Brussels, 15/11/2002 (Agence Europe) - More than 150 non-governmental organisations have criticised the "exclusive" mini-ministerial meeting currently taking place in Sydney without the participation of almost all World Trade Organisation countries (see EUROPE 14 November p 10). A joint press statement published by the NGOs on Thursday claimed, "This meeting, to which 25 governments have been invited to take part, is illegitimate given that this group of countries assumes, de facto and illegally, an executive role for the majority". Shefali Sharma from the Geneva Bureau of the Institute of Agricultural and Trade Policies said that the WTO agreements committed governments to carry out serious legislative and regulatory reforms, which had an impact on internal policies and not only in the field of trade. It was, therefore, unacceptable that the WTO had up till now failed to devise a system that incorporated all its members to develop genuine consensus. The bureau wants to know what is the use of the substance, if the result is pre-determined by just a few? The NGOs are worried at being overwhelmed in this way by the democratic principles laid down in the powerful countries' constitutions, and refer to the fact that the selection criteria of the countries attending the meeting remain unknown: no verbal procedure of discussions is retained; decisions that are taken affect all the members although the agenda is fixed in their name and in their absence. They are calling on Ministers to refuse such sessions and set up an efficient and reliable decision-making process that excludes any kind of "power politics before any agreements are concluded on the basis of a fallacious consensus.
Some WTO countries have also expressed worries and frustration in the face of such practices persisting (better known as the "Green Room" Editor's note), particularly the representative of Zimbabwe in Geneva, Boniface Chidyausiku, who is afraid that, "If the agreements are concluded and the positions taken when there are only a few delegates present, the other member countries will be persuaded and forced to accept such positions and agreements".