The ongoing WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12) in Geneva has been extended by a day, till June 16, as a consensus on the key issues of food security, TRIPS waiver for Covid vaccines and medical tools and a ban on harmful fisheries subsidies, remained elusive.

A group of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) issued a release on Wednesday, stating that developing countries should not be blamed for lack of consensus at the WTO as they were protecting their poor and vulnerable.

India and some other member countries have been demanding changes in draft texts placed before the MCs in most areas, including fisheries subsidies, TRIPS waiver and exempting food procurement by WFP from export restrictions, on the ground that these do not adequately reflect the interests of developing nations.

“Following the consultations by WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala with the MC12 Chair, Timur Suleimenov, the Vice Chairs and the Minister Facilitators, delegations were informed that MC12 will be extended until 16 June, with the closing session scheduled to begin at 3pm Geneva time,” according to a statement issued by the WTO on Wednesday.

The MC 12, which kicked off on June 12, was initially scheduled to conclude on June 15.

“We represent civil society organisations from two dozen countries around the world, in rich and poor countries alike, and we are united in supporting developing countries who maintain a strong stand in the WTO in defense of their workers, farmers, fisherfolks and citizens. Instead of blaming developing countries, the responsibility for the impasse in the WTO today lies with developed countries – in particular UK, EU, Switzerland, and the US – who are too eager to represent the interests of their corporate sector instead of their peoples,” said Deborah James, facilitator of the global Our World Is Not for Sale network in a statement.

India has been opposed to the draft text on curbing fisheries subsidies, arguing that it allowed rich countries to retain many of their subsidies despite the fact that they were the ones who allowed their industrial fleets to “exploit and plunder’’ the ocean’s wealth over the past several decades. 

New Delhi has demanded a transition period of 25 years for its fishers, stating that policy space was essential for the long-term sustainable growth and prosperity of the country’s low income fishers.

India is also not happy with the draft on TRIPS waiver as it provides a temporary waiver from IP obligations to only vaccines and not therapeutics and diagnostic tools. The draft has suggested that in six months, members would decide whether waiver could be extended to therapeutics and diagnostics but there is no guarantee that it would be allowed.

In agriculture, India and other members of the G33 group of developing nations have insisted that a permanent solution for public stock holding was the topmost priority, but developed nations are not keen on delivering it at MC 12

New Delhi has also demanded that the draft  ministerial decision on exempting WFP  food purchases from export prohibition be amended so that it includes its key demands of allowing exports for food aid and for humanitarian reasons, including on government-to-government (G2G) basis, from public stocks.

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