UN General Assembly designates April 22 as Int´l Mother Earth Day

Source: Xinhua | 04-23-2009 08:22

UNITED NATIONS, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a draft resolution initiated by Bolivia and co-sponsored by 50 other countries on Wednesday to designate April 22 as International Mother Earth Day.

Bolivian President Evo Morales Ayma, who was in the United Nations headquarters to attend the observance, applauded the move, hailing the members of the general assembly had "taken a historic stand for Mother Earth" by acknowledging humanity's common interest in the protection of the planet and its environment.

"Sixty years after adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Mother Earth is now, finally, having her rights recognized," said Morales after the adoption.

In his address to the general assembly, Morales appealed to all members of the United Nations to live up to their responsibility to ensure life on the planet by working for unity, equality, dignity and, above all, humanity, which inherently involved protecting, and restoring, Mother Earth.

Action to that end had never been more vital, as the toll of years of environmental degradation and callous exploitation of the planet's natural resources and ecosystems could no longer be ignored, he said.

"We are strangling the planet, strangling ourselves," Morales said, stressing that, for too many years, the world had been held captive by the seductive notion of capitalism.

However, it was now clear that "we don't own the planet, we belong to it," he said, calling for the 21st century to be dedicated to recognizing and protecting Mother Earth and her ecosystems.