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Ruth Ramos, our hyper-effective logistics person here in Cancun, reports that it is getting more difficult to make photocopies. At the copy place they told her that the machines were running out of toner, because legions of "long haired" people were running off political pamphlets. The protests are starting.
We began our journey from Veracruz to Cancun yesterday morning knowing that a hurricane now named Isabel could intercept us on our way or hit us after we arrive.
We are really eager to get to Cancun and send a strong message to the WTO and the world’s governments that people and the environment must be freed from the effects of forced trade.
Last night onboard we watched a brand new documentary film on the genetic contamination of maize in Mexico and the social impacts on campesinos of the dumping of genetically engineered (GE) maize from the US. The film, made by Eréndira Valle Padilla from the film school in Mexico City, made a huge impact on all of us. Not only is GE maize threatening the incredible diversity of maize races and varieties in Mexico, but millions of Mexican farmers have had to give up farming due to dumping of cheap US maize in Mexico.
Among the scientists and farmers featured in the film is Professor Ignacio Chapela from the University of California at Berkeley who was the first to document (in the respected science journal Nature) that native maize in the Oaxaca state of Mexico has been contaminated with genetically engineered maize genes.
For a long time the US and Mexican governments denied the contamination and later sought to downplay its importance. We won’t let them get away with ignoring this very serious and growing problem, just as we won’t let agribusiness corporations such as Monsanto and Cargill get away with profiting at the expense of both biodiversity and Mexican subsistence farmers.
When doing non-violent direct action at sea, Greenpeace always puts safety first, so on today’s program was boat training for crew, volunteers and campaigners. Regular boat training is needed in order to be able to use the boats safety and effectively, and the training exercise went really well.
Despite our eagerness to get to Cancun and our begging -- and sometimes cursing -- Isabel to please, please change direction away from our route and destination, it seems our wishes and prayers are not being heard. Isabel with its 115-140 knots winds is now east of Cuba and is still heading west towards Cancun -- I wonder if there’s a hidden message to the WTO here…
In any case, as safety must come first, we’re waiting in a safe area to see whether Isabel keeps moving west or curves up north along the Florida coast. Therefore we still don’t know when we will make it to Cancun. In our frustration over this uncertainty, we take note that we cannot change the weather -- only governments and big oil companies that continue to promote use of climate changing fossil fuels can do that!
Dan Hindsgaul is a Greenpeace campaigner on board MV Arctic Sunrise
We held a press conference in Cozumel last night to encourage environment ministers meeting there to go on record with their positions in the lead up to the WTO.
The meeting was before the opening of the High Level Roundtable on Trade and Environment, organized by the Mexican Minister of the Environment.
High level, indeed. It was held at a five star hotel on the island of Cozumel, off the coast of Cancun. Ministers and their representatives arrived by helicopter last night for a series of discussions today on how to preserve environmental regulations in the face of WTO decisions.
We had the environment ministers from Germany, the UK, and Sweden and Mexico, as well as representatives from Brazil and the United Nations Environment Program give short speeches on one of our most important issues here in Cancun; the relationship between Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and the WTO. MEAs include the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which is scheduled to come into force on September 11. These agreements could be threatened by the WTO process, if new trade rules begin to undermine the agreements already reached. It was important for us to get the environment ministers meeting in Cozumel to agree that the WTO must not weaken these MEAs.
While the final declarations of the ministers were not as strong as we might have wished, by the end of the meeting we had sent a signal to the WTO conference that the trade rules they come up with should not take priority over agreements reached to support sustainable development.
More on the relationship between the Biosafety Protocol and the WTO
The International Parliamentary Network, representing elected members of parliaments from around the world, met here yesterday and agreed on a series of demands to reform the World Trade Organization. It probably seems strange to you (it certainly does to us) that our elected representatives do not have any direct representation at the WTO meeting, and thus have to organize their own conference to have their (your) concerns heard.
It's just one more example of how far removed the World Trade Organization process is from the world of democracy.
About 100 elected representatives from every continent met at the Americana Condesa hotel in Cancun from noon yesterday until late in the evening. They assembled to put together a series of demands for reform of the WTO, to make it more accountable, open and beneficial to people all over the world, not just corporate interests.
