Outrage over New Zealand Attempts to Silence
Commonwealth Secretariat Advisers on WTO

ARENA Media Release
1 November 2003

A storm has broken out in England over disclosures in the Guardian newspaper that the New Zealand and British governments plotted to muzzle two staff from the Commonwealth Secretariat who were advising governments from poorer countries at the WTO ministerial meeting in Cancun.

³Both governments appear to be donkey deep in practices that Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon has condemned as "19th century neo-colonialism", said Dr Jane Kelsey on behalf of ARENA [Action Research and Education Network of Aotearoa).

One of the advisers had previously criticised the WTO as "fundamentally flawed". The second argued that developing countries are disadvantaged because of their lack of economic and political power.

³Both statements are obvious to anyone who has been monitoring the WTO since 1995. But the truth remains unpalatable to the stalwarts of the old white Commonwealth.

The Guardian report of 31 October quotes a letter from one of Britain's most senior trade negotiators Elaine Drage to New Zealand diplomat Robert Hole at the London High Commission two weeks before the Cancun meeting.

The letter accused Roman Grynberg, the Commonwealth Secretariat's deputy director for international trade, of "preaching protectionism and isolationism" to developing countries at the previous WTO meeting in Doha.

Ms Drage promised to "keep track" of him at Cancun. In return "you will try to find out when his current three-year contract expires. We both believe he is already into his second and therefore (ought to be) final three-year contract."

The letter also criticised Vinod Rege, adviser to the 24 Commonwealth countries with permanent missions to the WTO and UN agencies in Geneva. His contract, funded by the UK's Department of International Development, has expired and not been renewed.

Ms Drage's letter told Robert Hole : "We need to do what we can to ensure any successor works within a more clearly defined and monitored management structure."

Dr Kelsey noted that "these disclosures put the lie, yet again, to claims that New Zealand is really on the side of poorer countries."

"We presume this behaviour was sanctioned by Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton at ministerial level. If not, it seems that New Zealand's trade officials in London embassy are now beyond the government's control.

"The Prime Minister needs to explain what she is doing to censure those responsible for such an outrage.

"Don McKinnon has summoned Britain's minister of trade and industry Patricia Hewitt to a meeting. We want to know how he proposes to hold the New Zealand government to account as well"..

Commonwealth fury at Whitehall 'meddling'

David Pallister and Charlotte Denny

The Guardian 31 October 2003

Commonwealth fury at Whitehall 'meddling' - Letter from trade and industry official reveals plot to monitor activities at meeting in Cancun.

The trade and industry secretary, Patricia Hewitt, was embroiled in a row with the Commonwealth secretariat last night after it emerged her officials had plotted to muzzle Commonwealth staff advising developing countries at last month's World Trade Organisation meeting in Cancun.

The Commonwealth secretary-general, Don McKinnon, yesterday accused Ms Hewitt's department of having a "neo-colonial mentality". "This is not the 19th century," he said. "We don't ... take instructions from Whitehall."

Ms Hewitt faces an uncomfortable meeting with Mr McKinnon next week when he is expected to ask why one of her most senior negotiators, Elaine Drage, was monitoring a Commonwealth official's activities in Cancun.

In letter to a diplomat at the New Zealand high commission, written two weeks before the meeting, Ms Drage promised to "keep track" of Roman Grynberg, the secretariat's deputy director for international trade.

The letter, a copy of which has been seen by the Guardian, accused Mr Grynberg of "preaching protectionism and isolationism" to developing countries at the previous WTO meeting in Doha.

Mr McKinnon denied the charge, saying: "It's a bit rich for a junior Whitehall official dishing out some of the biggest agricultural subsidies in the world to accuse others of protectionism."

Mr McKinnon, the former deputy prime minister of New Zealand, said there was evidence that Britain and New Zealand appeared to interfere in the secretariat's internal staffing policies. In the letter to diplomat Robert Hole, Ms Drage wrote: "As for Roman Grynberg, you will try to find out when his current three-year contract expires. We both believe he is already into his second and therefore (ought to be) final three-year contract.

"At Doha he had consistently gone round discouraging developing countries from agreeing to a new round." She said one of her tasks would be "to try and keep track on Roman's activities".

The Cancun meeting collapsed after a standoff between rich and poor countries over western farm subsidies and demands from Brussels for investment rules protecting multinational companies.

Development lobby groups said Britain could have helped by insisting the European commission dump its plan for an investment treaty.

Matthew Lockwood, head of advocacy at ActionAid, said: "If, instead of conducting witch-hunts against Commonwealth secretariat staff, the UK government had actually listened more carefully to the concerns of Commonwealth developing countries, it might have been able to do something to avert the disaster."

Ms Drage's letter also criticised Vinod Rege, who advises the 24 Commonwealth countries with permanent missions to the WTO and UN agencies in Geneva. After four years in the post, funded by the UK's Department of International Development, Mr Rege's expired contract has not been renewed.

Ms Drage wrote: "We need to do what we can to ensure any successor works within a more clearly defined and monitored management structure."

Both Mr Grynberg and Mr Rege have been active for several years in helping Commonwealth countries to negotiate favourable trade terms for agricultural products and to navigate the technical complexities of the WTO. Mr Grynberg has criticised the WTO as "fundamentally flawed" and Mr Rege has argued that developing countries are disadvantaged because of their lack of economic and political power.

The Ugandan ambassador, Nathan Irumba, praised Mr Rege's work, saying: "He doesn't try to pigeon hole us. He gives us options so we can make informed choices."

A Department of Trade and Industry spokesman declined to comment on the letter.