爆料公社

US loses WTO appeal on cotton subsidies

The World Trade Organization in March issued a final ruling declaring that cotton subsidies paid to farmers in the US are in violation of international trade rules and depress world prices. The ruling came after an appeal by the US last year to a preliminary WTO finding in a case filed by Brazil. This is the first successful WTO challenge of a wealthy nation鈥檚 domestic agricultural subsidies and it could force the US to lower the amounts of farm supports it pays for cotton and other crops. It could also influence a change in trade policies in other industrial nations, which currently pay an estimated $300 bn annually in agricultural subsidies.

Under the 1995 WTO Agreement on Agriculture, countries cannot increase their farm supports beyond amounts they paid in 1992. In its challenge, Brazil argued that the US violated this, costing the South American nation $600 mn in potential revenue. If the US fails to comply with the WTO ruling, Brazil may levy trade sanctions against it.

The ruling also marks a victory for African cotton-producing countries that have long blamed Northern subsidies for destroying the livelihoods of millions of farmers through unfair competition. Many developing countries have repeatedly called for the total elimination of agricultural subsidies at the ongoing 鈥淒oha round鈥� of negotiations. Cotton producers Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali welcomed the ruling and urged the US to implement the decision quickly. The ruling 鈥渃onfirms that these subsidies are not fair and must be phased out in a very, very short time,鈥� said Mr. Samuel Amehou, Benin鈥檚 WTO ambassador. The UN, World Bank and other agencies have long argued that reducing subsidies would greatly benefit the economies of developing countries.

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UN AIDS envoys urge India to not restrict generics

In a highly unusual step, the UN special envoys for HIV/AIDS in Africa and in Asia and the Pacific, Mr. Stephen Lewis and Ms. Nafis Sadik, wrote a joint letter urging the Indian government not to adopt legislation threatening the global availability of generic anti-AIDS medicines. The letter, addressed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, came shortly before the parliament adopted legislation bringing India into compliance with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules on intellectual property.

鈥淚ndia鈥檚 role in addressing the global AIDS pandemic has been critical,鈥� the envoys wrote. Because the old legislation permitted Indian drug manufacturers to produce and export inexpensive copies of costly patented anti-retroviral medications, 鈥渢he lives of HIV-positive people throughout the developing world are now being sustained by quality generic drugs.鈥� As a result of India鈥檚 decision to adopt the more restrictive WTO trade rules on drugs, the two senior UN representatives warned, 鈥渢hose lives are now in jeopardy.鈥�

The new legislation, adopted 23 March, exempts generic AIDS medicines now widely used in developing countries. The legislation could significantly raise prices for drugs currently under development, however, raising concerns about their availability to the poor. 鈥淪ome people with HIV/AIDS will develop resistance to the first generation of AIDS drugs and will need newer treatments,鈥� noted M茅decins Sans Fronti猫res spokesperson Ellen 鈥榯 Hoen. 鈥淏ut without Indian generic medicines, where will they get affordable medicines from?鈥�

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Digital 鈥榮olidarity鈥� fund launched

A plan, proposed by Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, to solicit donations to finance the development of information technology in poor nations was officially launched in March in Geneva, the first city to sign up to the plan. The Digital Solidarity Fund has so far received backing from Algeria, France, Nigeria and Senegal. It will raise money by collecting voluntary contributions of 1 per cent of public information communication technology (ICT) procurement contracts. In turn, donors will be able to use the label, 鈥淒igital Solidarity.鈥�

The fund should be seen 鈥渁s a concrete manifestation of our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals,鈥� said UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. 鈥淚t can help harness the potential of ICTs to empower poor and marginalized people.鈥� He said the initiative would contribute to fighting poverty and bridging the gap in technological development between rich and poor countries. 鈥淭he use of information and communication technologies is shrinking distances, fostering new approaches to existing challenges and bringing dramatic changes in the economic, social and cultural realms,鈥� Mr. Annan said.

International Telecommunication Union Secretary-General Yoshio Utsumi said the creation of the fund confounded the sceptics. 鈥淲ithout the strong political will of the African heads of state involved in the process, it would not have been possible.鈥� Presidents Wade, Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria attended the launch.

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UN sanctions to penalize use of child soldiers

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged the Security Council to impose targeted sanctions on governments, armed groups and individuals using child soldiers. In his annual report on the issue to the council in February, Mr. Annan noted that 54 parties and countries are using more than 250,000 children as soldiers, thereby violating international law. Sanctions could include arms embargoes, travel bans on leaders and a 鈥渞estriction on the flow of financial resources to the parties concerned,鈥� Mr. Annan said. Countries where child soldiers are used include Burundi, C么te d鈥橧voire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Sudan, Colombia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Uganda.

Action is needed to protect children from military conscription, says UN Under-Secretary-General Olara Otunnu.

Photograph: UN Photo / Ky Chung

The report, said UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Olara Otunnu, marks a turning point by 鈥渢ransforming words into deeds.鈥� It represents 鈥渢he launch of a comprehensive compliance regime to ensure the protection of millions of children who have been brutalized in situations of conflict.鈥� The world community now needs to ensure that standards on protecting children are enforced, he added.

Children are used as combatants, porters, spies and sex slaves, Mr. Otunnu explained. 鈥淭ens of thousands of girls are being subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence, including as a deliberate tool of warfare,鈥� he said. 鈥淎bductions are becoming widespread and brazen, as we have witnessed for example in northern Uganda, Nepal and Burundi.鈥�

Mr. Otunnu, whose office prepared the report, also cited some good news: compared to previous years, the number of child soldiers has fallen. The countries where the overall situation of children has improved include Afghanistan, Angola, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and East Timor.

Africa leads world measles decline

The world is on its way to meeting the goal of cutting the number of deaths from measles by half by the end of 2005, according to a report released in March by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children鈥檚 Fund (UNICEF). The agencies reported that globally, the number of deaths from measles, a highly contagious viral disease, had dropped by 39 per cent between 1999 and 2003, from 873,000 to 530,000.

The biggest reduction, of 46 per cent, occurred in Africa, the continent most affected by the disease.

鈥淧rogress of this magnitude is remarkable,鈥� said WHO Director General Lee Jong-wook. 鈥淚 am certain that with increased commitment from governments and further support from the international community, even more can be accomplished.鈥�

The report attributes progress to the willingness of governments to fully implement a WHO/UNICEF strategy to extend immunization to at least 90 per cent of all local districts. The strategy also focuses on ensuring that every child from nine months to 14 years of age receives a follow-up shot, designed to reach those who missed the first round of vaccinations and boost immunity for the 10鈥�15 per cent of children who do not respond to the initial dose. As a result of these efforts, more than 350 million children across the world were immunized from 1999 to 2003.

鈥淲e now have the opportunity to replicate this successful method as we tackle other child killers, such as malaria,鈥� said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy. Only a decade ago, measles killed as many as one million children a year around the world. Many of the 30 million who survived were left blind or with complications such as brain damage and other disabilities.