11th Ministerial, Buenos Aires 2017

Post-Ministerial Analysis: Results of the 11th ministerial conference of the WTO: English, Spanish (April 2018)

The Peoples’ Summit parallel to the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference: English, Spanish (April 2018)

Our World is Not for Sale (OWINFS) one-page flyer (December 2017)

Media information

Our World is Not for Sale (OWINFS) Final Statement on MC11: English, Spanish. (December 13, 2017)

Media release (Dec 13, 2017):
Global civil society reactions to end of WTO ministerial conference: English, Spanish.

Media release (Dec 13, 2017):
On last day of WTO Ministerial, civil society distributes urgent recommendations to delegates attending heads of delegation meetings: English, Spanish.

Media release (Dec 11, 2017):
Civil Society Protest at the Entrance of the WTO 11th Ministerial in Buenos Aires

MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Civil Society / NGO Contacts for MC11 WTO Ministerial Dec 10-13, 2017

Global Civil Society Shares What’s at Stake at MC 11:

A Positive Outcome for Development at the MC11 in Argentina?
Video from the side event organized by OWINFS on Sunday, Dec 10.

OWINFS side event:


Argentine Government Revokes World Trade Organization’s Accreditation of Key Civil Society Organizations, Just Days before Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires

November 30, 2017: In an unprecedented action, the Argentine government has revoked the accreditation of 63 civil society experts -- trade unionists, development advocates, digital rights activists, environmentalists, and others -- just days before the 11th Ministerial meeting of the WTO (MC11) in Buenos Aires, advising the WTO that the experts will not be allowed in the country to participate in the meeting. The majority of the rejected organizations work together through the global Our World Is Not for Sale (OWINFS) network.

Full media advisory: English, Spanish, French. (November 30, 2017)

Letter to the WTO: English, Spanish, French. (November 30, 2017)

December 2, 2017: For information on the public outcry about the above, and on how the Argentine government is justifying their actions, see e.g. here: English, Spanish.

Follow-up letter to Mr. Roberto Azevêdo, Director-General of the WTO (December 3, 2017)

December 7, 2017: Letter from the European Commission expressing concern and asking for the decision to be reversed.

December 8, 2017: El gobierno de Macri deporta a periodista inglesa crítica de su gestión por haber entregado información de argentinos para Big Data (Sally Burch deported)

December 10, 2017: Statement by Sally Burch: English, Spanish.

December 13, 2017: Open letter on civil society rights

About the Agenda of the WTO

Letter from Global Civil Society about the Agenda of the WTO: English, Spanish, French, Greek. (9 October 2017)

Analysis of key issues for the 11th WTO Ministerial

MSME associations reject MSMEs work program and ecommerce rules in WTO: English, Spanish. (13 December 2017)

Statement by women’s rights organisations rejecting the WTO Declaration on Women’s Economic Empowerment. (12 December 2017)

Rebuttal to “The WTO Investment Facilitation Initiative: Why It Matters” – background note: Investment Facilitation for Development: Opening the doors of the WTO for hard rules on investment. (12 December 2017)

Is “gender” a Trojan horse to introduce new issues at WTO?. (10 December 2017)

A deadly irony for people’s economic rights as WTO opens talks on International Rights Day. (10 December 2017)

Analyses of Domestic Regulation Disciplines. (7 December 2017)

What Africa wants at MC11. (7 December 2017)

Fisheries subsidies negotiations: English: pdf, doc. French: pdf, doc. Spanish: pdf, doc. (2 December 2017)

“Domestic regulation” rules in the WTO: English: pdf, docx. Spanish: pdf, doc. (1 December 2017)

The fourth industrial revolution will deepen the digital divide. Alliance Sud Position on the Eleventh WTO Ministerial Conference: English, French. (1 December 2017)

Key Analysis: E-commerce

Twelve reasons to oppose rules on digital commerce in the WTO: English: pdf, docx. French: pdf, docx. Spanish: pdf, doc. (May 12, 2017)

E-commerce and the World Trade Organization: English: pdf, docx. Spanish: pdf, docx. French: pdf, docx. (November 17, 2017)