Their statement and ten demands are included below: .
International Parliamentary Network: Declaration on the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the WTO in Cancún/México, 10- 14 September 2003
We, members of the International Parliamentary Network (IPN), founded on occasion of the World Parliamentary Forum in Porto Alegre/Brazil, are deeply committed to the idea that another economic and trade paradigm is possible, which benefits the majorities of the populations all over the world.
We believe that the present economic world order, with the Bretton Woods organisations as the leading institutions on economic and financial questions on the one hand, and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on the other, does not lead to this aim. Since the creation of the WTO, in 1995, the gap between the rich and the poor has widened dramatically. The Doha Development Agenda, agreed upon at the Fourth Ministerial in November 2001 in the capital of Qatar, is not worthy of its title.
In the run up to the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the WTO, which is going to take place in Cancún/México, on September 10-14, 2003, we as parliamentarians, propose the following minimum set of demands to be covered by the conference agenda. We engage ourselves to support these demands in all parliamentarian debates and resolutions before the Ministerial and to lobby for them during the Conference itself.
10 Demands in the run up to Cancún
1. Ensure Democratic Scrutiny
The WTO process of negotiating, concluding and implementing binding agreements cannot only be an intergovernmental affair. We believe that elected bodies should play their role in the whole process of the negotiating and implementing WTO agreements. Governments' positions on trade issues should be discussed beforehand in parliaments and be co-decided by elected bodies in all WTO member states.
2. Settle pending issues first and build consensus
The time is not ripe for the negotiation of new WTO treaties on investment, competition, public procurement or customs regulations (the so-called "Singapore Issues" or "New Issues"). It is not acceptable to enlarge the WTO's competencies in this way whilst at the same time side-stepping the settlement of issues that promote the aim of sustainable development. A large number of issues pending since the creation of the WTO are still not being sufficiently negotiated, concluded and implemented. The WTO has missed the deadlines on Implementation issues, Special and Differential Treatment, TRIPS and Public Health and Modalities on agriculture, amongst others. The launch of negotiations on the "Singapore Issues" would unduly enlarge the competencies of the WTO and serve the interests of corporations in the EU and the US, against the interests of the developing world.
3. Maintain and strengthen core public services
The present negotiations on GATS (General Agreements in Trade of Services) put into danger affordable access to public services. No demands should be imposed on WTO members, particularly developing countries, to privatise their public services, especially water collection, treatment and distribution, energy, education and health. Certain service sectors, such as water and sanitation, have a special status in developing and least developed countries, impacting directly and dramatically on people’s daily lives, and therefore require special treatment.
4. Access to Medicines must be guaranteed - public health comes first
At the WTO Ministerial in Doha in November 2001 an agreement was reached on the issue of access to essential medicines. We call on all WTO members to stick to the Doha commitment concerning the outstanding question of compulsory licences for imports (paragraph 6 of the Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health). In this context we remind them that to impose new constraints as part of the solution to the paragraph 6 problem would violate the spirit of that Declaration and be justifiably seen by developing countries as evidence of bad faith. Each country must have the ability to produce or import generic medicines if needed to protect public health.
5. No patents on life
Patenting of life forms must be prohibited in order to preserve biodiversity, food security and indigenous peoples' rights and protect them from corporate control of genetic resources. At present, patenting is governed by the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Its Article 27.3b however, allows a revision of provisions dealing with patents on life forms. We support the developing countries in their demand to implement Article 27.3b and particularly the position taken by the Africa group. This calls for a clarification that plants, animals and micro-organisms should not be patentable; that a "sui generis" system of plant varieties protection can include systems that protect the intellectual rights of indigenous and farming communities; that TRIPS be made to harmonise with the Biodiversity Convention and the FAO Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources.
6. Protect the independence of Multilateral Environment Agreements (MEAs)
The WTO is the only international set of rules with sanctioning power. This, however, does not mean that it is superior to any other internationally agreed set of rules. Environmental concerns, for instance, should not be subject to the WTO. The protection of the environment is not a trade distorting measure to be sanctioned by the WTO, but a necessary means to guarantee our common future. Therefore we object to any moves/wording towards WTO-compliance for MEAs, as proposed by US and EU, but rejected by the majority of the participants of the WSSD in Johannesburg.
