years of commitments, obligations and expectations created through the UN system. A full list of the international instruments and other documents that have been reviewed for the drafting of this document is available on request. The current disruption of many national economies demonstrates the failure of globalization based on unprincipled economic growth. Wild fluctuations in currency exchange rates and the possible breakdown in the year 2000 of the communication and information infrastructure which underlies the global economy also reveal the fragility of a system which has claimed to offer order and stability. This disruption and possible breakdown together with the growing economic inequality both within and among countries, show that our present situation is fraught with both danger and opportunity.
Great changes are certain.
In the past, such changes have often been in the direction of totalitarian dictatorship and war with dire global consequences. This time perhaps we can move instead in the positive direction of principled and democratic decision making - and of the implementation of Public Trust international law to which our leaders have so long given lip service. It is now apparent that we are suffering the consequences of half a century of unprincipled economic growth. We call upon the nations of the world not to relive the errors of the past but rather to ensure the rights of present and future generations by implementing the principles of this Citizens Public Trust Treaty.