13 June 2022

Civil Society Protest at the Entrance of the WTO 12th Ministerial in Geneva

Geneva, Switzerland—Today, a group of civil society working together through the global Our World Is Not for Sale (OWINFS) network, present in Geneva for the 12th Ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO), use the human amplification tactic of “Mike Check” to voice their concerns about the WTO negotiations. Text of the chants is included below.

On the TRIPS waiver on intellectual property rules to save lives during the Covid pandemic, civil society leaders urged countries to reject the counter-proposal and onerous new TRIPS+ provisions which would actually add new obligations to TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) on developing countries rather than save lives.

They also demanded a permanent solution to public stockholding, so that developing countries can achieve food security through increased production. They urged delegates to reject the anti- development fisheries text that is on the table, and to start again with a pro-development proposals. And they condemned the Green Room tactics and false promise of “WTO Reform” which is actually a developed country agenda to abandon multilateralism, consensus, and development architecture of the WTO. See https://ourworldisnotforsale.net/MC12 for analysis.

A facebook live video is available here: https://www.facebook.com/owinfs

Free-use photos available here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vAIVUQzHxymQml4NDnk2bu7-17LWVTgW

Over 50 civil society experts – trade unionists, farmers, development advocates, and consumer activists – from more than 23 countries have traveled to Geneva for the 12th Ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) as part of the global Our World Is Not For Sale (OWINFS) network. Civil society delegates are at the WTO from: India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, Pacific Islands, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Morocco, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, USA, Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and the UK.

Groups put an NGO statement on the WTO decision to retract their previously granted access to the Ministerial Conference on its opening day on 12 June 2022. Their press conference on 12 June can be viewed here. And a media availability list of NGO experts, many of whom are in Geneva for MC12, is available here. These and many other documents of analysis by CSOs are available here: https://ourworldisnotforsale.net/MC12.

Our World Is Not for Sale “Mike Check” Chants, MC12, 13 June 2022

Our world Is not for sale!
We are here
Global civil society
From 23 countries
Farmers and workers
Fishers and consumers
North and South
Standing united
To oppose corporate greed
And to demand
Trade for development
Good jobs
Food security
Access to medicines!
WTO Turnaround!

WTO Turnaround!
Developing countries
Demanded changes
To WTO
Since its inception
Implementation Agenda
Special and Differential
Treatment Now!
Future agenda
Must be Development!
REAL SDT
Development Agenda
WTO Turnaround

DG Promised
No Green Rooms
Bottom-up Process
Member-Driven
Transparency Inclusion
Now We Know
Green Rooms Every Day!
Unfair Exclusion
STOP the Green Rooms!
Transparency now!
Participation Now!

Unfair WTO
Agriculture rules
Complete hypocrisy
Rich can subsidize
The poor cannot!
Ditch WTO obstacles
Food Security Now!
Permanent Solution!
Public Stockholding!
Results on COTTON!
Rich can subsidize
Big agribusiness
Developing Cannot
support small farmers
Promote food security.
Permanent Solution!
Public Stockholding!
For Food Security!
Food Security!
Food Sovereignty!
Results on COTTON!

WTO Reform
Is a Trojan Horse
To Destroy Multilateralism
To Abandon Consensus
To fling open the Door
To more pro-corporate rule
MORE corporate dominance
Anti-Development
Anti-workers
Anti-Farmers
Reject Fake “WTO Reform”
No Fake “WTO Reform”
Instead we need
REAL SDT
Development Agenda
WTO Turnaround

Little fish, big fish
What do you wish?
Big fleets on the hook,
But just look!
They get away!
MORE subsidies can pay!

Fisheries text
Fails the mandate!
Developing Countries,
Pay the price
Weak Flexibilities
Conditional SDT
People and fish
Don't deserve this!

Small fisherfolk
Caught in the net
Of WTO rules
Leave them out
It not what its about
This text reeks!
Target big fleets!

No illegal JSIs!
No Illegal JSIs!
E-commerce rules
Would ban regulation
Of Big Tech
NO WTO “disciplines”
On Big Tech regulation

No Investment facilitation
No Domestic regulation
Dom Reg Handcuffs
Public interest
Regulation
Domestic Issue!
Not trade issue!

Covid TRIPS Decision!
Waive all IP!
Vaccines, treatments
and diagnostics!
No TRIPS+ conditions!
No necessity tests!
No notification
requirements!
Allow all re-exports!
Let non-WTO Members
benefit!
10 years is a minimum!

Hey EU,
it’s obscene
to stop a real waiver
and hoard vaccines!

Hey WTO –
Don’t be a puppet
for pharma greed!

Hey hey! Ho ho!
EU stop saying no!
Hey hey! Ho ho!
Switzerland stop saying no!
Hey hey! Ho ho!
US stop saying no!
Hey hey! Ho ho!
UK stop saying no!

Hey hey! Ho ho!
Pharma greed has got to go!

One! – waive all IP
Two! – treatments & tests too!
Three! – we have the power
if we work together

One! – REAL TRIPS waiver
Two! – a little bit louder
Three! – we have the power
if we work together

Our world is not for sale!
Our world is not for sale!