Dr. Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister of India
South Block, Raisina Hill
New Delhi -110 011
India

E-mail:pmosb@pmo.nic.in

Re: Stand strong against harmful provisions of EU-India free trade agreement

Dear Prime Minister,

I am writing to draw your attention to specific harmful provisions in the proposed intellectual property (IP) and investment chapters of EU-India free trade agreement (FTA),  if the chapters  included  that would have serious implications for access to affordable medicines in India and throughout the developing world.

International organizations like MSF today relies overwhelmingly on affordable generic HIV/AIDS medicines produced in India to treat nearly 180,000 people in 20 countries, as well as using medicines from India to treat other diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria.

Harmful intellectual property (IP) provisions in the FTA that will hinder access to quality, affordable generic medicines produced in India, which have played a crucial role in scaling up HIV treatment to more than 6.6 million people across Asia, Africa and Latin America.

More than 80 per cent of the HIV medicines used to treat 6.6 million people in developing countries come from producers in India, and MSF also sources more than 80 per cent of the HIV medicines it uses to treat 170,000 people in 19 countries from India.

For years India has played a pivotal role in supplying affordable generic versions of drugs used throughout the developing world.  It is vital therefore that further barriers are not created that threaten the supply of affordable generic medicines from India.

International organization like MSF also relies on generic medicines from India to treat other diseases and conditions. But a free trade agreement, currently under negotiation between the EU and India, could greatly restrict the ability of manufacturers in India to continue producing affordable generics that millions of people rely on to stay alive.

As such, the March 2011 official statement by Minister Anand Sharma, against the introduction of Odata exclusivity was welcomed by MSF and others given the harmful effect it would have on access to affordable medicines produced in India.

I urge the Indian government to stand strong in this and in future free trade agreements, such as the one currently being negotiated with the European Free Trade Association countries of Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.

However the enforcement and investment provisions within the draft agreement are still a matter for serious concern as unchanged they will have significant negative implications for generic production critical for ensuring access to affordable medicines in India and throughout the developing world.

I therefore urge India to take a similarly strong stand in relation to the remaining harmful provisions, particularly:

Enforcement provisions:

– The European Commission’s proposed text is broad in scope and goes well beyond what has already been agreed and implemented by India under the TRIPS Agreement.
–  The EC had reproduced some of the enforcement measures contained in the Anti-counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) over which the Indian government has raised serious concerns at the WTO, stating that the agreement will ‘impede legitimate competition and shift the escalated costs of enforcing private commercial rights to governments, consumers and taxpayers’.

The EU is proposing an ambitious enforcement agenda that:

-  Widens the enforcement net so that life-saving legitimate medicines, under alleged trademark infringement, could be detained or destroyed at the border when being exported, simply because their label appears similar to  the originator product.  Although this is often justified on the basis of protecting the public from fake medicines, this issue is entirely separate, and will do nothing to improve medicines safety. It would in   fact have a negative impact on access to treatment, as is evident from the recent seizures of Indian generic medicines in EU countries. The impac  of any such detentions will be felt directly by patients awaiting the arrival of crucial generic medicines in the many countries that do not have manufacturing capacity to produce medicines, and therefore rely on  importing more affordable generics from India;

-  Substantially increases the penalties for alleged patent and trademark infringements. On a mere allegation – and not proof -  including allegations brought by a competitor, generic suppliers allegedly infringing a patent or a trademark may face a ban on production, delay or destruction of goods, disproportionate damages, and  potential    bankruptcy;

-  Limits the Indian courts ability to balance commercial and public health interests and the Indian Constitutionนs guarantee to the right to life, by making use of a variety of alternative remedies rather than as the EU proposes, routinely granting provisional injunctions; and

-  Extends liability to third parties, thereby putting at risk of    injunctions and provisional measures a wide variety of public health stakeholders, including: suppliers of active pharmaceutical ingredients used for producing generic medicines; distributors and retailers who stock   generic medicines; NGOs such as MSF who provide treatment; funders who support health programmes; and drug regulatory authorities who examine  medicines. This could act as a significant deterrent to anyone involved in    the production, sale or distribution of affordable generic medicines.

Investment Chapter: The European Commission is also pushing for the trade deal to be expanded in scope so that it covers investments, including intellectual property, and supports an ‘investor-to-state’ mechanism.

