Public Event on Dec. 16: Accession: What Price for What Benefit?
15 December, 2011
Any country undergoing accession faces tough questions about the price paid for the benefit received. Vanuatu's accession has been controversial for its sixteen years of negotiation and a broad coalition of Ni Vanuatu have endured bans on protests, threats to their organizations and an accession package riddled with errors.
Several other Least Developed Countries, such as Yemen and Sudan, are negotiating accession while facing internal conflicts, unstable political contexts, and weak national institutions, along with high political pressures during negotiations and erosion of their rights to Special and Differential Treatment. Under such contexts, any development outcome of these countries’ accession to the WTO seems unachievable. Russia’s accession includes many negative impacts that have yet to come to light.
While accessions are being promoted as a highlight of this Ministerial meeting, it is noteworthy that these are the first since the onset of the global economic crisis.
Friday, December 16, 2011
13:00-15:00h
Room A, WTO Centre William Rappard
Rue de Lausanne 154, Geneva
Speakers:
- Pastor Allen Nafuki, Say No to WTO Committee, Vanuatu
- Adel A. Alghaberi, International Trade Specialist, Republic of Yemen
- Olga Ponizova, EcoAccord, Russia
- Adam Wolfenden, Pacific Network on Globalization, Australia
- Sanya Reid Smith, Third World Network, Geneva