wfn.org | United Methodists prepare WTO information

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

July 5, 2000 News media contact: Linda Bloom·(212) 870-3803·New York
10-71B{317}

By United Methodist News Service

A United Methodist agency is making available a packet of information and an
accompanying video on the Christian response to issues surrounding the World
Trade Organization (WTO).

The Women's Division of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries has
assembled the packet and video. The Women's Division is the administrative
body for the churchwide United Methodist Women organization.

One of the concerns of United Methodist Women is how WTO actions and
policies affect "the poorest and weakest countries and peoples," along with
how the environment is impacted.

"We believe that while free trade may be good for those who can afford it
(mainly the multi-national corporations), most of us cannot afford it,"
explains Marilyn Clement, a Women's Division executive, in a letter in the
packet. "In fact, all human beings are affected by the environmental
exploitation that parallels the 'export and growth' formula offered by the
WTO and its brother organizations, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and
the World Bank."

United Methodist Women were among the many representatives of
nongovernmental organizations who participated in events surrounding the WTO
meeting last November in Seattle.

"Members of the faith community were encouraged and emboldened by the
diverse crowd of people who came to Seattle to protest the strategies of the
powerful and greedy," Clement writes. "We knew that, even if trade rules
favoring the most powerful were enacted all over the world, God's people
would still prevail. We have no doubt about who holds and sustains and
grounds our world."

The 26-minute video, WTO: In Whose Hands?, provides basic information about
the WTO and focuses on a few of the voices speaking out on issues of free
trade. Topics discussed include the worldwide agriculture crisis, genetic
engineering or modification, the Massachusetts Burma Law and the people of
Africa. Questions and guidelines are provided for discussion leaders. 
The packet includes a statement by United Methodist leaders on moral issues
related to the WTO; selected biblical passages on justice for workers; a
denominational policy guide to trade, globalization and the WTO; a directory
of nongovernmental organizations dealing with issues of the global economy;
and other pieces of background information. 

Action items include a "drama pak" outlining ideas for four skits about the
WTO, which small groups can perform, and a copy of a "sign-on letter" being
circulated to members of Congress that demands deeper and more meaningful
debt relief for impoverished countries.

The video and packets, at a cost of $5 each plus postage and handling, can
be ordered through the Service Center of the Board of Global Ministries. The
toll-free telephone number is (800) 305-9857.  

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United Methodist News Service
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