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Non-governmental organizations unite to campaign against the power and influence of the International Monetary Fund.

Massive Rally and Non-Violent Protest
IMF & World Bank Washington DC
Sun-Mon April 16-17, 2000

A powerful U.S. movement for economic and human rights and fair trade had its coming-out party at the WTO meetings in Seattle.
A range of forces who value human and ecological dignity over corporate profits and trickle-down economics came together there.
We challenged one of the most insidious tools of unaccountable profit-driven rule, the World Trade Organization, and we scored an important series of victories against some daunting odds.
Stand Again for
 Economic Justice!

In April, the struggle continues in Washington DC - the very heart of political and institutional control over the global economy where the US Treasury, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank are located.
These two institutions are the chief instruments used by political and corporate elites to create today's unjust, destructive global economic order.

The World Bank and the IMF have been quietly writing the rules that keep the world safe for multinational corporations while economically depriving billions around the world.

Activists around the world  must make clear that the peoples' movements of the world will not stand idly by while those holding power continue to impoverish and oppress the majority of the world's peoples and ravage the earth's environment and resources while enriching themselves and corporations..
Oppose Oppressive
  Globalization!

Your presence in Washington is needed! The finance ministers and international bureaucrats who shape the world economy to make the rich richer and the poor poorer need to know that Seattle was not just a bump on their road to global domination. What we asserted at the WTO must be repeated to the rulers of the global economy.

 
We must insist,
firmly and consistently.

We must insist,
until the system is changed.

We all must insist that decisions about the fate of the planet and its peoples must not be made behind closed doors.

Activists around the world  must make clear that the peoples' movements of the world will not stand idly by while those holding power continue to impoverish and oppress the majority of the world's peoples and ravage the earth's environment and resources while enriching themselves and their corporate associates.

We will demonstrate that progressives world-round 
know about the negative impact of World Bank group 
programs and that we stand and act in solidarity 
with the people of the global South. 
We will demand an end to the devastation they cause
in  Africa, Asia, the Caribbean,  Latin America, 
and in the countries of Eastern Europe and the former USSR.

We will expose the links between the IMF, the World Bank  Group, the WTO, and multinational corporations.
 We will show how these work together to maximize private profits
and limit the power of people in both the North and South
to determine their economic destiny, to protect the environment,
 and to safeguard their human rights to security and dignity.

 
 
The IMF and World Bank are in many ways the "parents" of the WTO; they operate together to preserve corporate power and constrain the rights and opportunities of the majority of the world's people. Because of that, many of the groups that helped organize the victories in Seattle are already preparing for days of protest, education, training, and direct action during the week of April 9-16 in Washington.

The week begins on Saturday, April 8th at the Convergence site. On the 9th there is a Jubilee 2000/USA mobilization for cancellation of the debts of African, Latin American, Asia-Pacific, and Caribbean countries, and continuing with teach-ins and trainings on the global economy.

 
  • What is the WTO?
    		•
  • Why Come?   |   @AgitProp
    		•
  • Top 10 Reasons To Oppose the WTO
    		•
  • Global Resistance | @AgitProp
    		•
  • A Citizen's Guide to the WTO (PDF)
    		•
    This page is not intended to describe the WTO in detail. That task has been performed very well by numerous others. However, for those of you who are new to the WTO, here is some brief information about the organization, with some useful links to some great sites that discuss it in much greater detail.

    History of the WTO
    The WTO was formed in 1994 during the Uruguay Round of GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) negotiations. The WTO differs from the GATT in many respects, the most important of which being the "dispute resolution process," whereby nations file trade complaints against each other. This process is undemocratic and biased towards transnational corporations. It is undemocratic in that trade disputes are ruled on by panels of unelected corporate trade lawyers, with no conflict of interest restrictions, and no transparency requirements. We draw from the WTO's own record to demonstrate the bias of the dispute panels. Every single case that has been brought through the dispute resolution process has been ruled in favor of the litigating country at the expense of local, state, and national laws supporting the environment, human rights, and labor rights.

    Dispite VP Gore's assurances that "not a single American law will be undermined by the WTO," this has happened here. Three examples that immediately come to mind are the Endangered Species Act (in the Dolphin/Tuna Dispute), the Clean Air Act (in the Venezuelan Oil Dispute), and to Massachusetts' Government Procurement Act, among others.
     

    The Seattle Ministerial Conference
    Trade representatives from around the world will be descending upon Seattle, Washington this coming November for the next round of WTO negotiations. They will be outnumbered by activists from around the world who will be jamming the streets, sidewalks, and corporate offices to make their opposition to the free trade agenda felt at all corners of the globe.

    Learn more!
    What's been presented here barely scratches the surface of the material that's out there, but it should be enough to get you started. If you want to go into the issues in depth, here is a slightly-formatted annotated web bibliography that has an overview of many excellent sites. 

    The ubiquitous list of links



    General Content
    Art and Revolution's WTO Page

    Ruckus Society's WTO Page
    Public Citizen Global Trade Watch Page Discussing the WTO and GATT
    Seattle-area organizing efforts surrounding the WTO
    180/Movement for Democracy's WTO page
    Top Ten Reasons to Oppose the WTO
    Bank Information Center
    Third World Network


    Environmental

    American Lands Institute's page on the Global Free Logging Agreement
    Friends of the Earth's WTO Page


    Videotaping resources

    Video Activist Network
    Ruckus Society's Videotaping manual

     Ben Tremblay aka WillowBear