To Roberto Azevedo
Director-General,
World Trade Organization
Geneva, Switzerland
1/4/2020
In the context of the ongoing pandemic of COVID 19 that is ravaging the world at present, this call comes to you from fishers groups, supported by farmers, workers, and Civil Society Organisations around the world to immediately halt the ongoing fisheries subsidies negotiations at the WTO.
Countries are busy attending to the unprecedented health calamity posed by COVID19, which represents a phenomenal challenge not only to our health but to the current & future economic, social, and political stability across our countries. Most countries are busy deploying their financial and human resources to fighting this monumental battle.
In the middle of this, the World Trade Organization (WTO) is continuing to negotiate an outcome on fisheries subsidies in the most non-transparent, non-inclusive and ad-hoc manner. The aim to meet the SDG14.6 target this year is laudable; however these are exceptional times. Since Geneva is under a lock-down, face-to-face negotiations are on hold. Meanwhile, the Chair, Ambassador Santiago Wills of Colombia, is tabling texts at his own discretion, and the lack of adequate consultations is introducing undue bias in the text written by the Chair with the support of the WTO Secretariat, which remains under the heavy influence of some advanced countries.
The Chair has tabled a text on the 9th of March on Overfishing and Overcapacity, while placing Special and Differential Treatment (SDT), a key demand from a number of developing countries and LDCs, under a placeholder. The Chair ignored important proposals by India, the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) and the Least Developed Country (LDC) Group on special and differential treatment (SDT), in drafting this text. This is clearly in contravention of the full mandate of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14.6, which includes SDT while asking for disciplines on fisheries subsidies for IUU fishing and to control Overfishing and Overcapacity.
Apparently, because of strenuous objections by several developing countries, the Chair organized a “virtual consultation” on the 20th of March to discuss proposals by India and LDC Group on SDT for both IUU and Overfishing & Overcapacity. But this had to be canceled as many developing countries simply do not have the infrastructure and option to effectively join, especially given the situation in their countries. The Chair then invited responses through email by the 26th of March, which is also difficult for many Member States, especially from developing countries where human resources including in the trade ministry, are now redirected to fighting the pandemic. Delegates may also not be able to communicate well with their capitals and decision-makers under this situation, given the expansive lock-downs in most countries. Needless to say, after receiving responses from Member States and then from the proponents by the 3rd of April, the Chair (with the support of the secretariat) will come up with another personal text.
This process will presumably continue in this manner and may end in a General Council Meeting in June-July in Geneva to conclude the negotiations. This process, which is pushed by some developed countries, will put the whole outcome in jeopardy.
This rush to conclude the negotiations in spite of the inability to hold direct discussions, when the Nur-Sultan June Ministerial Conference has been indefinitely postponed and all our countries and their people are battling the immense challenge of COVID 19, is baffling. Moreover, since the next Ministerial is most likely to be postponed to the middle or end of 20211 there is simply no rationale for continuing with the negotiations in such a haphazard and hasty manner.
Negotiations of multilateral negotiations on an important issue such as fisheries subsidies, which is a critical livelihood issue for millions especially in developing countries, cannot be conducted in this manner. More so, when the development concerns of the majority of WTO’s developing and least developed country members are clearly not being taken on board. A biased and undemocratic process being conducted through emails with unwarranted haste will inevitably lead to a biased and unfair outcome and will further damage not only the development mandate of the WTO but its reputation as an institution for years to come.
We therefore call on the WTO and the Chair to immediately halt the fisheries negotiations and ask Member States to discontinue participating in this process until it can be pursued in a transparent, inclusive and rational manner, which is not possible unless normalcy is restored across the globe. Our countries would be much better served if delegates focused on domestic and global needs in fighting the COVID19 battle. In fact the WTO can actually help, for example, by easing intellectual property rules imposed through the WTO’s Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement and easing access to treatment for COVID19 affected patients. And we can have at least a glimmer of hope left for a fair and rational outcome on fisheries subsidies that respects the full mandate of SDG 14.6, and in particular, Special & Differential Treatment, in the future.
