Greenpeace criticises WTO over NGO restrictions at its fourth ministerial conference

Amsterdam, 13 August 2001: Greenpeace will send its flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, to Doha, Qatar for the 4th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The announcement was prompted by unprecedented severe restrictions to the participation of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), that were announced by the Secretariat of the WTO in a letter dated August 10 and sent to all the NGOs who had applied for accreditation to the ministerial conference.

In the light of space limitations in Doha, the WTO announced that only one representative per NGO would be granted a visa in Qatar.

However, the Qatari government had previously given guarantees to WTO member states that it would allow free speech and freedom of peaceful protests during the ministerial conference.

The Rainbow Warrior will sail to Qatar with members of local communities from the five continents whose livelihoods and environment are affected by unsafe trade liberalisation promoted by the WTO.

In a letter addressed to the Emir of Qatar, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa ath-Thani, Greenpeace International Executive Director Gerd Leipold said he: "Hopes that the presence of our flagship will be an important contribution to help the WTO resolve the current conflict between international trade and environmental policy."

Greenpeace International Political Director Remi Parmentier that the G8 and European Union countries were campaigning to launch a new round of trade liberalisation in Doha, which would affect large parts of our social and natural environment.

"Perhaps we can make a difference if the WTO hears the voices of those on the Rainbow Warrior - people who will be affected by their decisions."

There is no consensus for a new round of trade liberalisation amongst WTO member states, and Greenpeace believes that the WTO should not expand because it has too many unresolved issues to address.

For more information: Download the Greenpeace publication "Safe Trade in the 21st Century: The Doha Edition." This report documents the negative impact of the WTO on the environment, and proposes a set of comprehensive and realistic recommendations to reform the WTO.

For further press information contact: Remi Parmentier, Greenpeace International Political Director, +34 637 557 357.

Notes to editors: Doha is the first ministerial conference of the WTO since Seattle in December 1999. The list and biographies of the members of local communities on board will be released at a later stage.

Dr Gerd Leipold will be aboard the Rainbow Warrior in Doha for the WTO meeting.