Maatschappelijke organisaties en sociale bewegingen wijzen GATS-onderhandelingstekst af
Dit is een verklaring van 125 (inter)nationale organisaties over de diensten-onderhandelingen van de WTO (GATS). De organisaties uitten hun grote bezorgdheid over de inhoud van de tekst die aan de basis ligt van deze onderhandelingen. Het ondermijnt (en in in sterke mate tegenstrijdig met) het eerder toegekende recht van ontwikkelingslanden om te kiezen of ze al dan niet deel willen nemen aan de onderhandelingen over de liberalisering van hun dienstensectoren.
Deze verklaring is vanmorgen aangeboden aan de pers en aan alle landendelegaties in Geneve.
Civil Society Statement: Essential Services Out of GATS
July 26, 2008
We the undersigned civil society organizations are concerned that the current WTO negotiations
in services are based on a draft text which substantially undermines and contradicts the
previously agreed right of developing countries to choose whether or not they wish to engage in
negotiations over their services sectors.
We fear that in what appears to be this final push to make the Doha round succeed, GATS
negotiators will suddenly be compelled to make offers in inequitable exchanges for concessions
made in areas of agriculture and NAMA. This would also mean that GATS negotiations would
be extremely rushed in comparison with the negotiations on agriculture and NAMA, while the
demands from the rich countries might have very complex, costly and negative consequences in
many developing countries.
We applaud the efforts of Bolivia, Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua to safeguard the right of
people to have access to basic human rights such as water, education, health, and other
services that are essential to living in dignity. We encourage other countries to support their
efforts and not give in to the interests of foreign-based international corporations who seek to
put profit before people. We remind our governments that protecting access to these services is
a legal obligation and not a bargaining chip.
We are also alarmed that the current negotiations are taking place in a context in which most
WTO countries are simply spectators in a process that will profoundly affect them and their
people.
As civil society organizations we witness every day the dire consequences of the lack of access
to essential services, which are basic human rights. We strongly believe that essential services
should not be placed on the bargaining table of the WTO, and they should be excluded from
these talks.
Signed,
International and Regional Networks:
1. Public Services International (PSI)
2. Asian Peasant Coalition (APC), Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri
Lanka, Mongolia, Malaysia and Pakistan
3. Comité Ejecutivo Regional de la Asamblea de los Pueblos del Caribe, CER-APC
(Assembly of the Peoples of the Caribbean, Regional Executive Committee)
4. Lutheran World Federation
5. Coordinadora Latinoamericana de Organizaciones del Campo, CLOC (Coordination of
Latin American Rural Organizations)
6. Third World Network, Africa
7. Amigos de la Tierra (FoE), Latin America and the Caribbean
8. Africa Trade Network
9. ActionAid International
10. Grito de los Excluidos/as Mesoamericano
11. La Comvergencia de los Movimientos de los Pueblos de las Americas, COMPA
12. World Alliance of YMCAs
13. Red Latinoamericana Mujeres Transformando la Economía
Civil Society Statement: Essential Services Out of GATS
National Organizations:
14. Pamalakaya (National Federation of Small Fisherfolk Organizations in the Philippines)
15. Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Philippines
16. Peoples Alliance for Sufficient, Affordable and Safe Rice, Philippines
17. PAPDA, Haiti
18. RESIST Agrochem TNCs (Resistance and Solidarity against Agrochemical TNCs),
Philippines
19. Polaris Institute, Canada
20. Peasant Network for Land, Justice and Human Rights, Philippines
21. National Council of Churches in the Philippines
22. National Network of Agrarian Reform Advocates (NNARA), Philippines
23. PUMALAG (Peoples Network against Liberalization of Agriculture), Philippines
24. Ecuador Decide, Ecuador
25. Sentro para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo (SENTRA), Philippines
26. South African Council of Churches
27. Sandigan Samahang Magsasaka (SASAMAG), Philippines
28. Parawagan Upland Farmers Association, Inc. (PUFAI), Philippines
29. Center for Policy Analysis on Trade and Health, United States
30. Brot fuer die Welt, Germany
31. Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET), Australia
32. The Development Fund, Norway
33. Canadian Association of University Teachers
34. The Oakland Institute, United States
35. War on Want, United Kingdom
36. The Trade Campaign, Norway
37. Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL), Philippines
