Fisheries and the right to food 2012, para. 47

Párrafo
Paragraph text
As mentioned in paragraph 11 of the present report, subsidies, at least those that support increased industrial fishing capacity, may encourage overfishing. At the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), held in Doha in November 2001, negotiations to clarify and improve WTO disciplines on fisheries subsidies were initiated. At the Sixth Ministerial Conference of WTO, held in Hong Kong, China, in December 2005, broad agreement was reached on strengthening those disciplines, including a prohibition of fisheries subsidies that directly contributed to overcapacity and overfishing. In 2007, the Chair of the Negotiating Group on Rules submitted recommendations that included exemptions for low-income food-deficit countries, in particular for subsidies that promoted the development of and supported small-scale fishers. Such exemptions would be conditional on countries showing that subsidies were provided only where there were robust measures to protect fish stocks and prevent overfishing. While this recommendation has gained widespread approval, there have been more controversial calls to expand the exemptions to other developing countries. Some States have expressed doubts over the contribution of subsidies to overfishing. Disagreements also exist as to exactly what type of subsidies should be prohibited, with opinions differing on issues such as the building of ports and fisheries access agreements. Lastly, there are concerns that, even if agreement is reached, enforcing the WTO disciplines will be extremely difficult, given that 90 per cent of fisheries subsidies are confidential and beyond public scrutiny.
Condicón jurídica
Non-negotiated soft law
Organismo
Special Rapporteur on the right to food
Tipo de documento
Special Procedures' report
Medio de adopción
N.A.
Temas
  • Economic Rights
  • Environment
  • Governance & Rule of Law
Personas afectadas
  • N.A.
Año
2012
Tipo de párrafo
Other
Reference
SR Food, Report to the UNGA (2012), A/67/268, para. 47.
Paragraph number
47