"We, parliamentarians, reiterate our commitment to promote free and fair trade that benefits people everywhere, enhances development and reduces poverty. The negotiations in Cancún should be milestone on the way to implement the Doha agenda. They must deliver a framework for completing it on time and provide outcomes that are necessary to ensure that the commitments and promises made in Doha are respected", declared the 320 parliamentarians from 70 countries meeting at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancún.

The MPs, gathered at the invitation of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the European Parliament, with the support of the Mexican Parliament, stressed that their objectives were to oversee WTO activities and promote their effectiveness and fairness, keeping in mind the original objectives of the WTO set in Marrakech. They also seek to promote transparency in WTO procedures, improve the dialogue between government negotiators, parliaments and civil society, build capacity in parliaments in matters of international trade and exert influence on the direction of discussions within the WTO.

In their Declaration, MPs expressed their concern that failure to live up to the commitments made in Doha would have enormous and long-lasting implications for sustainable global economic development. "We therefore call Heads of State and government, Ministers and trade negotiators to show vision and leadership and seek to make progress through cooperation".

Positive results in the negotiations on agriculture are essential for the success of the WTO Ministerial Conference, says the Declaration. Agriculture has a multifunctional role which includes food safety, preservation of land, animal welfare, way of life, revitalisation of rural society and rural employment. The Declaration calls on the Ministerial Conference "to make a commitment to bring to an end all agricultural policies that have contributed to underdevelopment". The members of Parliaments invited WTO Members "to set forth a clear timetable for agreeing upon the phasing out of all forms of export subsidies and to agree upon substantial improvements in market access, taking into account special and differential treatment".

"As legitimate representatives of our respective peoples, we, members of parliament, have a crucial task to play in international trade that entails communicating with those whom we represent to ensure effective trade policies and providing input for the negotiations that take place in Cancún, with a view to contributing to their successful conclusion". MPs called on their respective governments participating in the 5th WTO Ministerial Conference to add the following paragraph to the final declaration : "Transparency of the WTO should be enhanced by associating parliaments more closely with the activities of the WTO"

On 12th September, the Declaration was officially transmitted to the Chairman of the 5th WTO Ministerial Conference, Mr. Luis Derbez, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico.

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Established in 1889 and with its Headquarters in Geneva, the IPU, the oldest multilateral organisation, currently has 145 affiliated national parliaments and five regional assemblies as associate members. The organisation of the world's parliaments also has an office as Permanent Observer with the United Nations in New York.
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