Black Immigrant Daily News

WTO members voiced their views on the outcomes they would like to see from the second wave of fisheries subsidies negotiations in meetings during the first of a series of “Fish Weeks” held on 20-24 March.

The meetings pave the way for deeper discussions next month on the best approaches for curbing subsidies contributing to overcapacity and overfishing. The chair of the negotiations, Ambassador Einar Gunnarsson, said members engaged with a positive spirit to lay down the foundation for coming to an agreement by the 13th Ministerial Conference scheduled for February 2024.

“I think it was a very successful first Fish Week,” Ambassador Gunnarsson said at the close of the week, speaking at a meeting of the Negotiating Group on Rules attended by heads of WTO delegations. “It has been illuminating to listen to members. I noticed members’ positive spirit and the willingness to understand each other.”

“I have seen this first week as devoted to discussing what we want to get out of this second wave of negotiations. As the next logical step, I see our second Fish Week in April as the beginning of our discussions of how to get to the result we want,” he said.

Deputy Director-General Angela Ellard welcomed members’ engagement. “I thank everyone for their enthusiastic participation and their constructive spirit throughout this week. I’m gratified that members appreciated the process and transparency that was used this week. I’m also glad members took the opportunity to exchange views among themselves. We clearly had a very thorough discussion on the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ and now we need to begin on the ‘how.’”

The chair said he conducted numerous bilateral consultations, along with four small group meetings which were open for listening mode to those not invited as speakers, and two plenary meetings for the whole membership.

Members recognized that ensuring the sustainability of fish stocks is the shared objective. Members also noted the significance of all three dimensions of sustainability, namely environmental, social and economic. Against this background, the chair said there is a widely held view that the disciplines concerning overcapacity and overfishing should focus on the most harmful subsidies. One recurring theme was subsidies provided to large-scale industrial fishing. Members also debated the relevance of concepts such as the Polluter Pays Principle and the Principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibility.

Members also acknowledged that special and differential treatment (SDT) is an integral part of the negotiations. There was a general call to safeguard the livelihood and food security of small-scale and artisanal fishers. The chair noted that some members see SDT as the means to help developing and LDC members comply with substantive disciplines, while others are of the view that SDT should provide such members with policy space to develop their fishing sectors. Many members stated that they do not seek policy space to pursue subsidies that undermine sustainability.

As for the chair’s consultations with members on setting up the Committee on Fisheries Subsidies, delegations considered it important for this technical work to start early so that members will be well-prepared when the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, which was adopted at MC12 in June 2022, enters into force. The chair said he will continue to reflect on the appropriate modalities for this work. Formal acceptances from two-thirds of WTO members are needed for the Agreement to come into effect.

Many delegations reported that they are optimistic about depositing their acceptance of the Agreement soon. Many other members noted that they expect to make donations to the WTO Fisheries Funding Mechanism very soon to help developing and LDC members meet their obligations.

The second Fish Week will be held on 25-28 April.

The chair said that while it would be most productive to maintain a conceptual focus for the meetings, it could be helpful for members to have, as a reference, a list of elements from the previous negotiations that were not reflected in the Agreement adopted at MC12. He encouraged members considering new formulations to bring them to the table soon to inform the discussions in April.

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The UN 2023 Water Conference in New York culminated today with a breakthrough response to the global water crisis, with governments, businesses and civil society committing billions of dollars to advance the water agenda, a dealmaker for accelerating sustainable development overall.

Some 10,000 participants gathered at UN Headquarters and online from 22 to 24 March 2023, to urgently scale up action to address the water crisis and ensure equitable access to water for all. Co-hosted by the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Republic of Tajikistan, the Conference brought together world leaders, civil society, business leaders, young people, scientists, academics, the UN System and others from across sectors — agriculture, energy, environment and water — around a common goal: to urgently tackle the water crisis and set the world back on track to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 – On Clean Water and Sanitation.

“The commitments at this Conference will propel humanity towards the water-secure future every person on the planet needs,” noted UN Secretary-General Ant?nio Guterres at the closing ceremony.

