[UK] Church agency backs criticism of UK on world poverty

from Ekklesia

UK-based international development agency Christian Aid today applauded a new parliamentary report that blamed the British government for breaking its promises by continuing to force poor countries to liberalise their economies.

The UK stands accused of backtracking on pledges made last year to stop forcing poor countries to liberalise trade through trade negotiations. Britain has supported the European Union in it’s hard line negotiating stance with developing countries in the World Trade Organisation.

Dr Claire Melamed, Christian Aid’s head of trade policy, said that the WTO, which had been discussing a new trade round, had missed another deadline because of the EU’s refusal to make concessions to poor countries without first demanding harsh conditions in return.

“Peter Mandelson is refusing to make any changes to the scandalous agricultural subsidy regime unless developing countries throw open their industrial and services sectors, effectively ending any possibility of development in those sectors. And now we know from the International Development Committee’s report that the UK must bear some of the blame for this failure.

“Despite all its pro-development rhetoric, the Committee accuses the UK government of not standing up to Commissioner Mandelson and insisting that the EU do what it must to make the ‘development round’ a reality. Instead, they are allowing the EU to hold the talks hostage.

“The UK government is dining out in London on the kudos of apparently opposing the EU’s indefensible position, while still supping with Mandelson in Brussels,” she said.

“The millions of poor people whose fate rest on decisions made in the WTO might think they have friend in the UK government, but this report has shown otherwise. It is time for the UK to make its rhetoric a reality and stand up to Mandelson. The EU must agree to reform its agricultural policies, without demanding that developing countries destroy their own economies in return,” concluded Christain Aid's Dr Melamed.