WTO-CANCUN: Social Activists in Their Element

Thousands of social activists from around the world came to this Mexican Caribbean resort city to make their protests against the World Trade Organisation, at times turning into something of a party, but also a bit of war.

WTO-CANCUN: Future of Millions of Farmers at Stake

The future of nearly half the world population will be directly affected by farm trade negotiations at the Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference in this Caribbean resort city, where both the developing South and the industrialised North have drawn lines in the sand.

WTO-CANCUN: Cambodia’s ‘Jungle Trail’

The accession of Cambodia to the World Trade Organisation this week constitutes an important step towards implementation of the Doha Development Agenda.

WTO-CANCUN: Negotiators Step into the Farm Trade Fray

Tensions seem to have got the better of delegates to the WTO Ministerial Conference, with just two days left and little chance at any agreement on agricultural subsidies.

WTO-CANCUN: This ‘Farce’ Should Be Dissolved – Menchu

The WTO should be dismantled and replaced by a new global organisation that grants consultative status to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and not the ”crumbs and empty promises” they are given now, said Nobel Peace laureate Rigoberta Menchú.

WTO-CANCUN: Cambodia’s Entry Could Be Panacea – or Bitter Pill

Cambodia's entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) this week is triggering a debate over whether this will be a panacea or a bitter pill for the country's 170,000 people living with HIV/AIDS.

WTO-CANCUN: Workers’ Rights Linked to Trade

As governments in developing and developed countries compete for foreign investment by offering cheap labour and tax breaks, human rights are being increasingly consigned to oblivion, says a new report.

WTO-CANCUN: Cheap Medicine Agreement Under Fire from NGOs

Some WTO members may be patting themselves on the back for the agreement on low-cost medicines for poor countries, citing it as proof that they can indeed work together, but NGOs in Cancun for the Fifth World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference say there is little reason to celebrate.

WTO-CANCUN: Dissonance Among Dissenters

The violent actions of a few have created divisions in the movement that seeks an alternative to the prevailing model of neoliberal economic globalisation, manifest in the civil society forums parallel to the WTO ministerial conference here this week.

WTO-CANCUN: All Eyes on China’s Stance at Trade Talks

While the World Trade Organisation (WTO) members are meeting in talks aimed at reaching agreement on contentious issues like reducing subsidies and tariffs, eyes are on China's stance as a new fully-fledged member of the trade club.

WTO-CANCUN: Cotton Becomes a Litmus Test

Two major non-governmental organisations have criticised the U.S. and the European Union for their response to the plight of Africans dependent on cotton farming.

WTO-CANCUN: Trade Ministers Unfazed by Criticism as Meet Begins

The maxim that trade foments development came under fire Wednesday at the inauguration of the World Trade Organisation's Fifth Ministerial Conference, with criticisms from the likes of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and from activists who burst onto the scene shouting "Shame!"

WTO-CANCUN: African Farmers Hope They Will Be Taken Seriously This Time

Cotton farmers in Burkina Faso have sent a 100,000-signature petition, through their delegation, to the World Trade Organisation summit, which kicked off in Cancun, Mexico this week.

WTO-CANCUN: ‘Serpents Nest’ Surrounded by Poverty

This Mexican resort city on the Caribbean coast was all decked out Wednesday for the arrival of 146 trade ministers and their entourages, but in the poor neighbourhoods just beyond the luxurious hotels nothing had changed.

WTO-CANCUN: Green Agenda Hidden in Investment Talks

Although "green" issues will be most noted for their absence at the WTO ministerial conference in Cancun this week, conservationist groups fear that talks will be initiated on new regulations for international investment, which could challenge the existing trade rules that protect the environment.

WTO-CANCUN: Developing Countries Unite on Agriculture

Developing countries are no longer prepared to succumb to pressures from the economically powerful industrialised nations.

WTO-CANCUN: India Takes Lead in Opposing Farm Subsidies

With the support of countries like China that have a big stake in agricultural exports, India can be expected to play an uncharacteristically aggressive game during the World Trade Organisation meeting in Cancun, Mexico this week.

WTO-CANCUN: Caribbean Better Prepared, but Wary of ‘Big Boys’

The developing states of the Caribbean, many of them small island nations, go into the World Trade Organisation meeting in Cancun, Mexico this week hoping that better preparation will translate into tangible gains at the global trade talks.

WTO-CANCUN: A Dividing Line Opens Up in Europe

Cancun, Mexico's seaside resort where the ministerial summit of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) opens Wednesday, has become a political border dividing European governments from non-governmental organisations.

WTO-CANCUN: Trade Ministers Arrive Amidst Gloomy Forecasts

On the eve of the WTO's Fifth Ministerial Conference it is difficult to find anyone who predicts a happy ending, one with loud applause for its success, as occurred at the Fourth ministerial two years ago in Doha, Qatar.

WTO-CANCUN: African Countries’ Cotton Initiative Arouses Interest

Four African countries - Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali - have launched a joint 'cotton initiative' in the run-up to the World Trade Organisation's ministerial meeting this week in Cancun.