WTO
and civil society, an opportunity for Qatar
Workers at Alang shipbraking yard. Gujarat, India © Greenpeace |
On the evening of 3 December 1999 when the Seattle ministerial
conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) collapsed,
in its final statement, Greenpeace International said with
humour that "The WTO has two options: either its next
meeting is in Pyong-Yang, North Korea, to avoid the protests
from civil society, or it changes its attitude toward public
scrutiny and democracy."
The WTO has not gone that far. But there is nevertheless
- rightly or wrongly - a widespread belief in many countries
that the 4th Ministerial Conference of the WTO is being held
in Doha, Qatar to flee from the demonstrators and to create
obstacles to the participation of non-governmental organisations
(NGOs).
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Many believe that the venue of the meeting in Qatar represents
a challenge for NGOs. Greenpeace International is of the view that
in fact it can represent a real opportunity, and therefore also
a challenge, for the Qatari government.
We trust that the Qatari government will meet its commitment to
allow peaceful protests and free speech in Qatar for the duration
of the WTO Ministerial Conference, and beyond.
Greenpeace International therefore trusts that the Qatari government
will allow the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior to visit Doha for
the period of the WTO meeting.
Together with the crew of the vessel, people representing local
communities from the five continents, whose livelihood and health
is endangered by current WTO policies and practice as described
in this booklet, will come to Doha on board the Rainbow Warrior.
Qataris from all walks of life, the members of the WTO Secretariat,
and the representatives of the WTO member states are invited on
board the Rainbow Warrior to hear the point of view of the local
communities' representatives.
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Intergovernmental decision-making processes are often flawed
because they can be driven by individuals and constituencies
that are not sufficiently in touch with the people and the
environment that are likely to be affected by their decisions.
Thus Greenpeace International will also hold in Doha its Third
Seminar on Safe Trade, at which the people and authorities
of Qatar, the participants in the WTO meeting, and representatives
from NGOs are invited.
Following two other seminars held in Seattle (1999) and Geneva
(2000),1 the Third Safe Trade Seminar will be an opportunity
to hear the testimonies of the local communities' representatives
who joined the Rainbow Warrior.
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Protest against cargo ship carrying 18 tonnes
of toxic PCBs, Antwerp, Belgium.
©Greenpeace
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It will also be a forum where the views and constructive proposals
of other panel participants will be presented.
The latest Greenpeace report 'Safe
Trade in the 21st Century - the Doha Edition' is a completely
new version that builds upon Greenpeace International´s 1999
publication produced in co-operation with the Centre for International
Environmental Law (CIEL) for the Seattle conference.
The Doha Edition contains almost entirely new material and it
contains sections on several new issues that have arisen since Seattle.
The feedback received in Seattle from WTO delegates and staff, representatives
of the press, and other NGOs had been very positive.
We hope to contribute again, with this Doha Edition, to the resolution
of the on-going conflict between international trade and the environment.
Our goal is to empower WTO member states with the political ability
and will to agree in Doha with the key proposals contained in the
Doha Edition (see Greening of Doha, p10). With this in mind, we
look forward to working with all the stakeholders, including WTO
member states, before and in Doha. Download
the pdf report now.
More
information.
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