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1 https://insidetrade.com/daily-news/wto-eyes-mid-or-late-2021-rescheduled-ministerial
Global and Regional Groups
- 350 Pacific
- African Women Fish Processors and Traders Network, Africa (AWFISHNET)
- Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND)
- Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD)
- Asian Peoples Movement on Debt and development (APMDD)
- Fahamu Africa
- FIAN International
- FishNet Alliance, Africa
- Focus on the Global South
- IBON International
- Melanesian Indigenous Land Defense Alliance (MILDA)
- Pacific Conference on Churches (PCC)
- Pacific Island Association of Non Governmental Organisations (PIANGO)
- Pacific Network on Globalisation
- Pan-African NGO Consortium on Agriculture (PANGOC)
- People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS)
- Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific
- REDSAN-CPLP (Civil society Network for Food Security and Nutrition in the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries)
- Social Watch
- Society for International Development (SID)
- The Faith and Justice Network (FJN) of the Mano River Basin Countries
- The Gaia Foundation
- The Southern and Eastern Africa Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI), Uganda
- Third World Network
- Third World Network Africa
- West African Institute for Trade, agriculture and Development (WAITAD).
- World Forum of Fish Harvesters and Fish Workers (WFF)
- World Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP)
- Young Solwara, Pacific
National Groups
- 11.11, Belgium
- ACTUAR – Association for Cooperation and Development, Portugal
- AITEC, France
- Aliansi Nelayan Sulawesi Utara ( North Sulawesi Fishermen Alliance), Indonesia
- Aliansi Nelayan Tradisional Sulawesi Utara (Antra) — ( North Sulawesi Traditional Fishermen Alliance (Antra), Indonesia
- All Goa Responsible Fishers Association, India
- All Loktak Lake Fishermen Union of Manipur, India
- Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA), India
- Amis de la Terre France (Friends of the Earth France)
- Anders Handeln Austria
- Anne’s Christian Community Health School and Nursing Services
- Anti FTA Committee, India
- Anti-Jindal & Anti-Posco Movement, India
- APVVU or National Agricultural Workers Forum (NAWF), India
- Attac, France
- Auckland Peace Action, New Zealand
- Bangladesh Fish Workers’ Alliance (BFWA)
- Bangladesh Krishok federation
- Bargi Bandh Visthapit Matsya Utpadan Evam Vipnan Sahakari Sangh, Madhya Pradesh, India
- Beyond Borders, Malaysia
- Bina Desa Sadajiwa, Indonesia
- Biowatch South Africa, South Africa
- Bismark Ramu Group (BRG), Papua New Guinea
- Both ENDS, Netherlands
- Centro Internazionale Crocevia, Italy
- COAST Trust, Bangladesh
- Collectif Pêche & Développement, France
- Congregational Christian Church Samoa (CCCS)
- Consumers Association of Penang (CAP), Malaysia
- Dakshinbanga Matsyajibi Forum, West Bengal, India
- Democratic Traditional Fishers and Workers Forum, Andhra Pradesh, India
- DISHA, India
- Environmental Management and Economic Development Organization, Tanzania
- Federasi Serikat Nelayan Nusantara (FSNN) – Archipelago Fishers Union Federation, Indonesia
- Femmes Environnement Nature Entrepreneuriat Vert (FENEV), Democratic Republic of Congo
- FIAN Indonesia, Indonesia
- Fian, Portugal
- FIELD Indonesia (Daun Bendera Nusantara), Indonesia
- Food Sovereignty Alliance, India
- Food Sovereignty Ghana
- Formasi Negara (fishermen’s forum in Galesong), Indonesia
- Forum Benih Lokal Berdaulat, Indonesia
- Forum for Trade Justice, India
- Forum Masyarakat Adat Pesisir (Coastal Indigenous Peoples Forum), Indonesia
- Forum Nelayan Jawa Tengah (Central Java Fishermen Forum), Indonesia
- Forum Nelayan Jepara (Jepara Fishermen Forum), Indonesia
- Forum Umwelt und Entwicklung (The German NGO Forum on Environment and Development)
- Fundación Étnica Integral (FEI), Dominican Republic
- Global Environment Centre (GEC), Malaysia
- Global Justice Now, UK
- Health of Mother Earth Foundation, Nigeria
- IDRIS Association, Malaysia
- Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ), Indonesia
- Indonesian Human Right Committee for Social Justice (IHCS) – Indonesia
- Indonesian Peasant Alliance – Aliansi Petani Indonesia, Indonesia
- Initiative for Health and Equity in Society, India
- Instituto del Tercer Mundo, Uruguay
- IT for Change, India
- Jal Shramik Sangha, Bihar, India
- Jharkhand Machuara Samuday Samity, India
- Kenya Small Scale Farmers Forum (KSSFF)
- Kesatuan Nelayan Tradisional Indonesia (KNTI), Indonesia
- Kesatuan Perjuangan Rakyat (KPR), Indonesia
- Kia Mau, New Zealand
- Koalisi Rakyat untuk Keadilan Perikanan (KIARA), Indonesia
- Koalisi Rakyat untuk Kedaulatan Pangan (KRKP), Indonesia
- Komunitas Nelayan Tradisional Muara Angke (Traditional Fishers Community of Muara Angke), Indonesia
- Kerala Swatantra Matsyathozhilali Federation, or the Kerala Independent Fishworkers Federation (KSMTF), India
- Lawyers Collective, India
- Macchu Malla Samuday Samity, Uttar Pradesh, India
- Machimar Adhikar Union, Gujarat, India
- Masifundise (small-scale fisher organisation), South Africa
- Mouvement Ecologique, FoE Luxembourg
- National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS)
- National Campaign for Sustainable Development Nepal
- National fishworkers’ Forum, India
- National Platform for Small Scale Fish Workers (I), India
- Norwegian Trade Campaign, Norway
- Odisha Matsyajibi Forum, India
- Ole Siosiomaga Society, Samoa
- Pacific Asia Resource Centre (PARC), Japan
- Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF)
- Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA),
- Pan-Africanist International, Belgium
- Perkumpulan Kediri Bersama Rakyat (KIBAR), Indonesia
- Persatuan Kebajikan Nelayan-Nelayan Pantai Pulau Pinang (Penang Inshore Fishermen Welfare Association)
- Persatuan Pendidikan dan Kebajikan Jaringan Nelayan Pantai Malaysia (Malaysia Coastal Fishers Network Education and Welfare Association)
- Persaudaraan Perempuan Nelayan Indonesia (PPNI) – Fraternity of Indonesian Women Fishers, Indonesia
- Positive Malaysian Treatment Access & Advocacy Group (MTAAG+), Malaysia
- Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, USA
- Platform Aarde Boer Consument (Platform Earth Farmer Consumer), Netherlands
- Pleine Mar, France
- Policy Analysis and Research Institute of Lesotho (PARIL)
- Red Mexicana de Acción frente al Libre Comercio (RMALC)
- Rescope Programme, Zambia
- Resource Institute of Social Education, Pondicherry, India.
- Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth Malaysia)
- Samoa Umbrella for Non-Government Organisations (SUNGO), Samoa
- Serikat Nelayan Indonesia (SNI), Indonesia
- Social Empowerment and Education Programme (SEEP), Fiji
- Solidaritas Perempuan, Indonesia
- South Durban Community Environmental Alliance, South Africa
- Sunray Harvesters, India
- Swathanthra Malsya Thozhilali Federation, Kerala, India
- Tanzania Alliance for Biodiversity (TABIO)
- Te Ipukarea Society (TIS), Cook Islands
- Toxics Watch Alliance (TWA), New Delhi, India
- Transnational Institute (TNI), Netherlands
- Treat Every Environment Special Sdn Bhd (TrEES)
- Tripura Matsyajibi Forum, India
- Vanuatu Human Rights Coalition
- Vanuatu Human Trafficking Watch Group
- Vanuatu Indigenous Land Defense Desk (VILDD)
- Vanuatu National Farmers Association
- Vanuatu Young Women For Change
- Vatu Mauri Consortium, Vanuatu
- Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia (WALHI) South Sulawesi , Indonesia
- War on Want, UK
- Washington Biotechnology Action Council, USA
- Wullar Fish Worker Forum, Kashmir, India
- Yayasan BITRA Indonesia, Indonesia
- Yayasan Tananua Flores, Indonesia
Individuals
- Barry Gills, Professor, Editor in Chief, Globalizations
- Biswajit Dhar, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
- Fiu Elisara, Executive Director, Ole Siosiomaga, Samoa
- Sina Brown Davis (affiliated with the Māori women’s group Te Wharepora Hou), New Zealand
- Uma Shankari, Farmer, AP, India
Cc: Ambassador Santiago Wills, Mission of Colombia
Ambassadors, All WTO Missions, Geneva
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