38. Economic Justice and Development Organization (EJAD), Pakistan
39. Attac Germany
40. Initiative Colibri e.v., Germany
41. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
42. Red Mexicana de Acción frente al Libre Comercio (RMALC)
43. Institute for Global Justice, Indonesia
44. Attac Austria
45. Attac Argentina
46. Rede Brasileira pela Integração dos Povos (REBRIP)
47. Associação Nacional dos Serviços Públicos de Saneamento, Brazil
48. Articulação de Mulheres Brasileiras
49. Amigos de la Tierra (FoE), Uruguay
50. Consumers Association of Penang, Malaysia
51. Friends of the Earth, Malaysia
52. Xarxa de l’Observatori del Deute en la Globalització, Spain
53. Canadian Union of Public Employees
54. Sinti Techan: Action Network on Trade and Investment, El Salvador
55. National Association of Nigerian Traders
56. Association Internationale de Techniciens, Experts et Chercheurs (AITEC/IPAM),
France
57. Corporate Europe Observatory, Netherlands
58. Ecologistas en Acción, Spain
Civil Society Statement: Essential Services Out of GATS
59. Trade Union Congress of the Philippines
60. El Club de la Pluma, Argentina
61. Red de Información Alternativa, Venezuela
62. Asociación Madres de Plaza de Mayo, Argentina
63. Fundación Che Guevara, Bolivia
64. Corriente de Opinión Ciudadana, Argentina
65. Observatorio Latinoamericano de Geopolítica
66. All Nepal Peasants’ Federation
67. Campaign for the Welfare State, Norway
68. Nicaragua Network
69. Fundacion Triangulo Social, Spain
70. International Forum on Globalization, United States
71. Corporación Mashi, Ecuador
72. La Alianza Social Continental Capitulo Perú
73. Marcha Mundial de las Mujeres de las América
74. Ecoportal.Net, Argentina
75. Frente Autentico del Trabajo, Mexico
76. Canadian Union of Postal Workers
77. Instituto Políticas Alternativas para o Cone Sul, Brazil
78. Frente Civico de Mexico
79. Fuerza Socialista Bolivariana de Trabajadores
80. Council of Canadians
81. Canadian Health Coalition
82. La Unión Popular de Vendedores y Ambulantes, Mexico
83. La Comisión Ecuménica de Derechos Humanos, Ecuador
84. Mesa Global de Guatemala
85. Encuentro Popular / Alianza Social Continental, Costa Rica
86. World Development Movement, United Kingdom
87. Mujer Tenía que Ser
88. Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, United States
89. Ekumenicka akademie Praha, Czech Republic
90. Pastoral Ecuménica VIH-SIDA, Argentina
91. Conseil national des organisations non gouvernementale de developpement,
Democratic Republic of the Congo
92. Alliance for Democracy, United States
93. Maquiladora Health & Safety Support Network, United States
94. Foundation for Gaia, United Kingdom
95. ARENA, New Zealand
96. National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW)
97. Komeho Namibia Development Agency (Komeho Namibia)
98. The International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (ICW), Namibia
99. Young Women Christian Association (YWCA), Namibia
100. Children with Language Speech Hearing Problems (CLASH), Namibia
101. Labour Resource & Research Institute (LARRI), Namibia
102. Ndatinda College, Namibia
103. Namibia Rural Development Programme (NRDP)
104. Women Solidarity Namibia (WSN)
105. La Federación Regional Única de Trabajadores Campesinos del Altiplano Sur, Bolivia
Civil Society Statement: Essential Services Out of GATS
106. El Movimiento Social Nicaraguense Otro Mundo es Posible
107. Fédération Syndicale Unitaire
108. FUTATSCON, Nicaragua
109. Fundación Hijos del Maiz, Mexico
110. Grupo Reflexión y Solidaridad Oscar A. Romero, Cuba
111. Acción Ecológica, Ecuador
112. Red de Ecologistas Populares, Ecuador
113. Red Por Tí América, Spain
114. Federación Regional Única de Trabajadores Campesinos del Altiplano Sur
(FRUTCAS) de Bolivia
115. PIT-CNT, Uruguay
116. Organizacion Fraternal Negra Hondureña, OFRANEH, Honduras
117. Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission
118. Sección Mexicana de la Coalición Trinacional en Defensa de la Educación Pública
(México, Estados Unidos y Canadá)
119. Instituto Runa de Desarrollo y estudios sobre género, Peru
120. Aquije Informa, Organización Informativa de Peru
121. Foro Social Mendoza, Argentina – including: Asociación “La Cara Sur” –
Investigadores sociales – Autoconvocadas Salud – Instituto de Capacitación Gandhi –
Defensores de Jesús Nazareno” – Revista “La Vena” – M.I.M.M – Estudiantes de
Escuelas “Beltrán” y “Houssay” – Colectividad Boliviana – Comunidad Mapudungun
– Asoc. ACANYA – A.E.L.A.C (Asociación de Educadores de América Latina y el
Caribe) – Asociación AMUYEN – Trabajadores Madereros
122. African Journalists on Trade and Development, Abuja, Nigeria
123. La Organización Islámica de Difusión de Rosario (Argentina) – OIDISLAM
124. Resistance and Alternatives, Mauritius
125. Centro Quintanarroense de Desarollo, Mexico