News
Participants in a half-day public seminar in Geneva today sent a statement to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and to ministers of trade attending the 10-14 September WTO conference in Cancun, Mexico. The seminar was jointly organized by the World Council of Churches, Lutheran World Federation, World Alliance of Reformed Churches and Conference of European Churches.
Highlighting the ecumenical community's concerns, it refers to the trade and development issues to be tackled at the conference, including negotiations on the agreement on agriculture, as well as on the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), investment issues, and a Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights TRIPS) agreement.
"The ecumenical community approaches the Cancun Ministerial Meeting with an understanding of 'trade and development' rooted in spiritual, moral and ethical perspectives," the statement says; it was issued "as part of our commitment to work with people and movements towards a global trading system that is just and sustainable".
The full text of statement from the public seminar to Cancun is available on our website at: