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Related Information:

The OECD Foreign Investment Paper

Macroeconomics for Sustainable Development Program Office (MPO)



OECD Countries Stall Globalization Treaty in Face of Public Pressure

April 28th, 1998



PARIS -- WWF-World Wide Fund For Nature today welcomed the decision by OECD's Trade, Finance and Foreign Affairs Ministers to put on hold the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) due to concerns about its social and environmental effects.

The OECD countries have stalled negotiations to consult "with interested parts of their societies", and have also emphasised the importance of open public debate on the implications of globalization.  WWF welcomes the OECD's recognition of concerns over the MAI, and also the organisation's strong statement that the agreement must not interfere with countries' right to regulate for social, environmental or other purposes. 

"The MAI should be placed before the OECD's newly formed Sustainable Development Steering Group, chaired by Mr. Johnston, the Secretary General," said Charles Arden-Clarke, Head of WWF International's Trade and Investment Unit. "This group should undertake a "sustainability impact assessment" of the MAI, which fully considers the impact of the agreement on human and environmental capital in potential MAI signatory countries."

This new steering group was formed in response to the report of the OECD's own High Level  Advisory Group on the Environment (HLAGE), which called for sustainable development to be made "...the way of ordering and approaching all other issues on the OECD's agenda."  The high level group, chaired by Jonathan Lash of the World Resources Institute, and Stephan Schmidheiny of Anova Holdings, called on Mr Johnston to ensure that the MAI directs foreign investment to support the realisation of high environmental standards and sustainable development.

"It is regrettable, that while the Secretary General has responded positively to the HLAGE on the need to test OECD policies in general against economic, social and environmental needs, he has not done so in the specific case of the MAI", said Arden-Clarke. "Avoidance of the advisory group's recommendations in the context of the MAI will only harden NGOs resistance to the agreement, and threaten further public relations damage for the OECD," he said.

WWF believes that the OECD should immediately:

  • deepen its assessment of potential conflicts between the MAI and multilateral environmental agreements (MEA);
  • require all its members to undertake formal assessments of the impacts of the MAI on national environmental policies and laws; and
  • initiate a broad assessment of the development implications of the agreement, for OECD and any non-OECD countries expected to join. 
"This sustainability impact assessment of the MAI should be conducted in an open and transparent manner, with the active participation of NGOs and concerned citizens," said Mr Arden-Clarke. "As the High Level Advisory Group acknowledged, effective citizen participation in policy formulation and decision-making is "the first prerequisite for sustainable development."  

Contact:
Charles Arden-Clarke
at +41 22 364 9337 or
Someshwar Singh
at +41 22 364 95 53