Trade
Prior to the lobby, the Bishops of Kensington and Edmonton wrote to all London MPs. In their letter, they highlight the need for trade justice as a route out of poverty in London’s twin dioceses of Mozambique and Angola.
Their letter reads:
“As Bishops in the Diocese of London we stand alongside our congregations and clergy who, throughout this MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY year, have been highlighting the biblical imperative to address global poverty. St Paul’s Cathedral hosted the public meeting addressed by Kofi Annan and Gordon Brown before the G8 Summit in July, and there have been many creative, informative and prayerful events – among the most symbolic being the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY banner around the dome of the Cathedral and the priest who lived on bread and water for a week during a vigil on the Millennium Development Goals.
“Our support for trade justice as a route out of poverty is firmly grounded in the experience of our partner dioceses in Angola and Mozambique – two of the world’s poorest countries. There, the impact of enforced trade liberalisation, EU and US agricultural subsidies and the dumping of surpluses on fragile post-conflict economies is clearly seen. Bishop Dinis Sengulane of Mozambique writes ‘Mozambique produces so many different things like cashew nuts, cotton, fish and coconuts but we don’t get our fair share of trading opportunities. There are a lot of subsidised imports which are cheaper than Mozambican products’.
“It is our hope and prayer that the strength of this lobby will result in resolutions at the WTO Ministerial in December allowing developing countries: firstly, to use trade policies to protect their vulnerable farm sectors and promote national industries and secondly, to choose the best policies for the poor and the environment in services such as water, health and education.
“To this end we hope that as you meet people from your constituency at the lobby on 2 November, we may have the opportunity of meeting with you as we accompany the constituency groups along the banks of the Thames from 1pm onwards.
“In our world city it is both encouraging and important to see the world’s poor at the forefront of the agenda. The UK led the way on debt remission and the reverberations from 2 November may lead to a more just refashioning of trade rules. We encourage you to play your part in this and, along with members of our churches, look forward to meeting with you on 2 November.”
