10 november 2001
doha
friends of the earth
international dubs wto 4th ministerial 'sale
of the century'
As governments gather in Qatar for the
WTO's 4th Ministerial, Friends of the Earth
International (FoEI) groups in Qatar and
around the world [1] argue that bringing yet
more controversial issues and sectors into
the WTO [2] will cause the Qatar Ministerial
to be remembered as the Sale of the
Century.
If some governments, including the
European Union, the United States and Japan,
have their way, a huge range of new sectors
will come under WTO rules, meaning rich
pickings for Northern-based transnationals,
but possibly little else for poorer countries
and people, smaller companies and the
environment. [3] On the table at present, for
example, are energy and water service
markets, tourism and lucrative government
procurement contracts worldwide.
Friends of the Earth International
representatives from the Belgium, Germany,
Norway, the Philippines, Switzerland and the
UK are in Doha to convince governments that
now is not the time to continue with this
'business-as-usual' agenda.
In particular, Tony Juniper, vice-chair of
FoEI said:
"If the EU and the US want to demonstrate a
new spirit of internationalism they are going
about it the wrong way. They could and should
be using Doha to demonstrate that now is the
time for a new approach to international
relations and world trade, one that's fairer
and more sustainable.'
Specifically, FoEI is calling on
governments to:
-
Keep
new issues out of the
WTO.
-
Review
the existing rules as
agreed in the WTO's Uruguay Round of
negotiations.
-
Phase out
talks on liberalising
agriculture and start talks on a new
multilateral treaty in the UN, focussed on
food security, safety, and
sustainability.
-
Stop and review
the GATS
negotiations on liberalising services,
ensuring that the extraction or collection
of energy fuels, minerals and ore, water,
timber, and other natural resources and any
services related to nuclear energy are
exclude from GATS disciplines.
-
Ensure
the TRIPs Agreement on
intellectual property rights does not
restrict the right of governments and
peoples to promote and protect essential
public interests including health and the
environment.
-
Prohibit
the patenting of life
forms.
-
Acknowledge
that key
mulitlateral treaties on the environment,
development, health, labour and human
rights take precedence over the WTO.
To see the full position FoEI paper ‘Sale
of the Century: Towards a Sustainable Trading
System’ go to http//:www.foei.org
Contacts
:
In Doha:
Tony Juniper, +44-7712 843 207
Alexandra Wandel, +539 2747 or +49-172-748
39 53
Vice Yu, +41-79 2375 626
Bertram Zagema, +31-6-29593877
In London:
Ronnie Hall, +44 1243 602756, +44 7967
017281
In Montevideo:
Alberto Villareal: +598 52 28481, +598 520
2587
In Washington DC:
David Waskow: +1 202 783 7400
[1] Friends of the Earth International
(FoEI) is a worldwide federation of 68
independent national environmental groups,
uniting close to 1 million activists
worldwide.
[2] A combination of 'built-in' agenda
negotiations to liberalise services, and the
new issues being promoted by the European
Union, which include investment, competition
and government procurement, would mean a
significant expansion of the coverage of WTO
rules, yet there has been no comprehensive
review of the last round of negotiations
despite the fact that many developing
countries are arguing that they did not
receive expected benefits.
[3] A detailed analysis of the trading
system is provided in FoEI's ‘Sale of the
Century: Towards a Sustainable Trading
System’ go to http//:www.foei.org
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