Press/223
Geneva, 8 June 2001
Moore calls for greater Parliamentary scrutiny of °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ
°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Director-General Mike Moore today called on Parliaments around the world to give greater scrutiny to the organization and to educate themselves more fully on its activities.
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Speaking here before an Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting on International Trade, Mr. Moore said that Parliamentarians were the elected representatives of civil society and as such held responsibility to closely follow the work of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ and work to shape its agenda.
“Parliamentarians and legislators need to know about the institutions they own. Parliamentary select committees should aggressively scrutinize the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ and other international organizations. We need this. It is healthy,” he told the assembled Parliamentarians.
He welcomed the initiative of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in holding this meeting and said that he and the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ secretariat are ready to assist the IPU in any future trade-related conferences it may organize.
The multilateral trading system, he said, was not a threat to national sovereignty but in fact offers all nations — but particularly the smaller and weaker — the opportunity to enhance their sovereignty in global affairs.
“My argument today is that a multilateral system, far from being the new colonialism, opens up the privileged positions of the powerful to transparency and competition. The multilateral system, which is owned by governments is not a new form of colonialism. It is, in fact, the final nail in the coffin of imperial and domestic privilege,” he said.
Governments
created the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ's Agreements for a reason. This guide explains why
they did so. It also provides explanations about the important role
individual governments play in the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ and just how much freedom they
have to protect their people, their morals, their food and their
environment and still benefit from trade.
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