COMMENT from Dr. Brian John: Following hard on the heels of the IAASTD Report, it is interesting that the key UN Human Rights Committee has made these very strong statements on the effects of GM corporate feudalism involving Monsanto in particular.
The Committee recognizes that extreme poverty is "exacerbated by the introduction of genetically modified seeds by multinational corporations
and the ensuing escalation of prices of seeds, fertilisers and pesticides, particularly in the cotton industry."
India is asked to: "enable farmers to purchase generic
seeds which they are able to re-use, with a view to eliminating their dependency on multinational corporations."
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UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
Fortieth session
28 April - 16 May 2008
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/cescrs40.htm
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLES 16 AND 17 OF THE COVENANT
Concluding Observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights INDIA
29. The Committee is deeply concerned that the extreme hardship being experienced by farmers has led to an increasing incidence of suicides by farmers over the past decade. The Committee is particularly concerned that the extreme poverty among small-hold farmers caused by the lack of land, access to credit and adequate rural infrastructures, has been exacerbated by the introduction of genetically modified seeds by multinational corporations and the ensuing escalation of prices of seeds, fertilisers and pesticides, particularly in the cotton industry.
69. The Committee urges the State party, in addition to the full implementation of the planned farmer debt waiver programme, to take all necessary measures to address the extreme poverty among small-holding farmers and to increase agricultural productivity as a matter of priority, by inter alia: developing the rural infrastructures including
irrigation as part of the Bharat Nirman programme; providing financial and other
forms of assistance to families of suicide victims; ensuring that the existing agricultural insurance schemes, including the Crop Insurance Scheme and the Calamity Relief Fund, are fully implemented and are accessible to all farmers; providing state subsidies to enable farmers to purchase generic seeds which they are able to re-use, with a view to eliminating their dependency on multinational corporations. The Committee also recommends the
State party to review the Seed Bill (2004) in light of its
obligations under the Covenant and draw the attention of the State party to para. 19 of the Committee's General Comment No.12 on the right to adequate food (1999).