The Anglican Journal reports on a conference linking the right to food with trade and investment:
Earthquakes, floods, rocketing food prices and bank failures are issues consuming the early part of the 21st century, and have led religious groups and civil society organizations, as well as high ranking United Nations and World Trade Organization (WTO) officials, to meet and discuss their impact in Geneva on Nov. 24 to 25.
The Geneva-based Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA) said on Nov. 21 it was one of the organizers of the conference, which would focus on finding ways to conduct trade and investment that support the right of all people to food. The alliance is one of the increasing efforts by church or religious-backed organizations to engage with the inter-linked food, climate, trade and financial systems that are said to aid or stymie human development.
The EAA said it was an initiator of the Geneva conference, along with other civil society organizations from around the world. Olivier de Schutter, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food, and Pascal Lamy, the director general of the WTO, are expected to address the conference.
The conference aims to bring together different constituencies that work on agriculture, trade and human rights in order to deepen understanding of the impact of trade and investment on the right to food. The gathering will explore the impact of climate change, agro-fuels and the recent food and financial crises.It will also seek to develop new approaches to trade and investment that emphasize human rights.
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