NGOs
Pursue New Avenues To Get Their Voice To The Table
As
the World Forum on the WTO, hosted in Beirut, Lebanon, came to
a close on 8 November, the hostile words coming from its final
declaration did not bode well for the long-suffering relationship
between the World Trade Organization (WTO) and civil society.
In order to help overcome some of the difficulties in interacting
with the organisation, many NGOs have adopted a more varied approach,
ranging from the street protests seen at the 1999 Ministerial
Conference in Seattle to research assistance to direct participation
through national delegations. The overall strategy appears partially
successful, at least with respect to the sensitive issue of the
relationship between the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) and public health (see related
story, this issue).
BRIDGES
Weekly Trade News Digest, Vol. 5 Num 39, 15 November, 2001
TRIPs-Public
Health Accord Seen As Bright Spot By Civil Society
One of the most hard-fought battles pitting NGOs and developing
countries against some of the richer WTO Members -- that of access
to medicines and public health in relation to the Agreement on
Trade- related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs)
-- has passed a major milestone with the adoption of the Declaration
on TRIPs and Public Health at the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference.
Whether the Declaration will actually improve access to medicines,
however, will depend on the extent to which developing countries
make use of the flexibilities in the TRIPs Agreement, and on the
yet to be tested legal strength of the Declaration.
BRIDGES
Weekly Trade News Digest, Vol. 5 Num 39, 15 November, 2001
WTO
Protests Mushrooming Around The Globe
Given
the difficulties in voicing discontent with the possible launch
of new global trade talks directly at the Ministerial Conference
in Doha (Qatar), a broad coalition of NGOs is planning a series
of street demonstrations and other events in several cities all
around the world. more
Last-Minute
Arrangements For NGOs
At a briefing
session for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on 31 October,
the WTO Secretariat outlined arrangements for the upcoming WTO
Ministerial Conference.
The NGO Centre will be five minutes walk from the main Conference
rooms hosted at the Sheraton Hotel in Doha. Shuttles will regularly
connect the area of the hotels with the conference site..
BRIDGES
Weekly Trade News Digest, Vol. 5 Num 38, 6 November, 2001
Civil
Society In Doha: Still Fewer Expected To Attend
24
October 2001, the process of accreditation for NGOs to next week's
Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference ended with the WTO Secretariat
sending out its official registration letters. Even before the current
international crisis erupted, far fewer civil society representatives
were expected to turn up in the Gulf state as compared with the
Seattle gathering in 1999 (see BRIDGES
Weekly, 11 September 2001). Following the 11 September attacks,
public participation at the WTO Ministerial is due to shrink even
further.
BRIDGES
Weekly Trade News Digest, Vol. 5 Num 37, 30 October, 2001
Ducking
the Debate, the WTO Confirms Developing Countries’ Worst Fears
[...] All in all, 647 individuals have been invited to register
for the Ministerial. More than half of these represent business-related
associations (OECD-based lobby groups and specific commercial interests
account for 85 percent). Even among public interest groups, less
than a third come from developing countries. More than thirty US
government-appointed bodies - such as the Industry Sector Advisory
Committee on Chemical and Allied Products for Trade Policy Matters
- have been confirmed as eligible NGOs (Friends of the Earth, an
NGO with offices and membership in developed and developing countries,
has launched a sign-on letter requesting the WTO to review their
approval). In addition, while due to ‚space limitations' in
Qatar most entities on the list have been offered one place, some
have been granted multiple slots.
more
from BRIDGES Monthly
Vol. 5, No. 6 July-August 2001
Civil Society In Doha:
Few Into The Glass Building, None Outside It
10
August, WTO Director
General Mike Moore sent a letter to 647 applicants eligible for
representing the community of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)
at the Forth WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar, on 9-13 November.
Despite the warm welcoming words of the Director General, many civil
society representatives expressed frustration and dissapointment about
the limitations for participation and the allocation of slots. more
BRIDGES
Weekly Trade News Digest, Vol. 5 Num 30, 11 September,
2001
A
Joint Civil Society Delegation to Doha?
