UN MILLENNIUM SUMMIT: CITIZENS
LAUNCH NEW CAMPAIGN ON THE WORLD TRADE
ORGANISATION
On the day of the United Nations
Millennium Summit, citizens' groups
from all over the world have launched a
new statement on the future of the
World Trade Organisation.
The UN Millennium Summit is the
biggest gathering of heads of state so
far in the new millennium. Activists
and non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) around the world will hold press
conferences, rallies and other events
to mark the summit, as well as
launching their "WTO: Shrink or Sink!"
statement. NGO pressure played a
central role in the historic collapse
of the Seattle world trade talks in
December 1999.
The new NGO statement has been
signed by more than five hundred
organisations from over 60 countries.
The statement contains a list of
demands from civil society for a
sustainable, socially just and
democratically accountable system of
international trade. The current world
trade system has led to extreme
inequalities in the distribution of
wealth and contributed to environmental
destruction across the planet.
The NGOs want the WTO to "shrink"
its mandate - to roll back its power
and authority - otherwise it will
"sink" under its own weight.
Further Information:
Alexandra Wandel, Friends of the
Earth Europe, Tel: 32-2-542 01 85
In the US: Alesha Daughtrey, Public
Citizen, Tel: +1-202-454-5103)
A full text of the statement and the
list of signatories can be seen on the
FOEE website:
http://www.foeeurope.org
(also available in Dutch, German,
French, Italian, Portuguese and
Spanish) (FYIO: will be posted later
during this week on the frontpage)
Friends of the Earth Europe's
membership consists of 30 national
member organisations in 29 European
countries with over 3000 local
groups
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