It is not a political declaration, she adds,but the legal assessment of lawyers.

VOA: standard.2010.02.14

"The Brazilian government deeply regrets,therefore, that the joint declaration has neither received the political recognition it deserves nor been given the time it needs to bear fruit."

VOA: standard.2010.06.09

The British hope that because the charter is likely to be adopted as a political declaration only, not as a legally binding text, it will not cause too much of a fuss.

ECONOMIST: Britain and Europe

Although Ms Short and other government delegates were unimpressed by the final Johannesburg text and its separate political declaration, they point to a few specific commitments and a useful emphasis on fighting poverty rather than on conservation.

ECONOMIST: So what was achieved by ten days of talking?

The expectation is that they are coming here to kick some ass, and that when they hit town things will start happening, things in particular being the political declaration and the plan of action that will mark the end of the summit.

BBC: Summit diary: Waiting for the Hogs