19-20 October 2005

Lobbying the WTO

Make Trade Fair campaigners use creative flair to lobby ministers before and during WTO General Council meeting in Geneva, 19-20 October.

To exert pressure before the start of the Geneva meeting, campaigners targeted their country representatives. For example, Spanish Intermon Oxfam campaigners presented Victor Echevarría, their WTO Minister (WTO Ambassador), with an oversized pack of batteries. ('Put your batteries on!' is a popular Spanish way of saying 'Get to work!')

Oxfam campaigners then devised a novel way to spread the Make Trade Fair message on the eve of the WTO meeting itself. They marched through Geneva dressed in shark costumes, each of which bore a rich country's national flag.

The sharks represented the EU, US, Japan and France, whose self-interested behaviour threatens to sink reforms to trade rules. Rich countries stand to make a killing if they get their own way; trade rules must be reformed, so that they deliver trade justice for the world's poorest people.

"From the inside of the sharks mouth, I could just about make out the curious looks of the people on the street. It was a fun couple of hours and I hope the message got through to the world leaders that their aggressive pursuit of trade policies has a devastating effect on poor farmers and producers," said trade campaigner Anna Murray, who wore the shark representing France.

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