28 September 2007
Addis Ababa — A day ahead of the trade negotiations, ActionAid, criticized the European Union trade leaders' moves as an unjust trading system set to increase the number of hungry people across the developing world.
Demonstrators in Brussels and Nairobi demanded on Thursday a halt to trade and investment negotiations between the European Union and former colonies, saying the proposed deal would harm poor countries.
In Brussels, around 100 protesters waved flags outside the headquarters of the EU's executive Commission and campaigners wearing suits to represent big business symbolically dumped crates of EU food exports on an impromptu African market place.
ActionAid accused the Union as using of 'strong-arm trade politics' that would deny food rights and undermine good governance in the world's poorest countries.
In a press release the agency sent to the Daily Monitor in connection with the eve of the fifth anniversary of a new series of trade negotiations between the EU and African, Caribbean & Pacific countries (ACP), that if these Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) are signed they will have a detrimental impact on food sovereignty in our countries.
"Over the last 15 years, imports from Europe to West Africa have increased by 84% and our countries have spent up to 57% of their revenue to import food that could be produced locally", Bassiaka Dao, President of the farmers union of Burkina Faso and a member of ROPPA said in ActionAid media statement.
"A reciprocal free trade agreement will worsen this situation while limiting the capacity of our governments to protect agriculture," he added.
ActionAid said EPAs will result in the dumping of cheap agricultural products, the ensuing displacement of local producers and loss of local businesses and are will deny people in ACP countries the right to food.
"The European Commission is using strong-arm politics to push African countries to sign up to trade agreements that will undermine the right to food," said Bibiane Mbaye, ActionAid Policy Coordinator for Western and Central Africa.
"The right to food is a human right and is a binding obligation well-established under international law such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights." Commission officials say negotiations are most advanced with the Caribbean group but that big problems remain with east, west and southern Africa.
Demonstrations against the negotiations were also planned in dozens of other cities in Europe, Africa and beyond.
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