This would allow multinational drug companies to bypass the Indian judiciary and take the Indian government to private arbitration courts over investment disputes in relation to intellectual property, in order to seek to reverse domestic health policies like tobacco warnings and measures to reduce prices of medicines. Pharmaceutical companies must be given no additional avenues to pressure India on policies and laws that promote access to medicines. India is already reeling from multiple litigations filed by companies like Novartis and Bayer against health safeguards enshrined in Indias patent law.

In order to ensure that the EU-India FTA does not undermine access to medicines, the additional threats posed by the enforcement and investment provisions must be addressed. At a minimum, I would urge the Indian Government to request the following safeguards are contained in the roadmap to ensure that damage caused to peopleนs access to medicines is minimised:

-  The withdrawal of the IP enforcement measures, and as a minimum safeguard, the deletion of patents from the entire scope of the enforcement section;

-  The withdrawal of third party liability from the enforcement provisions;

-  The withdrawal of specific provisions dealing with injunctions from the enforcement provisions in order to preserve the existing flexibilities   of the Indian judicial system;

-  Border enforcement should be limited to the requirements of the TRIPS Agreement and as such exclude exports and trademark infringements; and

-  The withdrawal of IP and the investor-to-state mechanisms from the scope of the investment chapter.

India has already shown that its prepared to stand firm against harmful demands from the European Commission.  As the negotiations are reaching their final stages we urge you to maintain your vigilance and commitment to preserving the space for continuation of the generic production of medicines that we and so many in India and beyond rely upon.

Yours sincerely,

AUTHOR: William Nicholas Gomes
URL: www.williamgomes.org
E-MAIL: williamgomes.org [at] gmail.com

Those sweet heart-shaped chocolate boxes often begin with a children enslaved to pick cocoa pods.  UNICEF estimates that some 200,000 children are victims of trafficking each year in West and Central Africa alone, for the purpose of working in the supply chain of products such as cocoa and coffee. Child trafficking continues to plague the cocoa fields of West Africa, which is the source of 70% of the world’s cocoa.  According to the International Labor Organization (ILO) there are an the estimated 215 million child laborers around the globe, and two-thirds of children aged 5-17 and work in agriculture. These children are placed in hazardous working conditions in order to ensure that we have our sweet treats, it is truly a bitter story.

Flowers: The stem of slavery

Valentine’s Day is a flower seller’s dream, but it is a daily nightmare of exploited workers, many of whom are women.  Americans will buy more than 189 million stems of roses this Valentine’s Day, the majority of which will travel all the way from Ecuador and Colombia before they’re sold to doting beaus.  According to the US Labor Education in the Americas (USLEAP), women comprise 65% of those working in the flower field, nearly a third are single mothers, working long hours (12-16) for around $2 or less per day.  These slave-like wages leave young mothers unable to cover their families’ basic monthly expenses, while the flowers they picked that day will sell for between $600 and $800.  Aside from the long workdays and impossible quotas, flower workers are exposed to high levels of toxic pesticides and fungicides, which are sometimes sprayed on workers bodies while they are in the field.  This has left women flower workers with high rates of birth defects, miscarriage, and sterilization.  These mothers often pass on the legacy of exploitation to their children as the cycle of slavery continues generation after generation.

How do you ensure your Valentine’s gifts are free from exploitation?

Become a conscious consumer and search for items labeled ‘Fair Trade’.  Fair Trade works towards greater transparency in both industries and helps to ensure that workers in the fields receive a fair wadge and human rights protection. So buy Fair Trade, especially products known to be associated with worker exploitation. These include agricultural products like cocoa, coffee, coconuts, cotton, fruit and vegetables, jasmine, palm oil, rubber, sisal, sugar cane, tea, tobacco, and vanilla.