Risk of a deepening of the digital divide – worrisome WTO discussions. (May 5, 2017)

Preliminary analysis of aspects of some WTO ecommerce proposals. (December 10, 2017)

Some preliminary implications of WTO source code proposal. (December 10, 2017)

Some of the implications of ecommerce proposals for government procurement. (December 10, 2017)

Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and e-commerce: pdf, docx. (December 2017)

UNCTAD report: Rising product digitalisation and losing trade competitiveness. (September 2017)

Jane Kelsey: E-commerce: the development implications of future proofing global trade rules for GAFA. (13 December 2017)

E-signatures and trade. (November 2017)

Key Analysis: Agriculture

Agriculture remains key. (22 November 2017)

WTO summit to ignore price crisis, agricultural dumping. (December 10, 2017)

WTO and Food Security: Biting the hand that feeds the poor. (December 2017)

For India, the fight at WTO will be about food security. (9 December 2017)

Media coverage about the banning of CSOs at the 2017 WTO Ministerial

English Language Coverage:
  1. Argentina blocks some activists from attending WTO meeting, Reuters
  2. Argentine government blocks at least 20 NGOs from attending WTO ministerial, Inside Trade
  3. Argentina bans activists from WTO meeting, Financial Times
  4. Argentina Blocks Some Activists From Attending WTO Meeting, U.S. News & World Report
  5. https://www.politicopro.com/trade/whiteboard/2017/11/ngos-cry-foul-over-being-barred-from-wto-meeting-175159, Politico Pro
  6. PR disaster for MC11, as host denies accreditation to many NGOs, Third World Network
  7. Neoliberal Argentina Bans NGOs From WTO Summit in Last-Minute 'Unprecedented' Move, Telesur
  8. Civil society group: Argentina denies entry to WTO meeting
  9. David Parker asked to intervene as WTO cancels NGO registrations, Voxy New Zealand — Points out that DHL, eBay, ICC, WEF etc are still accredited for MC11
  10. Economics NGO Sector: David Parker asked to intervene as WTO cancels NGO registrations in bizarre lead-up to ministerial, Live News New Zealand
  11. WTO Ministerial runs into trouble as Argentina turns away registered NGOs, United News of India
  12. In a bizarre move, Argentina bars NGOs, civil society from attending WTO conference, Down to Earth
  13. Revocation of NGO registrations in the WTO raises protests against the Argentine Government, Latin America in movement online
  14. TV interview on the revocation of NGO registrations, theREALnews.com
  15. Argentina blocks two activists from entry on eve of WTO meet, Telesur
Spanish Language Coverage:
  1. Las ONGs, en la lista negra de Macri, Pagina 12
  2. Denuncian que el Gobierno prohibió el ingreso de 64 activistas a la OMC, Perfil
  3. Presentan en Buenos Aires programa de protestas contra la reunión de la OMC, EFE
  4. El Gobierno reconoce que prohibió la acreditación de ONGs a la OMC, El Cronista
  5. Activistas denuncian que se les impide el ingreso al país para cumbre de la OMC, Ambito Financiero, which is Argentina's leading business newspaper
  6. Activistas dicen que Argentina niega entrada a cumbre OMC, El Nuevo Herald
  7. Revocación de inscripciones ciudadanas en la OMC levanta protestas frente al Gobierno de Macri, America Latina en movimiento online
  8. OMC: lanzan Cumbre de los Pueblos y denuncian “papelón internacional” de Macri, Notas
  9. Escándalo con desacreditaciones: la OMC le echa la culpa a Macri, Notas
  10. Cumbre OMC: preocupación y protestas desde Europa porque el Gobierno negó el acceso a ONGs, Clarin, which is one of the main newspapers in Argentina; it is generally supportive of the government of Macri.
  11. El gobierno de Macri deporta a periodista inglesa crítica de su gestión por haber entregado información de argentinos para Big Data, El Disenso

French Language Coverage:

  1. Des ONG ont été refoulées à la réunion de l'OMC, Tribune de Genève