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press release
cancun, mexico, september 9,
2003
World Trade Organisation is trading away
the environment
Trade and environment ministers from all
around the world gathering today in Mexico at
a key meeting ahead of the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) Ministerial in Cancun were
warned not to trade away the environment.
Friends of the Earth International, the
world’s largest network of environmental
grassroots organizations, warned in a
briefing that the WTO is taking over the
United Nations and putting at risk
international environmental governance.
[1]
Governments are negotiating at the WTO on
the relationship between global environmental
agreements and WTO rules [2]. However, the
WTO has no mandate to rule over international
environmental governance in general and
specifically not over the Multilateral
Environmental Agreements (MEAs).
Ongoing WTO negotiations, requested by the
European Union and Switzerland, should be
transferred to the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) Governing Council, according
to Friends of the Earth International.
Only the United Nations has the authority to
review and decide on any potential and actual
conflicts between environmental agreements
and WTO trade rules. In addition,
environmental governance should be
strengthened by bolstering the compliance and
dispute settlement mechanisms of global
environmental agreements, the organisation
said.
“Trade measures in Environmental Agreements
are amongst the most effective instruments to
ensure that key objectives of MEAs are met.
As a consequence, MEAs must not be
subordinated to the WTO trade rules and their
autonomy and authority must be recognized. To
do so, negotiations on the relationship
between WTO rules and MEAs should be
transferred to the Untied Nations
immediately,” according to Miriam
Behrens.
For more information please contact Friends
of the Earth International in Cancun:
Alberto Villareal +52 9981 204585
Alexandra Wandel +52 9981 204586 (from sept
9)
Miriam Behrens +52 9981 204589 (from sept
10)
Notes to editors:
[2] There are approximately 200 multilateral
environmental agreements in place today, a
number of which contain provisions related to
trade and trade rules. They include the
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which
regulates trade in genetically modified
organisms and enters into force on September
11, 2003; the Basel Convention which controls
trade or transportation of hazardous waste
across international borders;the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species
(CITES); and the Stockholm Convention on
Persistent Organic Pollutants. Negotiations
on the relationshipo between MEAs and trade
rules were launched in Doha 2001.
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