QATAR HOSTS WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE

Why is the WTO's next Conference in a country where freedom of assembly is
non-existent?

· It is the 140 WTO member governments that accepted Qatar's offer to hold the 4th Ministerial Conference in Doha. Qatar has been a WTO member since 13 Jan. 1996 and has every right to extend an invitation. This is what Singapore did in 1996 and the United States did in 1999 at the 1st and 3rd WTO Ministerial Conferences.

· Hosting a conference of this size is a costly undertaking (that is one of the reasons why Chile decided not to make a formal offer) and WTO members are grateful that Qatar has come forward.

· Freedom of assembly is not banned in Qatar as long as prior clearance is given by the government. Many governments around the world require their citizens to request permission to demonstrate.

· Qatar said on 29 January that it will allow peaceful demonstrations during the next ministerial meeting of the WTO. "We will not prevent anybody from entering (the country) to demonstrate on condition that the demonstrations are peaceful. We will allow them to express their views in total freedom," Qatar's Minister of Finance, Economy and Trade Yousef Hussein Kamal told reporters (Reuters).

· The WTO meeting will by no means be held in secret. The meeting will be televised most likely through the Qatar-based Arabic satellite TV channel Al-Jazeera. Plans also call for a webcast of the Conference to ensure that persons not in Qatar may follow the event.


By going to Qatar "the WTO is sending the signal that it's OK to build the global
economy on a foundation of repression".

The Dean of Qatar University Abdulhamid al Ansaari said: "The holding of the WTO Conference can only consolidate the political opening" underway in Qatar. He added that the government plans to draw up a permanent constitution and embark on elections to parliament. (AFP 24 January 2001)

But the Qataris will not let certain NGO's participate in the Conference!

· That's nonsense. Any NGO which shows that its activities concern subjects covered by the WTO's agreements and work, may apply for registration. In Seattle there were 1,550 registered participants from 686 separate NGOs active in business, development, environment, consumer affairs and labour issues.

· Qatar has already said it will work with the WTO to accommodate the organisation's requests concerning accreditation for government delegates, media and NGO representatives.

· The largest international events hosted in recent years by Qatar or planned as future events include:

- the Islamic Summit in November 2000

- US-brokered Middle East and Israeli Economic Conference in 1997

- The Asian Games - scheduled to take place in 2006