Global churches push WTO for economic justice
-30/06/06
The general secretary of the W
Global churches push WTO for economic justice
-30/06/06
The general secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Rev Dr Samuel Kobia, has urged World Trade Organization head, Pascal Lamy, to do all he can to achieve global commerce that promotes sustainable communities and economic justice – writes Peter Kenny for Ecumenical News International
“The World Council of Churches wants a new trade deal that helps to eradicate poverty. This kind of deal is not on offer,” Dr Kobia told Mr Lamy when the WTO director-general arrived at the WCC headquarters in Geneva on 29 June 2006.
Lamy was handed a petition signed by thousands of Christians and hundreds of church leaders. He was at the WCC offices to brief members of trade advocacy groups and non-governmental organizations during a critical week in global trade negotiations.
The alliance petition handed to Lamy by the Rev Richard Fee, general secretary of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, states that governments must be able to set trade policies to safeguard the rights of all people, especially those living in poverty.
“We demand that our government and the governments of the world change the international rules and practices that govern trade so that they give priority to human rights and protection of the environment, and contribute to the eradication of poverty,” states the petition organized by the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance .
The ecumenical alliance, supported by the WCC and a broad range of other churches and Christian groupings, has been organizing campaigns under the slogan, “Trade for People, Not Peace for Trade”.
On 28 June in Geneva Lamy warned that a deal must come in farm and industrial goods, or talks setting the standards for international trade aimed at helping developing countries could fail.
“In any negotiation, there is a moment when things become too late. The moment we need ministers to crack the nut is now, not later,” he told journalists. “Postponing a decision on cuts in subsidies and tariffs is a recipe for failure.”
The current gridlock hinges on the failure of the United States and European Union to reach agreement on how far they need to reduce levels of agricultural protectionism, leading many NGOs to argue that poorer nations have nothing to gain from the current talks.
Speaking for the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, Fee said: “Regrettably, we see this round of negotiations not even having the pretence of having any impact of improving the lives of people living in poverty. No deal at this stage would appear to be far better than a deal.” Some other members of the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance like Norwegian Church Aid have not gone as far as Fee and believe that some less developed nations have made some progress under current negotiations.
“Our main objective is that international trade shall become an instrument in the fight to overcome world poverty and not a stumbling block in this regard,” says Norwegian Church Aid on its website.
[With acknowledgements to ENI. Ecumenical News International is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Conference of European Churches]
Global churches push WTO for economic justice
-30/06/06
The general secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Rev Dr Samuel Kobia, has urged World Trade Organization head, Pascal Lamy, to do all he can to achieve global commerce that promotes sustainable communities and economic justice – writes Peter Kenny for Ecumenical News International
“The World Council of Churches wants a new trade deal that helps to eradicate poverty. This kind of deal is not on offer,” Dr Kobia told Mr Lamy when the WTO director-general arrived at the WCC headquarters in Geneva on 29 June 2006.
Lamy was handed a petition signed by thousands of Christians and hundreds of church leaders. He was at the WCC offices to brief members of trade advocacy groups and non-governmental organizations during a critical week in global trade negotiations.
The alliance petition handed to Lamy by the Rev Richard Fee, general secretary of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, states that governments must be able to set trade policies to safeguard the rights of all people, especially those living in poverty.
“We demand that our government and the governments of the world change the international rules and practices that govern trade so that they give priority to human rights and protection of the environment, and contribute to the eradication of poverty,” states the petition organized by the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance .
The ecumenical alliance, supported by the WCC and a broad range of other churches and Christian groupings, has been organizing campaigns under the slogan, “Trade for People, Not Peace for Trade”.
On 28 June in Geneva Lamy warned that a deal must come in farm and industrial goods, or talks setting the standards for international trade aimed at helping developing countries could fail.
“In any negotiation, there is a moment when things become too late. The moment we need ministers to crack the nut is now, not later,” he told journalists. “Postponing a decision on cuts in subsidies and tariffs is a recipe for failure.”
The current gridlock hinges on the failure of the United States and European Union to reach agreement on how far they need to reduce levels of agricultural protectionism, leading many NGOs to argue that poorer nations have nothing to gain from the current talks.
Speaking for the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, Fee said: “Regrettably, we see this round of negotiations not even having the pretence of having any impact of improving the lives of people living in poverty. No deal at this stage would appear to be far better than a deal.” Some other members of the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance like Norwegian Church Aid have not gone as far as Fee and believe that some less developed nations have made some progress under current negotiations.
“Our main objective is that international trade shall become an instrument in the fight to overcome world poverty and not a stumbling block in this regard,” says Norwegian Church Aid on its website.
[With acknowledgements to ENI. Ecumenical News International is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Conference of European Churches]