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For
Immediate Release to the Press
Dhaka: 26 August 2003
Civil
Society Organisations Urge LDC Trade Ministers
to Uphold LDC Unity at Cancun
On the eve of the Fifth Ministerial Meeting
of the WTO to be held at Cancun on 10-14
September 2003, leading civil society
organisations urge LDC Trade Ministers
to deliver on development at Cancun and
to uphold the united position of LDCs.
The organisers of the International Civil
Society Forum which was held in Dhaka
on 29-30 May 2003 on the eve of the Second
LDC Trade Ministers Meeting, made the
call in a letter addressed to all the
LDC Trade Ministers. The letter is signed
by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD),
Bangladesh, Consumers International, EU-LDC
Network, Oxfam International, South Asia
Watch on Trade and Economics, Environment
(SAWTEE) and Southern and Eastern African
Trade Information and Negotiations Institute
(SEATINI).
Congratulating the Ministers for their
excellent, powerful and comprehensive
Declaration adopted at the Second LDC
Trade Ministers Meeting, the civil society
organisations urged them to stay the course
and not abandon the united position of
the Dhaka Declaration. The organisations
pledged their full support for the LDC
agenda at Cancun and requested the Ministers
to work together with members of the civil
society groups in their respective countries.
In their letter the civil society organisations
hoped that Ministers would incorporate
the concerns expressed in the Dhaka Declaration
of the International Civil Society Forum.
They hoped that Ministers would include
the following messages in their policy
position at Cancun:
· Bind duty-free and quota-free
market access for all LDC products and
exemption from all safeguard measures
· Resolution of all implementation
issues prior to consideration of new issues
· A framework agreement on S&DT
premised on level of development, and
incorporating mandatory obligations on
the part of developed countries
· Free temporary movement of service
providers
· Flexibility for LDCs on agriculture
to enable LDCs to protect domestic agriculture,
safeguard food security and livelihood
of the farmers
· Non-reciprocity and exemption
for LDCs in negotiations on industrial
tariffs
· Access to essential medicines
· Protection of the rights of farmers,
indigenous people and local communities
· Technical and financial assistance
for LDCs
· Accession of LDCs to the WTO
under conditions no less favourable than
those that apply to existing LDC members
· Transparent and fully inclusive
decision making at Cancun and beyond
A copy of the letter was handed over to
the Minister for Commerce, Government
of Bangladesh, Mr. Amir Khosru Mahmud
Chowdhury, MP at his office today by the
Executive Director of CPD Dr. Debapriya
Bhattacharya. The Minister who is also
designated to be the spokesperson of LDCs
assured that he would uphold the civil
society concerns and carry their messages
to Cancun for his LDC colleagues.
The letter to the Trade Ministers of LDCs
is attached herewith for your information.
Anisatul Fatema Yousuf
Head, Dialogue and Communication
To All Trade Ministers of LDCs
To All Trade Ministers
of LDCs
Your Excellencies,
Re: Delivering on Development at Cancun
In just a couple of weeks you will lead
your country's delegation to the World
Trade Organisation's Fifth Ministerial
Meeting in Cancun, Mexico. Since its inception
at the last Ministerial, the Doha Development
Agenda (DDA) has been confronted with
many obstacles and challenges. Developed
country members have sought to frustrate
the achievement of the positive outcomes
that were intended for the least developed
and developing countries. As a result,
almost all negotiations at the WTO are
stalemated. It is critical that Cancun
delivers on the promises held out in the
Doha Development Agenda.
We
the undersigned, represent the like-minded
civil society group that organised the
International Civil Society Forum on 29-30
May 2003 in Dhaka, titled "Advancing
LDC Interest in the Fifth WTO Ministerial".
Your
Excellency, we are aware that many LDCs
have been subject to immense pressure
to reverse the strong position adopted
in Dhaka. This is intended to fragment
and weaken the negotiating strength of
the LDC Ministers. In this respect, we
congratulate you for the excellent, powerful
and comprehensive Declaration adopted
at the Second LDC Trade Ministers Meeting
and urge you to stay the course and not
abandon the united position of the Ministerial
Declaration. We pledge our full support
for the LDC agenda at Cancun and urge
you to work together with the members
of the undersigned civil society groups
in your country.
Our
key messages, which we hope you will
incorporate in your policy position
at Cancun are:
·
Bind duty-free and quota-free market access
for all LDC products and exemption from
all safeguard measures
· Resolution of all implementation
issues prior to consideration of new issues
· A framework agreement on S&DT
premised on level of development, and
incorporating mandatory obligations on
the part of developed countries
· Free temporary movement of service
providers
· Flexibility for LDCs on agriculture
to enable LDCs to protect domestic agriculture,
safeguard food security and livelihood
of the farmers
· Non-reciprocity and exemption
for LDCs in negotiations on industrial
tariffs
· Access to essential medicines
· Protection of the rights of farmers,
indigenous people and local communities
· Technical and financial assistance
for LDCs
· Accession of LDCs to the WTO
under conditions no less favourable than
those that apply to existing LDC members
· Transparent and fully inclusive
decision making at Cancun and beyond
We
attach herewith the full text of the
Declaration adopted by the Civil Society
Organisations in Dhaka on 30 May 2003.
Please
do not hesitate to contact us for any
further information or support.
With
best wishes.
Executive
Director
Centre for Policy
Dialogue
Regional Director
Consumers International
Head of Secretariat
EU-LDC Network
Policy Advisor
Oxfam International
Executive Director
SAWTEE
Representative
in Switzerland,
SEATINI
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