Developed nations have failed their Doha commitments: UN expert

India opposed non reaffirmation of the Doha Development Agenda at the 10th ministerial conference

Developed nations have failed to fulfill their Doha Development Agenda commitments at the WTO meeting in Nairobi and it is time to "radically" change the WTO corporate structure to emphasise development needs and human rights obligations, a UN rights expert has said.

"It is time for the United Nations General Assembly and for the International Court of Justice to unambiguously state that all international agreements must conform to the UN Charter," said Alfred de Zayas, a UN Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order.

"In case of conflict between trade agreements and human rights treaty obligations inter alia under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, it is the human rights treaties that must be given priority," he said.

"The motto of WTO critics, Our World is not for sale, means that the WTO corporate model must be radically changed to make it compatible with the imperatives of development and human rights," de Zayas said.

De Zayas, an American academic, who was appointed as the first Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order by the Human Rights Council (HRC), from May 2012 onwards, is writing a report to the HRC on the adverse impact of WTO policies on a democratic and equitable international order.

The 10th ministerial conference which was held in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi from December 15 till 19 saw the developed countries not reaffirming the continuation of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) meant to improve the trading and development prospects of the poorer countries but instead introducing newer elements into the negotiations like e-commerce, global value chains etc. That are of interest to the developed world.

India during the negotiations had said, "India opposes non reaffirmation of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA)...This (lack of unanimity on DDA reaffirmation) marks a significant departure from the fundamental WTO principle of consensus-based decision making."

De Zayas stated that "developed countries tried to pressure the developing world into agreements that undermine the promotion of the right to development and many provisions of human rights treaties.

This jolt to the developing world in Nairobi comes barely three months after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals where member states agreed to "promote a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization, including through the conclusion of negotiations under its Doha Development Agenda".

"What would have been sensible and desirable and in keeping with international law commitments to reduce poverty and ensure food security would have been the adoption of a clear statement on the legitimacy of public stockholding for food security that would allow countries to hold food stocks and enable them to deal with food shortages and fluctuations in global market prices," the UN expert said.

The result from the Nariobi ministerial conference is an "unbalanced agreement that primarily benefits the rich and leave the developing countries empty handed," he said.