wfn.org | LWF Joins Global Action for Fair Trade

["Frank Imhoff" <Frank.Imhoff@elca.org>]

LWF Joins Global Action for Fair Trade 
"The High Degree of Poverty Around the World Must be Brought to
Attention"

GENEVA, 13 April 2005 (LWI) - The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has
added its support to a petition calling on world governments to change
the international rules and practices governing trade so that priority
is given to human rights, environmental protection and poverty
eradication. 

"We signed the petition because we believe that the consequences of the
current trade policy, which is unfair given the high degree of poverty
around the world, must be brought to attention," says Rev. John
Halvorson, Director of the LWF Department for World Service (DWS)
program in Ethiopia. Other signatories to the petition in the context of
a Global Week of Action on trade include LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr
Ishmael Noko, LWF/DWS program in Cambodia, and LWF member churches in
Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America.

The petition is a major focus of the Geneva-based Ecumenical Advocacy
Alliance (EAA) global trade campaign, which is supported by the LWF. The
campaign calls for trade rules that ensure the right to food for all
people; access to water, education, health care, and information on an
equitable basis; and the regulation of transnational corporations.

In the context of the EAA-supported Global Week of Action during the
period 10-16 April 2005, churches and church-related organizations are
taking a leading role in different activities calling for fair
international trade. An EAA delegation presented the signed petition
today, April 13, to the World Trade Organization in Geneva. The LWF was
represented by Mr Peter Prove, Assistant to the General Secretary in the
Office for International Affairs and Human Rights. 

In El Salvador, radio broadcasts during the Global Week of Action will
feature the consequences of economic globalization on health, the
environment and education. The San Salvador-based LWF/DWS regional
office for Central America has helped organize numerous events including
music festivals, press conferences, demonstrations, and an ecumenical
worship.

In Mozambique, the LWF/DWS country program participated in a workshop
on the current situation of world trade. The LWF office also organized a
visit to the Maragra sugar factory, located some 120 kilometers from the
capital, Maputo.

At a discussion forum in Ethiopia during the week, the DWS program will
raise issues concerning fair global trade practices in view of the
country's poor social and economic situation. Agriculture is the
backbone of Ethiopia's economy, accounting for half of the Gross
Domestic Product, 60 percent of exports, and 80 percent of the total
employment. Most agricultural products such as coffee and cotton are not
sold at fair prices on the world markets. According to government
estimates, a seven percent annual economic growth rate is needed to
reduce poverty. (454 words)

More information on the Global Week of Action can be found at
http://www.e-alliance.ch/gwa.jsp.

The EAA petition, and information on how to use it, can be found at
http://www.e-alliance.ch/tradepetition.jsp.

(Compiled by Barbara Schneider, a youth trainee in the LWF Office for
Communication Services.)

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 138
member churches in 77 countries all over the world, with a membership of
nearly 66 million Christians. The LWF acts on behalf of its member
churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith
relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights,
communication, and the various aspects of mission and development work.
Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service.
Unless specifically noted, material presented does not represent
positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the
dateline of an article contains the notation (LWI), the material may be
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