Date: Sun, 11 Apr 1999 06:58:20 +1200 From: Carol <•••@••.•••> (by way of Makere Harawira <•••@••.•••>) Subject: TRADE: PETITION TO STOP MILLENNIUM ROUND Date: Fri, 9 Apr 1999 23:50:54 -0500 (CDT) From: Mike Dolan <•••@••.•••> Subject: TRADE: PETITION TO STOP MILLENNIUM ROUND This is an excellent and historic statement on behalf of international civil society, which is why we signed on (see below). We observe that not all of the organizational allies and affiliates of the Citizens Trade Campaign have lent their voices to this NGO chorus and we encourage you to do so today, by notifying our friend Ronnie Hall (ronnieh @ foe.co.uk) in England. The organizers of the Fair Trade Campaigns in the several [US] states are especially urged to post widely throughout your networks and to take responsibility for getting on any groups what don't have E-mail. Do it today! Dear friends An excellent response so far! Please check for errors and let me know if there are any problems. Otherwise, please continue to circulate and publicise. There have been two slight grammatical changes (one in the title, one in the sentence about TRIPs) which do not change the substance. There will be no further changes under any circumstances. Please note, that in order to keep this process relatively simple, we have also confined sign-ons to organisations only. There is an excellent geographical spread amongst the organisations signed up and it is important that this is immediately apparent to anyone reading the list. In addition, I personally don't have the time to deal with this additional task. Please can you note this when talking to others. Thanks. Also, please remember we can only send updates out if we have e-mail contact addresses. Finally, I have been sent a Spanish and a French translation. I will send these separately for your use. However, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the translations. Nevertherless, many thanks to the people who sent them! The best of luck with your campaigning Ronnie Hall Friends of the Earth **************** STATEMENT FROM MEMBERS OF INTERNATIONAL CIVIL SOCIETY OPPOSING A MILLENNIUM ROUND OR A NEW ROUND OF COMPREHENSIVE TRADE NEGOTIATIONS In November 1999, the governments of the world will meet in Seattle for the World Trade Organization's Third Ministerial Conference. We, the undersigned members of international civil society, oppose any effort to expand the powers of the World Trade Organization (WTO) through a new comprehensive round of trade liberalisation. Instead, governments should review and rectify the deficiencies of the system and the WTO regime itself. The Uruguay Round Agreements and the establishment of the WTO were proclaimed as a means of enhancing the creation of global wealth and prosperity and promoting the well-being of all people in all member states. In reality however, in the past five years the WTO has contributed to the concentration of wealth in the hands of the rich few; increasing poverty for the majority of the world's population; and unsustainable patterns of production and consumption. The Uruguay Round Agreements have functioned principally to prise open markets for the benefit of transnational corporations at the expense of national economies; workers, farmers and other people; and the environment. In addition, the WTO system, rules and procedures are undemocratic, untransparent and non-accountable and have operated to marginalise the majority of the world's people. All this has taken place in the context of increasing global economic instability, the collapse of national economies, increasing inequity both between and within nations and increasing environmental and social degradation, as a result of the acceleration of the process of globalisation. The governments which dominate the WTO and the transnational corporations which have benefited from the WTO system have refused to recognise and address these problems. Instead, they are pushing for further liberalisation through the introduction of new issues for adoption in the WTO. This will lead to the exacerbation of the crisis associated which the process of globalisation and the WTO. We oppose any further liberalisation negotiations, especially those which will bring new areas under the WTO regime, such as investment, competition policy and government procurement. We commit ourselves to campaign to reject any such proposals. We also oppose the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement. We call for a moratorium on any new issues or further negotiations that expand the scope and power of the WTO. During this moratorium there should be a comprehensive and in-depth review and assessment of the existing agreements. Effective steps should then be taken to change the agreements. Such a review should address the WTO's impact on marginalised communities, development, democracy, environment, health, human rights, labour rights and the rights of women and children. The review must be conducted with civil society's full participation. The failure of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) demonstrates broad public opposition to the deregulation of the global economy, the increasing dominance of transnational corporations and escalating resource use and environmental degradation. A review of the system will provide an opportunity for society to change course and develop an alternative, humane and sustainable international system of trade and investment relations. This statement is signed by: A SEED, Europe AITEC (Association Internationale de Techniciens, Experts et Chercheurs), France AK Weltwirtschaft Nuernberg, Germany The Alternative Information and Development Centre (AIDC), South Africa American Lands Alliance, United States AMRASH, Morrocan Association of Research Action for Sustainable Development Anarchist Now! (United States) Anti-Atom-Gruppe der Projektwerkstatt Nuernberg, Germany Anti-Atom-Netzwerk