RIO DE JANEIRO, June 17 (UPI) -- An exhaustive United Nations pre-conference meeting in Brazil finally produced a draft of the final document that was short on specifics and controversy.
The draft for the Rio +20 conference covered 50 pages and was mainly dedicated to statements of goals such as improving the quality of life around the world and opposing gender discrimination, Agencia Brasil said Sunday.
The draft was hammered out in an overnight negotiating session by representatives of 193 U.N. member nations and was whittled down from 80 pages at the start. Conspicuously absent was Brazil's proposal for a $30 billion annual fund to promote the goals agreed to by the conference.
The RIO+20 event takes place in Rio de Janeiro this week with the goal of establishing global priorities and strategies for the future.
China was heading into the meeting with a six-point plan that included promoting a sustainable economy along with balanced development and assisting struggling nations seen as weak links in the eradication of poverty, China's official Xinhua news agency said.
