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[Sheila MESA <smm@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches
Press Release
For Immediate Use
19 March 1998

WCC WARNS CHURCHES OF PROPOSED MULTILATERAL
AGREEMENT ON INVESTMENT

The General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC),  Rev. Dr
Konrad Raiser, has alerted the Council's 332 member churches to the
dangers inherent in the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment
(MAI) which is currently being negotiated by the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

In response to a request from the WCC's Executive Committee, Dr Raiser
has sent a briefing document* on the MAI, tabled at the recent (17-20
February) meeting of the Committee, to all member churches.  In an
accompanying letter, Dr Raiser describes the contents and implications
of the proposed MAI as "alarming".  

In a further move, and also in response to a request by the Executive
Committee,  Dr Raiser has also written to member churches in the 29
countries belonging to the OECD, which the Executive Committee says
have a special responsibility to act on the issue.

In his letter Dr Raiser explains, "This Agreement will have far-reaching
effects not only on those countries which are involved in the
negotiations and which will be the first signatories, but also on the
countries of the south and those "transition' countries not involved in the
OECD. The MAI, which is expected to become the international
framework for foreign direct investment, is being negotiated by
representatives of the OECD economies without the participation of
representatives of the majority of the countries of the world.  Moreover
the Agreement, as it stands, could threaten efforts to create sustainable
communities. There are reasons to be concerned about the implications
for the environment, working conditions and human rights."

Reminding member churches that OECD government representatives will
meet in Paris from 27-28 April to discuss the Agreement further, Dr
Raiser says the Executive Committee has urged churches in OECD
countries firstly to inform themselves about the issue and find out the
position of their governments, and trade union and employers' 

organisations.  Then, churches are urged to approach government and
"to press for a  framework for international investment which is balanced
and which protects the interests of people, communities and the
environment".

Tony Addy and Eduard Dommen co-ordinate WCC work on the MAI. 
They say that "Because of the dangers of the current proposal, OECD
should not press ahead at its April meeting with plans for the signing of
the agreement".  They explain that "WCC concern on the issue stems
from work the Council is doing in the search for alternatives to the
present damaging processes of globalisation, particularly as it affects
investment, trade and financial transactions. Globalisation, as presently
understood, leads to marginalisation and exclusion as well as to
environmental destruction".

"We believe a multilateral framework to control foreign direct investment
is necessary rather than the MAI which gives multinational companies
the freedom to impose their own agendas on the rest of the world.  The
MAI says foreign investors must be treated as well as or better than
domestic companies; national and local governments cannot restrict
foreign investment in any form or in any sector except defence, and
governments cannot impose 'performance requirements' to ensure local
employment, control currency speculation or require a minimum period for
investment.  Further, the MAI gives multinational companies additional
powers to sue governments and local municipal authorities in cases
where the 'rules' of the MAI have not been kept; citizens will once again
lose democratic rights over how they wish business to be conducted
within their own borders.   We hope churches will join with others in
OECD countries and urge their governments to withdraw from the MAI as
it is presently conceived, and that churches in non-OECD countries will
call upon their governments to object to the proposed agreement."

(The OECD countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,
Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey,
United Kingdom, United States.)

*A copy of the briefing note is available (English only) upon request.
For further information contact Tony Addy +41.22.791.6107 or Eduard
Dommen, +41.22.791.6111; E-mail for both: dfd@wcc-coe.org.

**********
The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 332, in
more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions.  The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but
works cooperatively with the WCC.  The highest governing body is the
Assembly, which meets approximately every seven years.  The WCC
was formally inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  Its staff is
headed by general secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church
in Germany.

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