To achieve this, the Secretary-General highlighted key game-changers: from reinforcing water’s place as a fundamental human right and reducing the pressures on the hydrological system, to developing new, alternative food systems to reduce the unsustainable use of water in food production and agriculture and designing and implementing a new global water information system to guide plans and priorities by 2030.

The Secretary-General also advocated for integrating the approach on water, ecosystems and climate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen communities — from resilient infrastructure, water pipelines and wastewater treatment plans, to ensuring every person in the world is protected with early warning systems against natural disasters by 2027; and continued to press for climate justice and global action to limit global warming to a 1.5-degree rise. Lastly, he called for a dramatic acceleration in resources and investment into the ability of all countries to reach SDG 6.

UN 2023 Water Conference – A watershed moment for the SDGsAccess to safe water, sanitation and hygiene is the most basic human need for health and well-being, and a declared human right. But some 2 billion people around the world still lack access to safe drinking water and 40 per cent of the world’s population are affected by water scarcity. Agriculture demands alone account for some 70% of water usage. Adding to the pressure, more than 90 per cent of disasters are water-related, with climate change hitting hardest through water. And humanity’s demand for water keeps growing, with pressure on freshwater projected to increase by more than 40 per cent by 2050.

Against this background, conference deliberations ranged from the urgency of the water crisis, including its role in forced migration, climate change and conflicts to stressing its critical link to good health, poverty reduction and food security. Attention was also given to solutions, with deliberations spanning the need for better data collection, enhanced governance systems, capacity development opportunities and funding gaps in the water sector. With financing needs at between US$182 to more than US$600 billion annually, the importance of unlocking financing and innovative funding schemes, calling for new innovations and investments at scale in the water economy was also underscored.

Transformative Water Action AgendaResponding to this, the Water Action Agenda, the key outcome of the Conference, captured over 700 commitments aimed at driving transformation from a global water crisis to a water-secure world. The agenda represents the global community’s bold resolve to address the water challenges through a more coordinated and results-driven approach (see select list of commitments below). A number of other follow-up steps are also under consideration – including the appointment of a Special Envoy on Water.

The conference outcomes will also receive concrete follow-up in three key upcoming Summits: the SDG Summit during the UN General Assembly in September 2023, the Summit of the Future in 2024, the World Social Summit in 2025, and through the annual High- level political forum on sustainable development, Conference of Parties and other United Nations processes, as well as the Dushanbe Water Process.

“At the 2023 UN Water Conference a determined global community came together to make a difference not only for the future of water but for the future of the world,” said Mr. Li Junhua, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Conference Secretary-General.

“I hope that the energy we experienced at this Conference will flow on to the SDG Summit in September when the world gathers together to advance the transformative actions that we need, to realize all SDGs, and secure a sustainable future for everyone, everywhere, on a healthy planet.”

Note: All Water Action Agenda commitments are posted here.

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Joe Biden both expressed concerns about the deteriorating situation in Haiti when they met during Biden’s two-day visit to Canada that concluded on Friday.

In a joint statement, the leaders pledged to increase community support to the people of Haiti, particularly by offering security and humanitarian aid and better support for the National Police of Haiti (PNH).

In a press release, the office of Trudeau said that to counter the crisis and support peace and security, “Canada is investing an additional $100 million to provide enhanced policing support and equipment to the Haitian National Police, to bolster Haitian-led solutions to the crisis and support peace and security”, rather than lead an international force of several thousand men in Haiti.

In addition, the Canadian government said that it will be imposing sanctions on two other members of the Haitian elite – they are former senator Nenel Cassy and businessman and former presidential candidate Steeve Khawly whose Canadian assets have been frozen.

They are also prohibited from entering Canada.

In addition, Biden said that his administration is looking to support the police department in Haiti and looking into whether the United Nations could play a role to quell the violence in the country.

“The biggest thing we could do, and it’s going to take time, is to increase the prospect of the police department in Haiti having the capacity to deal with the problems,” Biden said during a press conference with Trudeau.

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