• Flowers: Fair Trade Certified roses can be found in-store at Whole Foods Market.  Just look for the green Whole Trade Guarantee sticker in the floral department. If you are ordering flowers online try One World Flowers and schedule the delivery of beautiful Ecuadorian roses. In addition to traditional red and pink roses, you can select themed bouquets like “Helping Haiti” and “Honoring Japan” that support much-needed relief efforts in those countries.  FTD also offers Fair Trade flowers including their Go Green Living collection.  1800Flowers also offers organic roses, as well as a line of Fair Trade mixed bouquets, certified by TransFair USA.  Try local flowers like California Organic‘s.  Organic Bouquet, has flowers certified through the VeriFlora program, which sets standards for worker rights, water conservation, recycling and organic production.  Also search for Florverde Certified flowers, which requires better treatment of workers and more sustainable farming practices.
• Chocolate: More and more retailers carry Fair Trade chocolate so just keep your eye out for the Fair Trade label as you shop.  You can also purchase special valentines gifts online including heart-shaped chocolates from Divine Chocolate, the sweet and spicy chocolate sampler from Equal Exchange, the Valentine’s Day Heart Box from Sweet Earth Chocolates and a full tub of chocolate hearts of cherry  or dark chocolate with raspberry bar from Sjaak’s.  Sweet Earth Chocolates Classic Red Velvet Box, ChocoDream Spreads, Kopali Chocolate Covered Cacao Nibs, TCHO “My Heart’s Desire” Adigard 12-Bar Sampler, Alter Eco Dark Velvet Chocolate and sweetriot riotous riotBar gift set.  Why not reach outside the box and  try Kopali’s Dark Chocolate Covered Bananas.
• Ice Cream: Frozen desserts also make a sweet treat on Valentine’s Day.  Look for Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Macadamia and Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss Dark Chocolate.
• Wines and Spirits: Fair Trade Certified beverages are available at Whole Foods Market and other retailers.  Try these wine favorites: Fairhills’ Bus Stop Red and the Live-a-Little Really Ravishing Red, Heritage Link One World Shiraz.  Shop online at; JugShop.com, 67Wine, Marketview Liqueur or Cask. In addition to wine, why not try a delicious “Gogipolitan” made with the recently certified Fair. Quinoa vodka and Fair. Gogi liqueur?
• Tea and Coffee:  Coffee and Tea are also easy to find in retailers.  A few tea favorites are; Tea Forte’s Cherry Cosmo, Numi ’s Ruby Chai, Rishi’s Cinnamon Plum Set, Choice Organics’ Rooibos Superfruit, Rishi Tea Pu-erh Gift Set, Choice Organic Tea Rooibos Chai, Art of Tea Vanilla Berry Truffle or Zhena’s Gypsy Tea Pomegranate Rose.  For that after dinner coffee try; Newman’s Own Coffee, Green Mountain Coffee, Caribou Coffee, Global Exchange , Equal Exchange, Dean’s Beans , Larry’s Beans, Just Coffee, Higher Ground Roasters, Grounds for Change , Fair Trade Coffee Co.

What is Fair Trade?

The Fair Trade label is applied to products that pass a standard certification system.  In addition to agricultural consumables, Fair Trade versions of sports balls, clothing, rugs, and other products can be easily found. Fair trade certification empowers workers and communities to lift themselves out of poverty by investing in their farms/businesses and communities, protecting the environment, and developing the business skills necessary to compete in the global marketplace.  Fair Trade is much more than a fair price, it enables safe working conditions, living wages for workers, prohibits forced child labor and slavery, promotes environmental sustainability, and encourages community development.  However, please note that just because a product does not carry the label, it does not mean that it is not Fair Trade, as many smaller co-ops and others have not yet been able to afford the certification.  Nonetheless, do not let this put you off, being a conscious consumer and knowing where your products come from is always a better way forward for everyone, so don’t be afraid to investigate and do some research.  There are sites like Fair Trade Proof.org and the list on Fair Trade USA will help you find brands that sell Fair Trade Certified products to help you get started.  I have also compiled a list of some Fair Trade and Slave Free Links and Shopping Fair Trade and Slave Free this Holiday Season.  Please also see previous posts on Child Trafficking, Child Labor and Fair Trade.

AUTHOR: Cassandra Clifford
URL: www.bridgetofreedomfoundation.org and http://children.foreignpolicyblogs.com
E-MAIL: Cassandra [at] btff.org

Yet the global cocoa industry often traffics children to work as slaves, according to UNICEF (The United Nation’s Children’s Fund).  In West Africa, 200,000 children are living in conditions of forced labor and slavery on cocoa farms.  Sadly, Hershey’s uses large amounts of cocoa harvested in the Ivory Coast, which according to the International Labor Organization (ILO), produces 43% of the worlds cocoa.

