5. NGO Positions

No legitimacy or credibility in Seattle process and results - Third World Groups Denounce Undemocratic and Bullying Tactics at Seattle (TWN statement)
The Third World Network issued a statement and held a press conference in the Media Room at about 5 pm on 3 December 1999. The statement expressed outrage at the way developing countries were being treated, and called for the Seattle talks to be adjourned and that the General Council in Geneva be authorised to do follow up work instead.  The statement is reproduced above.(3 Dec 99)

Clinton urged to soften US stand on TRIPS in WTO (S.Singh/SUNS)
More than a 100 non-governmental representatives from over 47 countries and several international organizations have urged President Clinton to ensure 'coherence' between the World Trade Organization (WTO), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the World Health Organization (WHO). In their joint letter, they say that the WTO must recognize that other international laws and undertakings must be respected and that this recognition should be explicit. (18 Nov 99)

WTO a threat to human and environmental health(Someshwar Singh/SUNS)
The WTO must freeze further trade liberalization until it can respect human and environmental health, according to the environmental organization, Greenpeace. Launching a global campaign to reform the WTO, a delegation of Greenpeace representatives met with the WTO Director General Mike Moore and presented him an eight-point agenda that they would like to see reflected in the outcome of the WTO's upcoming Seattle conference.(12 Nov 99)

Implications for developing countries of proposals to consider trade in GMOs at the WTO (CIEL Discussion Paper) (Matthew Stilwell/CIEL)
This discussion paper offers some preliminary observations about proposals for the upcoming WTO Seattle Ministerial by three countries - the US, Canada and Japan - to consider trade in genetically modified organisms (GMOs) at the WTO. These proposals raise significant issues for WTO Members - in particular developing countries.

WTO steals a march on international NGOs (Binu Thomas)
While international NGOs devote their energies to lobbying efforts on the WTO in Western corridors of power, the WTO itself is making inroads in the South by propagating its ideology and 'selling' its agreements in the developing world. Instead of appealing to the goodwill of Western decision-makers to give concessions to developing countries, the author argues, international NGOs should focus on increasing the bargaining power of the South itself in international trade. (9 Oct 99)

No new round; turn around existing agreements! - African civil society statement on the 3rd WTO Ministerial (Aug-Sep 99)

Joint NGO statement of support for the Africa Group proposals on reviewing the WTO TRIPS agreement (Art. 27.3b)

NGOs ask governments to reject new trade round (C Oh/TWN)
Pointing to the devastating effects of the WTO and its agreements, the African Trade Network has come out against negotiations on new issues at the multilateral trade forum. The grouping of African non-governmental organizations has instead called for a rectification of inequities and imbalances in the existing agreements and in the WTO system itself.(5 Sep 99)

Not just trade issues - How WTO agreements affect other sectors (Pennie Azarcon-de la Cruz)(9-11 Aug 99)

WTO closes door to demonstrating farmers(S Singh/SUNS)(9 Jun 99)

WTO "Millennium Round" challenged by NGOs (Niccolo Sarno)(28 Apr 99)

Statement from members of international civil society opposing a millennium round or a new round of comprehensive trade negotiations