2022 part2

95/ DG Okonjo-Iweala and negotiations chair join call to ‘stop the fish meltdown’ on Ocean Day

8 JUNE 2022

On the occasion of World Ocean Day on 8 June, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Ambassador Santiago Wills, chair of the fisheries subsidies negotiations, stood with environmental groups in urging WTO members to forge a long-awaited agreement to curb harmful fisheries subsidies at the upcoming 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12). The DG and Ambassador Wills paid a visit to an installation of a fish ice sculpture set up by a coalition of non-governmental organizations to highlight the issue of depleting fish stocks at Place des Nations in Geneva.

With only days before the MC12, which will be held on 12-15 June in Geneva, DG Okonjo-Iweala and Ambassador Wills welcomed joint efforts of over 180 environmental organizations to draw attention to ongoing WTO negotiations for new global rules on fishing subsidies that will combat the depletion of fish stocks and secure the livelihoods of people who depend on them.

The group, Stop Funding Overfishing Coalition, again set up the ice installation titled “Stop the Fish Meltdown” as they did on 1 March 2021 to remind governments to come to an agreement to end harmful fishing subsidies.

Ambassador Wills, furthermore, said in a video message that there was no doubt a deal was within reach and that members should not miss the chance to complete this historic agreement by MC12.

Under the mandate from the previous Ministerial Conference and the UN Sustainable Development Goal Target 14.6, negotiators have been given the task of securing agreement on disciplines to eliminate subsidies for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and to prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, with special and differential treatment being an integral part of the negotiations.

Source: wto.org