The Hershey Company has been aware that their products are tainted by slavery and child labor rooted at the beginning of their supply chain since at least 2001, when along with the other major chocolate companies, made a commitment to end child and forced labor in their cocoa supply chains.  In September 2001, chocolate and cocoa industry representatives signed the Harkin Engel Protocol, developed by Senator Tom Harkin and Representative Eliot Engel, in an effort to eliminate child labor in the industry. The protocol has a six-point approach to solve the problem, including a time sensitive process to establish credibility and eliminate the use of child slavery. The protocol was signed by the industry’s large cocoa producing companies and set forth an action plan to eliminate the worst forms of child labor and forced labor from cocoa farms worldwide by 2005.

However, Hershey’s has continued to produce their products undaunted by the knowledge that their profits come with a high human cost. They continue to source cocoa from this region without ensuring that child labor exploitation does not occur in the production of the cocoa they use.

This month, Global Exchange, Green America and the International Labor Rights Forum released a new report urging Hershey’s to “Raise the Bar,” an initiative that details how hundreds of thousands of children are still forced to work under abusive conditions for long hours on cocoa farms in West Africa, while others are victims of trafficking and forced labor, all for a bar of Hershey’s chocolate.

The report, REAL Corporate Social Responsibility Report for the Hershey Company, is a follow-up to a 2010 report, and asks Hersey to:

1. Agree to take immediate action to eliminate forced and child labor in violation of international human rights standards on forced, child, and trafficked labor from Hershey’s cocoa supply chain through:

• tracing its supply chain to the farm level
• sourcing from farmers who can show through independent verification that they do not use forced labor or child labor
• asking suppliers to end such practices throughout their supply chain.

2. Commit to sourcing 100% fair trade certified cocoa beans by 2012 for at least one of its top five selling chocolate bars that prominently display Hershey’s name.

3. Commit to making at least one additional top five selling bar 100% fair trade certified every two years thereafter, so that Hershey’s top five selling cocoa bars will all be 100% fair trade certified within ten years.

The reality is that ten years is long enough for Hershey’s to clean-up their act and ensure that children’s rights and lives are not lost for their profit. No child’s life should be given less value than that of a chocolate bar.

AUTHOR: Cassandra Clifford
URL: www.bridgetofreedomfoundation.org and http://children.foreignpolicyblogs.com
E-MAIL: Cassandra [at] btff.org

With Halloween quickly approaching, most of us are running around trying to find costumes and stock up on candy for the wee ones that will barrage our doors in their tiny costumes. Everyone wants make sure the little ghosts, princesses, supper heroes, and other characters are greeted with a sweet treat. But what if you’re handing them a sweet that was made at the price of another child? Chances are, it was.

Last year Americans spent nearly two billion dollars on Halloween candies and treats. While it frightening to think of this financial cost, the real fright is that much of the stuff is produced by children and slave labor. The Cocoa industry often traffics children to work as slaves, according to UNICEF (The United Nation’s Children’s Fund). In West Africa, 200,000 children are living in conditions of forced labor and slavery on cocoa farms.  Much of our chocolate comes from the Ivory Coast, which, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO) produces 43% of the worlds cocoa.  According to the ILO, over 132 million children, aged 5-14 years old, work in agriculture around the world, they are just a segment of an the estimated 246 million child laborers around the globe. Therefore the really frightening Halloween story this year is that your chocolaty treats may come at the price of child’s life.  Children trafficked to work in the fields or cocoa processing are are placed in hazardous working conditions in order to ensure that we have our chocolate treats.

In the United States, the chocolate industry is worth some $13 billion and is led by Hershey’s and M&M Mars, who control two-thirds of the consumer market. Sadly, both Hershey’s and M&M Mars use large amounts of cocoa harvested in the Ivory Coast, and therefore their products may be tainted by slavery. Other companies who face this risk include, ADM Cocoa, Ben & Jerry’s, Cadbury Ltd., Chocolates by Bernard Callebaut, Fowler’s Chocolate, Godiva, Guittard Chocolate Company, Kraft, Nestle, See’s Candies, The Chocolate Vault, and Toblerone.  However, some of these companies, such as Ben & Jerry’s and Clif Bar, have begun to include Fair Trade into some of their products.

However, there are many chocolate companies that have gone to the lengths needed to ensure that they do not use cocoa that has produced with slave labor. Last year, Cadbury and Mars made a commitment to ending child slavery in Africa by buying Fair Trade. Hershey has continued to ignore the public campaigns and continues to fail to participate in any certification programs to track its global supply chain and institute labor standards for its cocoa suppliers.  You can learn more on Hershey from the International Labor Rights Forum and join others to call and demand that Hershey step-up and take action to protect children and ensure their products are slave free.