7. Uphold perspective on "multifunctionality" in agriculture worldwide
Consumers and producers worldwide are interested in rural development, environmental protection and animal welfare. The right of peoples to nourish themselves, as well as the issues of food and water security are fundamental for our common future. Trade rules can and should be consistent with these objectives.
8. Meet the needs of Developing Countries - abolish export subsidies
Subsidies and other export support mechanisms distort the agricultural supply chain. They mainly serve the profit aims of big agroindustrial exporters, putting into danger the survival of small peasants everywhere, in the North as in the South. Only a sustainable practice and fair trade are able to guarantee the existence of agriculture and food security for the future. We ask for the suppression of agricultural export subsidies of all countries, especially industrialised countries.
9. Improve workers rights
We call on WTO members to respect the ILO Convention and its core labour standards especially freedom of association for workers. International regulations on labour standards must remain a competence of the ILO and cannot be used as a projectionist or trade barriers mechanism. We ask for the WTO to respect ILO decisions and to grant observatory status for the ILO in the WTO.
10. Apply precaution and sustainability principles systematically
The one size-fits all approach cannot be applied to unequal partners. Trade is a means, not an end in itself. In order to avoid adverse effects - market access often turns into market displacement - impact studies concerning the sustainability of trade measures in its three aspects (social, environmental and economic) should be carried out, before negotiations start. Each country shall be free to make its own determination of risks to the health and well-being of its citizens and its environment and to take precautionary measures accordingly.
Greenpeace and a number of our allied NGOs in Cancun have written a letter to the people of Mexico, explaining why we are here and that we are committed to non-violence.
The letter below was published as an advertisement (in Spanish, naturellemente) in a number of local newspapers. We are trying to counter some of the fear-mongering statements made by several officials, saying that 'globalfobicos', as we are called, are up to no good.
TO THE PEOPLE OF MEXICO
Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez,Aung San Suu Kyi, and the man in front of the tank in Tiananmen Square were all considered troublemakers at the time; but they were all struggling for peace, equity and justice.
This month, more than a hundred governments will come to the World Trade Organization meeting in Cancun to discuss Global Trade and Investment and decide your future. They will negotiate documents in technical language which may seem far from your everyday life, but the consequences of these agreements will affect the food you eat, the water you drink, the quality of the air you breathe, what jobs are available and what kind of schools are available for your kids.
People from all over the world will also come to Cancun with alternatives and solutions that can make trade work for people and not for big business or rich nations only. People will come to monitor their governments and ensure the bottom line on this negotiation is not simply about profit but about making global trade work for all to create a healthier, safer and more equitable world.
We all come in peace committed to non-violence. We hope to find opportunities to share our views, present our alternatives and expose the wrongdoings of the current trade system. We do not make trouble for the sake of it. We are people like you that come from near or far away, united by a common commitment to promote peace, equity and justice. If this is troublesome to government negotiators, multinational corporations, and the rich, then so be it.
signed,
GREENPEACE,OXFAM,PUBLIC CITIZEN,HEINRICH BOELL FOUNDATION,AMIGOS DE LA TIERRA,FOCUS ON THE GLOBAL SOUTH,GLOBAL EXCHANGE,THIRD WORLD NETWORK,COUNCIL OF CANADIANS,WEED (World Economy Ecology Development), CENTER FOR ENCOUNTER AND ACTIVE NON-VIOLENCE,INITIATIVE COLIBRI, CORPWATCH, ASIA PACIFIC FORUM ON WOMAN, LAW AND DEVELOPMENT, ACTION AID
There was some negotiating to do, but we have been given permission to bring the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise to Cancun.
It will have to sail it's way past the two Mexican navy warships off the coast and sail under skies cleared of all commercial flights to reach our berth in Porto Juarez, a few kilometres from Cancun.
Originally, we were not going to be granted permission to come near Cancun, but would have to anchor many miles away.
Now we have to overcome the little matter of a hurricane, called Isabelle, that is off the coast and is approaching fast.