Migrant voices against the WTO!

By NONOI HACBANG, CFMW
December 28, 2005

HONG KONG –  A major feature of the Hong Kong People’s Action Week against WTO was the participation of migrants and their organisations, carrying banners in different languages but with one message: “Migrants say NO to WTO, Migrants are not for SALE! Migrants are not Commodities! No Deal is better than a bad deal!

Co-ordinated by Migrant Forum Asia (MFA) and the Asian Migrant Center (AMC), migrant organizations of different nationalities based in Hong Kong as well as migrant delegations from several countries in Asia took to the streets of Hong Kong.  Migrant Rights International (MRI) and the Commission for Filipino Migrant Workers (CFMW) from Europe also joined in the week long activities.

Migrants joined their voices with other people’s movements, including fisherfolks, farmers, women, youth, workers, urban poor, seafarers against the corporate-driven neoliberal agenda of the WTO that is anti-people and anti-poor.

A particular focus for the migrant protest was the WTO/General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The liberalization of services (e.g the commodification of water, energy, health and education) is one of the most contested issues in the WTO.  GATS/Mode 4 refers to the temporary migration of specifically skilled professional workers (e.g. Information Technology, company managers), to provide services or fulfill a service contract. This is highly divisive and excludes other categories of migrants such as domestic workers, construction workers and workers in the tourism and entertainment industries. In fact GATS/MODE 4 is basically introducing a global migration regime without human rights.

Mode 4 is being pushed by the governments of the North, the US and the EU to arm twist the governments of the South to make other major concession in the WTO negotiations. However, it is the Transnational Corporations and not the peoples of the South who will benefit from the WTO/GATS.

Migrants were in Hong Kong not only to protest but also to celebrate the gains made in migrant struggles for human rights in different parts of the world. On December 18, all sectors joined in the march celebrating International Migrants Day which culminated in the Rock against the Round Concert.

Recognising and asserting that migration and labor mobility are critical issues of human rights, migrants collectively prepared a quilt tapestry reiterating our calls for - the promotion of the human rights of all migrants, equal pay for equal work and an end to discrimination and racism.

These migrant rallies and activities took place as an integral part of the overall People’s Action Week which combined strategies within the WTO Convention Center as well as the street rallies, fluvial parade, protest swim in Causeway Bay, candlelight vigils, seminars and workshops.

The Hong Kong and international media gave wide and mainly sympathetic coverage to this parliament of the streets - highlighting in particular the creative and sustained protest actions of the Korean farmers and La Via Campesina, the global movement of small farmers.

However on December 17th, when the protesters marched to the Convention Center, the access road was blocked by Hong Kong police and the rally attacked by pepper spray, water cannon and tear gas. About 1,000 protesters were arrested and detained and remained ‘incomunicado’ without access to lawyers and interpreters. Most were again released the following day but 14 were charged with unlawful assembly and refused bail. Many reports of abuse and violation of human rights while in custody are emerging.

On December 18, the WTO Ministerial Conference ended in a deal brokered in the final hours. This was a raw deal, extracting substantial concessions from the South.

In the face of this raw deal, the People’s Action Week in Hong Kong has strengthened the determination to continue the struggle against WTO. As the Korean delegation expressed in their press statement: “Through the struggles in Hong Kong, our struggles and the struggles of all the people around the world against neoliberal globalization and the poverty and violence it brings, will become all the more stronger”.