Despite proposals by some NGOs to boycott the Ministerial meeting,
'public interest' NGOs seem unwilling to leave the entire representation
of the non-governmental community to the 'business initiated' NGOs.
Alternatively, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)
has proposed to pool NGO slots together and give room to a Civil Society
Delegation to Doha. The formal
proposal suggests that "some of the criteria for such a delegation
could include North-South balance, ensuring expertise in the core
issues, and a balance from different constituencies, as well as advocates,
activists, media experts, etc." more
BRIDGES
Weekly Trade News Digest, Vol. 5 Num 30, 11 September,
2001
647
NGOs Accredited
On 13 August, the WTO
Secretariat released the list of NGOs eligible to attend the Doha
ministerial. 647 NGOs will take part at the 5 days long conference.
The NGOs have to hand in their registration forms before 17 September.
One person per organisation will be allowed to attend the Ministerial
in Qatar.See the list of NGOs
16
August
Doha:
WTO Approves Procedures For NGO Registration And Attendance
At the 8 May WTO General Meeting (see related story, this issue),
Members agreed on the sequence to be followed for non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) wishing to attend the WTO's Fourth Ministerial
Conference in Doha, Qatar from 9-13 November.
According to the paper, (WT/MIN(01)/INF/3), interested groups must
submit requests for registration by 2 July. Requests for registration
received after that date will not be processed. Applications from
NGOs to be registered will be accepted, according to the 8 May decision,
on the basis of Article V.2 of the WTO Agreement, i.e. NGOs "concerned
with matters related to those of the WTO". more.
BRIDGES
Weekly Trade News Digest, Vol. 5 Num 18, 15 May 2001
Civil
Society update On
28 March, the WTO outlined the facilities that will be provided for
NGOs in Doha. An NGO Centre will be made available for civil society
representatives, with room for press conferences and meetings. The
exhibition hall where the NGO Centre will be housed, is close to the
Convention Centre where the Ministerial Conference will be held.
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Final
Declaration And Recommendations, No To A New Round In Doha, World
Forum On The WTO, November 2001
Parliamentarians
take action for more transparent WTO, Federalist Movement, 11
November 2001
Doha
Ministerial Declaration Joint Civil Society Statement For Assessment
Of Trade In Services, November 2001
Unequal
Harvest: Farmers’ Voices on InternationalTrade and the Right
to Food by Rights & Democracy, Nov 2001
It's
the Law, WTO! !All guests to Qatar have experienced the security
measures. Often apologies for inconveniences are introduced by a short,
"sorry, but it's the law." by ICSDL, nov 2001 more
also The
WTO in International Sustainable Development Law
TRIPS
and Rights: International Human Rights Law, Access to Medicines, and
the Interpretation of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects on
Intellectual Property,
The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, October 2001
WTO
after Seattle: Put Sustainable Development on the Agenda! Positions
and Proposals. By Danish '92 Group and the Danish North/South
Coalition, Nov
2001
A
consumers Round for the World Trade Organisation, by Consumers
International, October 2001
Joint
open letter from Action Aid, CIEL, Friends of the Earth Intl,
IATP, OXFAM Intl and WWF to the WTO
The
International Institute for Sustainable
Development puts forward a series of Viewpoints on the forthcoming
WTO Ministerial viewpoint
#1
& viewpoint
#2 & viewpoint
#3 .
WWF
international released its No
Investment Agreement Within The Wto: Re-Directing Investment To Promote
Sustainable Development. October 2001
Oxfam
International published
itsIIs
the WTO serious about reducing world poverty? The Development Agenda
for Doha, October 2001
WWF
International Position Statement Can
The World Trade Organisation Live Up To The Challenges Of A Globalizing
World?, October 2001
Statement
of Service Centre for Development Cooperation (Kepa), Finland,
on the WTO fourth Ministerial Conference to be held in Doha, October
2001
Civil
Society and WTO: suggested Readings
A
Proposal
for a Civil Society Delegation to Doha from IATP
List of NGOs eligible
for accreditation at the WTO Ministerial
Sample
Letter to Qatari Embassy for Visa applications (Public Citizen)
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