14 June 2022

Civil Society Lampoon Exclusive “Green Rooms” in Protest Performance at the 12th Ministerial of the WTO

Geneva, Switzerland--Today, a group of civil society working together through the global Our World Is Not For Sale (OWINFS) network, performed a parody of the undemocratic “Green Room” practice before negotiators at the 12th Ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Activists representing the European Union, United States, Switzerland, and United Kingdom surrounded themselves within green fabric as they told activists representing LDCs and developing countries outside the barrier that they were not on the list and could not join their negotiations. The secretive Green Room practice has been common leading up to and during this ministerial meeting, leading to outcomes that do not reflect the interests of a majority of WTO members.

Video and quotes from civil society from around the world from Sunday’s CSO press briefing can be seen at https://ourworldisnotforsale.net/2022-06-12_briefing

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. These and many other documents of analysis by CSOs are available here: https://ourworldisnotforsale.net/MC12 .

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 Director General text with its 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.

Our World Is Not for Sale “Mike Check” Chants, MC12, 14 June 2022

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

THIS IS WHAT THE GREEN
ROOM LOOKS LIKE

REFRAIN:
Let us In
Let us In
Let us In
Let us In
You’re not on the list
(by Green Room)
You’re not on the list
(by Security guard)
Let us In
Let us In
Let us In
Let us In
You’re not on the list
(by Green Room)
You’re not on the list
(by Security guard)

FISH
Bad outcome on the table
because of Green Room
Fisheries text
Fails the mandate!
Developing Countries,
Pay the price
Weak Flexibilities
Conditional SDT
People and fish
Don't deserve this!

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

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

THIS IS WHAT THE GREEN
ROOM LOOKS LIKE

REFRAIN

AGRICULTURE
Bad outcome
because of Green Room
Unfair WTO
Agriculture rules
Complete hypocrisy
Rich can subsidize
The poor cannot!
Rich can subsidize
Big agribusiness
Developing Cannot
support small farmers
Ditch WTO obstacles
Food Security Now!
Permanent Solution!
Public Stockholding!
Results on COTTON!
Permanent Solution!
Public Stockholding!

THIS IS WHAT THE GREEN
ROOM LOOKS LIKE

REFRAIN

WTO REFORM
Bad outcome
because of Green Room
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
Through “stakeholders”
It would Break solidarity
Anti-Development
(Anti-dpmt) Anti-workers
Reject differentiation
Reject plurilaterals
Affirm multilateralism
Affirm consensus
Affirm General Council!
21 Years
Developing countries
Demanding WTO reform
Special & Differential Trmt!
Development Agenda
SDT is the REAL WTO reform
Reject False “WTO Reform”
No False “WTO Reform”
No Green Rooms on WTO Reform!
WTO Turnaround

THIS IS WHAT THE GREEN
ROOM LOOKS LIKE

REFRAIN

TRIPS WAIVER
Bad outcome because of
Green Room
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!

Walk Away!
From the Counter-proposal
DG-text
It NOT a Waiver
Instead it’s TRIPS PLUS
WALK AWAY!
WALK AWAY!

Hey EU,
it’s obscene
to stop a real waiver
and hoard vaccines!
Hey WTO –
Don’t be a puppet
for pharma greed!
Our world is not for sale! 3x