PHA-Exchange> WTO Exposed

[Aviva]

From: katza at who.int

Fatoumata Jawara and Aileen Kwa: "Behind the Scenes at the WTO: the
Real 
World of International Trade Negotiations". Zed Books, London. Due out:
August 2003. Paperback UK£12.99/US$19.95; hardback UK£36.95/US$59.99,
plus 
10% postage and packing for on-line sales. (Ordering information
below.)

I'm writing to draw your attention to this immensely important book on
the 
politics of the WTO, which takes the lid off how the WTO really works,
and 
what really happened before, at, and after the Fourth WTO Ministerial 
Conference in Doha in 2001, on the basis of interviews with 33
Geneva-based 
delegates to the WTO and 10 Secretariat staff members.

This is the ammunition the critics of the WTO have been waiting for. It
reveals the systematic subversion of an ostensibly democratic system to
ensure that the "agreements" that are reached are those the major
powers - 
primarily the US and the European Union - want, irrespective of the
views of

interests of most developing countries, who form the great majority of
the 
membership.

The authors summarise:
"Crucial meetings are held behind closed doors, excluding participants
with 
critical interests at stake, with no formal record of the discussion.
When 
delegates are, in principle, entitled to attend meetings, they are not 
informed when or where they are to be held. Meetings are held without 
translation into the languages of many participants, to discuss
documents 
which are only available in English, and which have been issued only
hours 
before, or even at the meeting itself. Those most familiar with issues 
(Ambassadors) are sometimes discouraged or prevented from speaking in 
discussions about them at Ministerial meetings. 'Consultations' with
Members

on key decisions are held one-to-one, in private, with no written
record, 
and the interpretation left to an individual who has a stake in the
outcome.

Protestations that inconvenient views have been ignored in this process
fall

on deaf ears. Chairs of committees and facilitators are selected by a
small 
clique, and often have an interest in the issues for which the
committee is 
responsible. The established principle of decision-making by consensus
is 
routinely overridden, and the views of decision-makers are
'interpreted' 
rather than a formal vote being taken, even in such key decisions as
the 
selection of Mike Moore as DG and the chairmanship of the Trade
Negotiations

Committee. Rules are ignored when they are inconvenient, and a blind
eye is 
turned to blackmail and inducements. The list is endless.

"Any country whose political system operated as the WTO did before,
during 
and after the Doha Ministerial - where procedures were interpreted with
such

'flexibility', rules were routinely ignored, and people or interested
groups

routinely used bribery and blackmail to achieve their political ends -
would

not only be rightly condemned by the international community as
undemocratic

and corrupt, it would also face a real and constant threat of
revolution. No

developed country would contemplate running its government in this way;
and 
yet they are happy both to exploit the system and to defend it against 
pressure for democratic reform at the international level."

This book is a "must-read", not only for anyone engaged in campaigning
and 
advocacy on the WTO and international trade issues, but also for anyone
who 
wants to know how our world is really run, what's going on behind the 
headlines, and how international structures are being abused to impose 
globalisation on an unwilling world.

ON-LINE ORDERING INFORMATION:
Go to: http://www.zedbooks.demon.co.uk
Click on "order books"
Click on "on-line order form" (or use one of the other options)
Fill in: ISBN (paperback 1 184277 311 9; hardback 1 84277 310 0)
title (Behind the Scenes at the WTO)
	price (paperback UK£12.99/US$19.95; hardback 
UK£36.95/US$59.99)
It would be helpful if you could order as soon as possible, to help us 
assess demand.

BULK ORDERS AND SALES TO NGOs:
Discounts are available for NGOs, depending on location (North or
South) and

quantities. Prices include postage where applicable. Courier costs, if 
required, are extra.
Northern NGOs:
up to 5 copies:  UK£10.72/US$16.46 (25% discount plus postage)
6 to 20 copies: UK£9.57/US$14.70 (33% discount plus postage)
21 to 50 copies: UK£8.57/US$13.17 (40% discount plus postage)
51 to 100 copies: UK£7.79/US$11.97 (40% discount, postage free)
more than 100 copies, negotiable.

Southern NGOs:
up to 10 copies: UK£7.79/US$11.97 (40% discount, postage free)
11 to 50 copies: UK£6.50/US$9.98 (50% discount, postage free)
more than 50 copies: negotiable.

Please e-mail Farouk Sohawon (Farouk.Z at zedbooks.demon.co.uk) as soon as
possible.

REVIEW COPIES:
If you are able to review the book for a newspaper, journal,
newsletter, 
etc, please request a review copy from Farouk Sohawon 
(Farouk.Z at zedbooks.demon.co.uk). Suggestions for possible reviewers are
very

welcome (with e-mail address if possible). If you write a review,
please 
send a copy or web-link) to David Woodward (woodwarddavid at hotmail.com).

LEAFLETS:
If you require leaflets for distribution, please contact Farouk Sohawon
(Farouk.Z at zedbooks.demon.co.uk).

EVENTS:
If your organisation is interested in holding an event related to this
book 
(eg a local press launch or press briefing, workshop, etc), please
e-mail 
David Woodward (woodwarddavid at hotmail.com). NB we are unable to offer 
financial or logistical support for such events, but we MAY be able to 
provide other resources (eg advance copies for pre-Cancun events;
leaflets; 
and possibly a video of the launch). We hope such events will form the
basis

of a global debate on the legitimacy of the WTO.

If you would like to be informed of any planned events in your country,
please send an e-mail specifying the country to David Woodward 
(woodwarddavid at hotmail.com).

MEDIA CONTACTS:
If possible, please send a list of e-mail addresses for relevant media 
contacts to David Woodward (woodwarddavid at hotmail.com), so that we can 
include them in our mailing.

OTHER SUGGESTIONS:
If, having read the book, you are concerned about the picture it
paints, we 
would encourage you to write to newspapers, MPs, Trade Ministers, WTO 
delegates and the Director General of the WTO. Those in a position to
do so 
might also try to get MPs to ask parliamentary questions.

DISSEMINATION:
Please forward this e-mail as widely (and as quickly) as possible,
including

to all relevant mailing lists and list-serves. The information can be 
reproduced on web-sites without permission, using the following link to
the 
Zed Books web-site:
http://zedbooks.co.uk/cgi-bin/refertitle.cgi?1%2084277%20310%200
 PLEASE FORWARD THIS E-MAIL TO EVERYONE WHO MIGHT BE 
INTERESTED.