Companies that are certified include:

• Ah!laska
• AlterEco
• Art Bars (Ithaca Fine Chocolates’)
• Camino Cocoa
• Cloud Nine/Tropical Source
•  Coffee-Tea-Etc.
• Country Choice
• Dagoba Organic Chocolate
• Deans Beans
• Denman Island Chocolate
• Divine Bars (Day Chocolate Co.’)
• El Rey
• Endangered Species
• Equal Exchange
• Frontier Cooperative
• Gardners Candies
• Green and Black’s
• Health by Chocolate
• Ithaca Fine Chocolates
• Kailua Candy Company
• Koppers Chocolate
• Larabar
• L.A. Burdick Chocolates
• Malagasy
• Maramor Chocolates
• Montezuma’s Chocolates
• Newman’s Own Organics
• Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company
• Pamela’s Products Organic Cookies
• Rapunzel Pure Organics
• San Francisco Chocolate Factory
• Sweet Earth Chocolates
• Terra Nostra Organic
• Trader Joe’s Organic Chocolate Bars and they now have a Fair Trade Hot Cocoa
•  Theo Chocolates
• Whole Foods Private Label (365 Organic Chocolate, Whole Kids Organic’)
• Yachana Gourmet

So when your doorbell rings on Halloween, you can hand out Fair Trade CertifiedTM treats, which represents a guaranteed fair income for workers who spend their days in the cocoa fields. And you won’t be haunted by purchasing products tainted by slavery.

Fair Trade Trick or Treating not only allows you to do the ‘right thing’ but gives you an opportunity to educate others, especially children, about human rights issues, such as child labor and modern slavery. So why not talk to the other parents and teachers at school and convince your whole block to go Fair Trade this year!  Equal Exchange provides an information flyer on Reverse Trick-or-Treating, which you can download.

So pass out those Fair Trade treats to all the little witches and goblins this year and bring light to a worthy and just cause this Halloween, while still enjoying all the fun and yummy goodness.

By promoting and purchasing Fair Trade this Halloween you help:

• END poverty among cocoa farmers
• END abusive child labor in the cocoa industry
• PROMOTE Fair Trade
• PROTECT the environment

Here are a few options to obtain Fair Trade chocolates in mini sizes this Halloween, if you cannot find them in your local stores:

• The Equal Exchange minis that have been attached to the Reverse Trick-or-Treating kits are available in various quantities, such as; 12 oz bags or 8.82 lb. case
• Dagoba has mini sized treats perfect for the little ones
• SERRV International offers smaller-sized chocolates that may be appropriate for trick-or-treaters
• Divine chocolate also sells mini’s
• You can also purchase treats at the Global Exchange Fair Trade Online Store;
• Pure Fun Confections, which offers a variety of products including; cotton candy, candy canes, pinwheels, and lolly pops
• Sencha Naturals has great green tea mints and bars
• The Candy Blog also listed additional fair trade items and has a few stores in California
• For other companies that sell full-sized Fair Trade Certified bars, baking chocolates, cocoa mix, and more, check the National Green Pages
• If you are in the DC Metro area you can also visit either of the Ten Thousand Villages shops:
• • 915 King Street in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia (nearby King Street Metro) – (703) 684-1435
  • 4959 Elm Street, Bethesda, Maryland (nearby Bethesda Metro) – (301) 718-3465

Fittingly October is also Fair Trade Month, please see my post, Become a Conscious Consumer this October for Fair Trade Month and Impact Children, for more information.

Hear stories from the children who work in the cocoa fields from the International Cocoa Initiative,here.

Please also see previous posts on Child Trafficking, Child Labor and fair trade such as, Fair Trade Trick-or-Treating and don’t forget to check out the following resource pages:

AUTHOR: Cassandra Clifford
URL: www.bridgetofreedomfoundation.org and http://children.foreignpolicyblogs.com
E-MAIL: Cassandra [at] btff.org

Deborah has bought a nice shirt. She thinks, it’s durable because there is a blue knot of fashion label ‘Made-By’. But how sustainable is that shirt really? Deborah investigates and discovers that not everything is what it seems.

REPORT:
Stichting Pequeno: Onderzoeksrapport ‘Made-By’ 12 april 2011

AUTHOR: Wereldburgers.tv
URL: http://www.wereldburgers.tv
E-MAIL: wereldburgerstv [at] gmail.com