Mittelfranken, Germany Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Thailand) Association of African Women for Research and Development (AAWORD) Australian STOP MAI Coalition Bank Information Center (USA) Berne Declaration, Switzerland BLUE 21, Berlin Working Group on Environment and Development BUKO Agro Coordination, Germany Bund Deutscher PfadfinderInnen KV Nuernberg, Germany BUND, Friends of the Earth Germany The California Fair Trade Campaign Canadian Environmental Law Association Campaign for Food Safety, USA Cebu Environmental Initiatives for Development Center, Inc, Philippines CEDETIM (Centre d'Etudes et d'Initiatives de SolidaritT Internationale), France Center for Encounter and Active Non-Violence Bad Ischl Center for Environmental Public Advocacy - Slovak Republic Centro de Informacao e Documentacao Amilcar Cabral (CIDAC) Chiche! Jeunes Ecoles Alternatifs Solidaires Church of Sweden Aid / Lutherhjaelpen, Sweden Citizens' Reaction Against Pollution Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras Comboni Missionaries J & P Resource Center Congregation of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS), India The Corner House, UK Corporate Agribusiness Research Project, USA Corporate Europe Observatory Dana Association (A.C.), Mexico DECA Equipo Pueblo, Mexico Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era Dire Mai al MAI, national Italian campaign Down to Earth - the International Campaign for Ecological Justice in Indonesia, UK Droits devant!! (France) The East Timor Action Network, Los Angeles, USA EcoLogic, Troy New York, USA Ecologistas en Accion (Spain) Economic Justice Now, US Economic Reform Australia ECOTERRA International, Nairobi Node The Edmonds Institute (USA) Education Foundation (Pakistan) Education and Training Employees Association (Vancouver, Canada) EPICENTER, US FAIR NZ - New Zealand Federer at Liberer - France Feministische Partie DIE FRAUEN / Bayern, Fuerth, Germany The Free Burma Coalition, USA Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland Friends of the Earth - Czech Republic, Hnuti Duha Praha Friends of the Earth Finland Friends of the Earth Netherlands - Milieudefensie Friends of the Earth New Zealand Friends of the Earth Norway / Norges Naturvernforund Friends of the Earth - Slovakia Friends of the Earth United States Genetic Resources Action International (GRAIN) Global 2000 - Friends of the Earth Austria Global Exchange, USA Global Labour Institute Globalisation Challenge Initiative Good Shepherd Social Justice Network, Australia and New Zealand Greater Sacramento Chapter of the Alliance for Democracy Green Korea United The Green Library, Latvia Hawai'i Pesticide Project, Honolulu, Hawai'i The Institute for Cultural Ecology Institute of Interdisciplinary Study and Research (Germany) Institute for Global Futures Research (IGFR), Australia Institute for Popular Democracy (IPD) - Philippines Interface Trading, Senegal International Campaign for Responsible Technology International Labour Rights Fund International Human Rights Association, Germany JustAct, Youth ACTion for Global JUSTice KAIROS EUROPA, Heidelberg, Germany Kalmiopsis Audubon Society Komitee Widerstandgegen das MAI, Germany London Human Rights Forum Lookat/Watchdog MAI niet gezien! anti-MAI campaign, the Netherlands MAID, the Netherlands Menorah Jewish Network, Albury Australia Mexican Action Network on Free Trade (Mexico) Minnesota Fair Trade Campaign, Resource Center of the Americas, USA MoKan Alliance for Democracy, Kansas City, USA Movimiento Contra la Europa da Maastricht y la Globalizacion Economica, Spain NCOS (National Centre for Development Corporation), Belgium Netherlands Committee for IUCN Network for Environment and Economic Responsibility of the United Church of Christ (USA) New Economics Foundation, UK New Raza Left - Los Angeles, USA NEWS! the Network of European World Shops The Northwest Environmental Defense Center of Portland, USA Odhikar: A Coalition for Human Rights, Bangladesh Oikos. Journal for Politics, Environment and Culture (Belgium) Oxfam-Solidarity, Belgium Oxfam-Wereldwinkels (Belgium) Pax Romana ICMICA (Thailand) Peace and Justice Centre of Southern California People and Planet network, UK People's Forum 2001, Japan People's Movement, Australia Pesticide Action Network, North America Pennsylvania Consumer Action Network Play Fair Europe!, European Union Polaris Institute (Canada) The Positive Futures Network, USA Preamble Center, United States PRESS, Save the Children youth, Norway Pryority One Carpentry - Australia Public Citizen, USA Public Interest Research Group, India Rainforest Action Network RAPAM Coordinator Mexico Reclaim Australia Red de Permacultura Mexico Red Green Alliance, Denmark Rhode Island Chapter of the Alliance for Democracy, USA RMALC (Mexican Network for Action on Free Trade) Salzburg Forum Against the MAI San Mateo County Peace Action - USA Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition Sisters of Benedict, Oklahoma, USA Sisters of the Holy Names CA Justice and Peace Committee Socialist Party of Labor, Philippines South Australian Genetic Food Information Network Sustainable Alternatives to the Global Economy (SAGE) Swedish Consumer Coalition Tartu Student Nature Protection Group, Estonia Third World Network Towards a Different Europe The Umvelt-und Projektwerkstatt Freiburg, Germany TRANET, US United for a Fair Economy, USA Visaya Management Consultancy Inc, Cebu City, Philippines V.P. Cross Border Network for Justice and Solidarity, Kansas City, USA WALHI / Friends of the Earth Indonesia Waterview Publishing Weltladen-Dachverband, Germany Windsor and Area Coalition for Social Justice, Canada Windsor Area MAI-day Coalition for Human Rights Wisconsin Coordinating Council on Nicaragua Women's Intercultural Network (WIN), San Fransisco Working Group Against the MAI and Globalisation - Turkey WorkSafe! South - Los Angeles, USA World Economy, Ecology and Development (WEED), Germany last updated 7 April 1999
