March, 2003
Together with other Geneva based NGOs (IATP, Oxfam, PSI, TWN and WWF), CIEL convened a series of meetings addressing possible future WTO rules on investment and other “new issues” (competition, trade facilitation and government procurement)
Events addressing the Potential Implications of a WTO Investment Agreement Geneva, March 18-21, 2002 Human rights and the environment.
Together with other Geneva based NGOs (the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Oxfam, Public Services International, Third World Network and the World Wide Fund for Nature), CIEL convened a series of meetings addressing possible future WTO rules on investment and other “new issues” (competition, trade facilitation and government procurement). The March 18-21 meetings brought together more than 50 NGOs and social movements from around the world, providing a platform for interaction between NGOs, independent experts and Geneva-based WTO delegates. The events also allowed NGO participants to strategize and plan future actions in the run-up to the WTO’s next Ministerial Conference in Cancun, Mexico later this year. The participating civil society groups issued a common statement, announcing their campaign to stop the launch of WTO negotiations on investment, at the September 2003 WTO Ministerial Conference. (view common sign on statement).
After a day and a half of technical discussions, addressing the benefits and pitfalls of different types of investment flows and international rules governing such flows, the organizers invited representatives of Geneva based WTO Missions, inter-governmental organizations and the interested public for a day-long seminar on the nature and implications of a WTO Investment Agreement (view agenda). This seminar preceded a 14-15 April 2003 meeting of the WTO’s Working Group on the Relationship between Trade and Investment (WGTI), which is feared to constitute another step towards negotiating a WTO agreement on investment.
Thus, substantiating their calls against WTO negotiations on investment, the groups explained:
- that the WTO, would be the wrong forum to negotiate international rules on investment, because the organization is designed to restrict domestic policy space, fails to allow for effective participation of all WTO Members and enforces its rules with a dispute settlement system highly inappropriate for conflicts involving international investments;
- that WTO bodies would adopt a wrong focus towards negotiating international rules on investment, placing sustainable development at its periphery rather than its core; and finally,
- that for the WTO, investment is clearly a wrong priority, as the organization should focus on re-balancing existing agreements, rather than adding new imbalances.
The public seminar on investment, held on March 20, gave participants an opportunity to discuss these views (view statement). In addition, some of the NGOs and social movements visited the WTO Secretariat and individual WTO missions (including the US, Brazil and South Africa) to allow for a comprehensive exchange of view and information.
Previously, in September 2003 CIEL, IATP and Oxfam had already addressed the WTO’s WGTI with a statement, highlighting the flaws in the WGTI’s approach towards implementing the Doha mandate. (view September 2002 statement).