The Guardian 1 February, 2006
Indigenous farmers’ rights trampled
The Australian Government, along with the New Zealand and Canadian Governments, sold out on indigenous peoples and farmers’ rights at Working Group meeting preparing for UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to be held in Curitiba, Brazil, from March 20-31. Under the guidance of the USA and major seed corporations, Australia pursued a path that will have profoundly negative effects social, economic and environmental impacts, not just in Third World countries, but around the world.
The giant seed corporations have developed the technology with the aim of preventing farmers from collecting seed from one crop to plant for the next crop. The aim of the technology is undermine the independence of farmers and force them to purchase seeds every year from the few transnational corporations that have a monopoly over seed sales. These Gene Giants manipulate the seeds so that crops are dependent on other commercial products, such as fertiliser and pesticides.
The CBD’s "Working Group on Article 8(j)" that met in Granada last week was established to protect the traditional knowledge, innovation and practices of Indigenous peoples and peasant farmers.
The outcome now threatens biodiversity and the future of seed-saving and locally adapted agriculture worldwide.
"Terminator poses a threat to our welfare and food sovereignty and constitutes a violation of our human right of self-determination", said Mariano Marcos Terena of Brazil on behalf of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity.
Although the meeting "reaffirmed" the fragile UN moratorium on Terminator, new recommendations adopted in Granada now may be used to block the CBD’s precautionary approach when governments meet in March in Brazil.
Not only did the meeting fail to condemn Terminator as immoral and anti-farmer, Australia and the United States falsely claimed that Terminator, which creates sterility, would "increase productivity".
With a US government official consulting at her side, the Australian negotiator insisted on deleting reference to the "precautionary approach" and used this as a bargaining chip to win controversial wording for a "case-by-case risk assessment" of Terminator.
"The new reference to case-by-case assessment is shocking and extremely damaging because it suggests that national regulatory review of Terminator is possible — it undermines the CBD moratorium, opening the door to Terminator approval", warns Hope Shand of ETC Group.
"Australia’s brazen move confirms that an alarming government — industry strategy is in play to overturn the UN moratorium on Terminator," said Lucy Sharratt of the Ban Terminator Campaign. "The process and outcome dismiss the contributions of Indigenous and local communities."
Despite the unscrupulous push by Australia and other rich countries to put industry profits before Farmers’ Rights, the majority of governments at the meeting remain solidly opposed to Terminator technology and committed to the existing moratorium.
During the meeting, the African Group, Egypt and the Philippines made impassioned speeches about the potentially devastating impacts of Terminator on biodiversity and food security and the need for national bans. Norway, Pakistan, Kenya and the European Union defended the existing moratorium.
India and Brazil both referred to their national laws prohibiting genetic seed sterilisation technology. Despite this strong opposition to Terminator, Australia’s extreme position and its determination to block consensus left governments little room to negotiate.
Gene Giants Syngenta and Monsanto lobbied aggressively on Terminator throughout the week. They were joined in the corridors by CropLife International, a pesticide lobby group representing the "plant science industry".
Outside the UN meeting Spanish people of all ages gathered to remind governments of the strong public resistance to Terminator technology.