Commonwealth Calls for Greater Trade Access for Developing Countries
23 June 2005
Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon has called for a strengthening of political will and concrete action to increase trade access for developing countries during his two-day visit to Geneva on 21-22 June 2005.
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| Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon with Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi, Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Geneva, 22 June 2005. |
Mr McKinnon's talks with Dr Supachai have taken place shortly before the G8 Summit in Gleneagles, UK, from 6 to 8 July 2005. Their meeting focused on the need for political impetus to the Doha Round negotiations. They also discussed capacity-building for trade policy formulation, negotiation and implementation, and the special needs of small states.
Commenting on trade issues, the Secretary-General said: "It is vital for Commonwealth countries to see real progress on the Doha Development Round. Developing countries need more aid and greater debt relief -- and I congratulate those making recent declarations to increase aid flows and write off debt. But more than anything else, developing countries need trade access. Until industrialised countries take the bold decision of abolishing trade subsidies and opening their markets to poor countries, lofty declarations about fighting global poverty will remain empty."
In his meeting with Mr Schwab, the Secretary-General discussed trade, sustainable development and progress towards the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
"The bottom line is this: agricultural subsidies don't only cost money. They also cost lives. Every failure to reach a deal results in millions more people going without food every day. With each day wasted on wrangling and squabbling, thousands of people die. A breakthrough on trade is not only desirable, it's essential. The stability of our world depends on it."
Mr McKinnon also met with Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Their discussions touched on specific areas of UN co-operation, notably treaty ratification, strengthening of national human rights mechanisms and education for young people. The 2001 Commonwealth Best Practice Guidelines on National Human Rights Institutions have been used by the UN Commission for Human Rights to set up human rights commissions in both Commonwealth and non-member countries.
"As we develop programmes to support our commitment to the promotion and protection of fundamental human rights, we will continue to collaborate and co-operate with other intergovernmental organisations as well as civil society organisations working in the field of human rights. We value our interaction with the UN human rights system and that of regional organisations with similar objectives because they complement the work we do," said the Secretary-General.
On 21 June 2005, Mr McKinnon also addressed Commonwealth Ambassadors to the WTO at an event hosted by Ambassador Charles Ntwaagae of Botswana, Chairman of the Commonwealth Developing Country Ambassadors Group.
CNIS - the Commonwealth News and Information Service Issue 240, 22 June 2005
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