Dear Friends,
I have sent out this letter to the Canadian government on behalf of the ISP. This is an emergency, and we have no time to lose, as one of our ISP members is involved.
----- Original Message -----
From: Dr. Mae-Wan Ho
Cc: Mitchell.A@parl.gc.ca ; stephane.dion@ec.gc.ca ; Volpe.J@parl.gc.ca ; ISP
Sent: Thursday, May 19, 2005 11:14 PM
Subject: Canada must give visa to Africa's biosafety representative
19 May 2005
To:
Hon. Pierre Pettigrew
Pettigrew.P@parl.gc.ca
Minister of Foreign Affairs Canada
Dear Hon. Pierre Pettigrew,
I am writing on behalf of the Independent Science Panel (ISP)1 to protest, in the strongest terms,
the Canadian Government’s denial of an entry visa for Dr. Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher, and deliberate obstructions
that prevented him not only from attending important conferences on the Cartagena Protocol for Biosafety in Montreal,
Canada, but also conferences on the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture in
two other countries (see “Canada denies visa for Africa’s chief biosafety and biodiversity”, report enclosed).
We
see this underhanded interference with negotiations at important
international treaties as a blatant abuse of power
on
the part of the Canadian government, as well as a violation of the democratic
rights of hundreds of millions of citizens
around
the world whose wishes Dr. Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher represents. The least
you can do now is to grant
him a
visa immediately with due apologies, offer him the next flight to Montreal in
time for the Biosafety conferences
25
May -3 June, 2005; and fly him safely home to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,
thereafter.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho
Independent Science Panel
PO Box 32097
London NW1 0XR
UK
cc:
Hon. Andy Mitchell ,Minister of
Agriculture and Agri-Food,
Mitchell.A@parl.gc.ca
Telephone:(613) 996-3434 Fax: (613) 991-2147
Hon. Stéphane Dion, Minister of the Environment, stephane.dion@ec.gc.ca
Telephone: (613) 996-5789 Fax: (613) 996-6562
Hon. Hon. Joseph Volpe, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration,
Volpe.J@parl.gc.ca
Telephone: (613) 992-6361 Fax: (613) 992-9791
Note:
1. The ISP, launched 10 May
2003 at a public conference in London, UK, consists of dozens of prominent
scientists from 11
countries spanning the
disciplines of agroecology, agronomy, biomathematics, botany, chemical
medicine, ecology, epidemiology,
histopathology, microbial
ecology, molecular genetics, nutritional biochemistry, physiology, toxicology
and virology (http://www.indsp.org/ISPMembers.php)
As their contribution to the global GM debate, the ISP reviewed the evidence on the hazards and problems of GM crops
as well as the proven successes of sustainable agriculture, and published its report in June 2003 (Ho MW, Lim LC et al. The Case
for a GM-Free Sustainable World, ISP Report, ISIS & TWN, London & Penang, 2003. http://www.indsp.org/A%20GM-Free%20Sustainable%).
http://www.indsp.org/ISPMembers.php
Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher
Dr Tewolde Berhan was born on 19 February 1940 in a small village near Adwa
town in Tigray Region of northern Ethiopia. He joined Elementary School when he
was 11 years old and then won a scholarship to the General Wingate School in
Addis Ababa in 1955. On joining Addis Ababa University in 1959, he decided to
study science and was granted the Chancellor's Gold Medal when he graduated
with a B.Sc. in Biology in 1963. In 1966, he left to study for a doctorate in
plant ecology at the School of Plant Biology, University of North Wales, and
returned as Ethiopia's first qualified plant ecologist in 1969.
>From the time he graduated in 1963 until 1995, his academic base was in the
Department of Biology of Addis Ababa University. His main responsibilities
inside academia have been as Dean of the Faculty of Science from 1974 to 1978,
and then Keeper of the National Herbarium from 1978 to 1983. It was during this
period that the Ethiopian Flora Project was launched, with twin aims: to
develop a national capacity in plant systematics and a competent national
institution for research and services in this field, and also to publish a
modern Flora for the country. The first part of this aim has been achieved with
the National Herbarium now having a senior staff of four doctorates in
systematic botany, three in plant ecology, and an editorial office. The second
aim of producing an eight volume Flora is still being realized with four
volumes in print and two more in press.
His other major post in academia was as President of Asmara University in what
is now the independent country of Eritrea. During that period, he successfully
negotiated a substantial grant for the development of tertiary science
education, particularly in the applied fields of arid-zone agriculture, marine
science, geology and some aspects of engineering.
His career has also involved responsibilities outside academia. Between 1972
and 1982 he was leader of the IDRC-UNU sponsored research project
"Research and Development in Rural Settings". Ethiopia was one of six
countries which contributed to this international Project. In 1991, he left
Asmara University to take up the post of Director for the Ethiopian National
Conservation Strategy Secretariat. During the four years he was in post, a
National Conservation Strategy was developed and debated in a participatory
manner at all the main levels of government culminating in a National
Conference where the final draft documents were debated and amended before
being submitted to the Government for approval. As from March 1995, Dr Tewolde
has been the General Manager for Ethiopia's environmental watchdog, the
Environmental Protection Authority.
Internationally, Dr Tewolde participated in the negotiations for Agenda 21 and
the Convention on Biological Diversity, finalized in 1992. He also negotiated
the Convention to Combat Desertification. He led the African and Like-Minded
Group in negotiations for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which came into
force in September 2003. He also led the African Group and was a Bureau member
in the negotiations of the International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources for
Food and Agriculture agreed in FAO. He is now a member of the Interim Panel of
Eminent Experts, created by FAO in 2003, which is establishing a global fund
for the conservation of crop genetic resources (Global Crop Diversity Trust).
He has also worked with the African Union (previously the Organization of
African Unity) in the development of two model laws: the Model Law for the
Protection of the Rights of Communities, Farmers and Breeders, and for the
Control of Access to Biological Resources , and the African Model Law for
Safety in Biotechnology .
In December 2000, Dr Tewolde was awarded a Right Livelihood Award (alternative
Nobel Prize) for his leadership in the biosafety negotiations, and for his work
in developing and promoting community and farmers' rights.
His responsibilities in government have involved him in representing Ethiopia
in several international fora as well as preparing official documents and
reports. The following are the most significant:
* Ethiopian representative in the UNCED negotiating team in
Geneva, New York and Rio de Janeiro; played an important role in developing
Chapter 13 on Sustainable Mountain Development of Agenda 21, 1991-92.
* Co-Chairman, Panel 4, established by the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) to study the issue of biosafety and biotechnology
as a follow-up of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 1992-93.
* Negotiator for Ethiopia, Convention on Desertification,
1994-2000
* Chief negotiator (spokesperson) of the African Group, and
Bureau Member in the Revision of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic
Resources for Food and Agriculture, 1997-2001.
* Ethiopia's negotiator, chief negotiator (spokesperson) of
the African and Like-Minded Group and Bureau Member in the Biosafety Working
Group negotiations on a Biosafety Protocol for the Convention on Biological
Diversity, 1996, to when it was concluded in January 2000.
* Leader of Ethiopia's delegation to the World Summit on
Sustainable Development, South Africa 2002
Dr Tewolde has produced over 50 publications from both original research and
analysis of interactions between society and environment in Ethiopia's history
as well as internationally.