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Westminster Abbey 15 April 2005 Opening gathering for the Wake Up to Trade Justice all-night vigil Speech by Farhad Mazhar, Managing Director of Ubinig, Bangladesh Let me first thank you for giving me the opportunity to address you this evening in Westminster Abbey on this monumental day across the globe in our campaign for trade justice. It is a privilege to be invited to such a prestigious and historical Christian church as this. It is important to say that the pursuit of justice is common to all faiths and those of other beliefs and traditions. What unifies us tonight is our belief in transforming the world, to rid it of poverty and make it a more just and equitable place for all people. We stand together as, faith groups, trade unionists, women’s groups, supporters of development, environment and campaign agencies, pop stars, actors, actresses, musicians, and artists with one belief - that we will fulfil our goal of trade justice for the poor. May I say thank you to the Trade Justice Movement for their warm welcome, for their organisation of this event and for the solidarity and support they have shown to their partner organisations in Bangladesh in the lead up to this week of global campaigning. I believe that with over 80 countries worldwide and some 10 million people taking part this is the largest mass campaign on trade ever seen. Martin Luther King said “Before you finish eating breakfast this morning, you've depended on more than half the world. This is the way our universe is structured. We aren't going to have peace on earth until we recognize this basic fact of the interrelated structure of all reality”. But the reality for many is that they will not have eaten breakfast at all this morning – or lunch or any other meal. The reality for many is that they have toiled long hours for poor pay to produce the products that we buy in our shops and supermarkets. And the reality for many is that they are denied a better life because of the oppressive policies of trade liberalisation imposed on poor countries. For millions of small scale farmers and traders around the world who depend on agriculture for their living - free trade is like modern day slavery. Tatu Museyni from Ethiopia is a 37 year old widow. She grows the coffee we drink. She lives with her six children on a farm of one acre without water or electricity. She barely has enough money to give her children an education because year on year she receives less for her coffee crop. To survive she works on other farms and sells grass as cattle feed. Falling prices have the effect of enslaving Tatu and her family to a life of poverty. Kofi Eliasa works all day in a quarry in northern Ghana, for less than one pound. He toils in the searing heat, breaking rocks into gravel. He is dependent on the little he earns to provide for his family. Kofi used to own a tomato farm. But he can no longer survive as a farmer as he is unable to sell his tomatoes in local markets. In return for loans and aid Ghana has been forced to open its markets to imports. For Kofi, his family and millions like him the impact has been devastating. For Kofi it is not called slavery nowadays – it’s called free trade and it’s condemning him to a life of poverty. And it’s not just the food we eat but also the clothes we wear that are affected by international trade rules. At midnight on December 31st 2004 Bangladesh was one of a number of poor countries hit by one of the most sweeping acts of global liberalisation. The World Trade Organisation scrapped the quota system - known as the Multi Fibre Agreement - that governed the global clothing and textile trade. This agreement itself was unjust and instigated in 1974 by rich countries to protect themselves against cheaper imports. In a recent report ‘rags to riches to rags’, Christian Aid warned that, unless urgent action was taken, up to a million Bangladeshi garment workers would lose their jobs as a result of a lack of capacity to compete in the marketplace – plunging them yet further into poverty and debt. For these million or so garment workers it’s not called slavery nowadays. It’s called free trade – a system that’s condemning them to a life of poverty. I am the Managing Director of Ubinig (Unnayan Bikalper Nitinirdharoni Gobeshona) (Policy Research for Development Alternatives) Our organisation is at the forefront of the campaign calling for the dismantling of WTO imposed trips (trade related intellectual property standards) and the privatization of seed distribution. We believe that these are immoral and unethical. They reduce the choices available to poor Bangladeshi farmers, particularly women. And the impact of these changes in agriculture is condemning them too to a life of poverty. At the beginning of the twenty first century the world is more unequal than it has ever been. In 1960 the richest twenty per cent of the world’s population earnt 30 times more than the poorest twenty per cent, today they earn 74 times more. Unjust trade is at the heart of this inequality. The global trading system is worth $10 million a minute, but the poorest countries account for less than half of one per cent of world trade. According to the UN poor countries are $700 billion a year worse off because the global trading system works against them. If Africa could increase its share of world trade by just 1 per-cent it would generate five times more income than the continent currently receives in aid and debt relief. Trade offers the promise of a way out of persistent poverty for many developing countries and their people. But the benefits from trade are by no means automatic. Huge gaps remain between the potential and the current realities. Rich country interests continue to hold sway in agreeing international trade rules and economic policy conditions. These continue to bring greater benefits to rich rather than poor countries. It is only by agreeing rules that support and protect poor people that we can turn this around. The Trade Justice Movement has already achieved so much. As someone who has been invited to speak on behalf of the international trade justice campaign, I thank you for your actions so far. Here in the UK, the report of the Africa Commission has challenged the economic orthodoxy of the last two decades. It clearly states that rich countries ‘should not force Africa to liberalise.’ it also says that a mix of ‘protection and openness’ is the route to development. In a series of announcements the UK government has begun to bring its own policies into line with this new approach. I urge you - for our sake - to hold them accountable to these promises. And through your membership of the European Union you have enormous influence and power over how the world trades. European subsidies must be reformed so that you stop dumping your surplus production on international markets. But the EU must also stop using the world trade organisation and new trade negotiations with former colonies, to force poor countries to open their markets to European imports and services. I urge you - for our sake - to work with other European countries to hold the EU to account on these issues. And finally - the IMF and World Bank. These two international institutions have gone further and faster than any other organization in forcing poor countries to open their markets before they are ready, cut support to vulnerable producers, privatize and deregulate. In return for their loans and debt relief they have dictated our trade policies for two decades. And it has been a disaster. The UK, as the fourth largest economy in the world, does have influence. These institutions must be reformed to be accountable to the people who are at the sharp end of their policies. I say, no more trade and economic conditions. We have had enough. In the past, in the face of this moral imperative to act for justice – trade justice – you could perhaps excuse this inaction by ignorance. Half the world could say they simply did not know. But in this generation you have no excuse. You see every day with your own eyes. You see people on TV dying terrible deaths from tsunamis, from aids, from hunger and poverty. You’ve seen, you know and therefore you must act. It saddens me to say it, but for many of the world’s leaders there appears to be more moral imperative, resolve and resources for wars on terrorism than wars on poverty. But there is no doubt that with the political will we could – make – poverty – history - tomorrow. When the history of the abolition of trade slavery is written one of its first and finest chapters will detail the global week of action for trade justice as a decisive moment in its downfall. We are here tonight because we will not be silenced and we will not give up on the poor. The time for change is now. And if not now then when. The poor cannot wait another year or decade. We must have confidence that our words will win and our actions will achieve - our goal - of trade justice for all. Reports from the events »
Westminster Abbey opening event
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