GMOs THEMATIC HEARING REQUEST TO THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS: PROMOTING TRANSPARENCY AND ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE IN THE AMERICAS

                                                                            February 2011

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Dear friends and colleagues: We need your support. We write today to inquire whether you and/or your organization are interested in joining the letter (See below) to Mr. Santiago Canton Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) urging the Commission to hold a thematic hearing on the important issue of government policy of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and, critically, government transparency with respect to such matters. The proposed hearing is designed to raise awareness and concentrate resources on these issues, in connection with the case Miguel Ignacio Fredes González and Andrea Tuczek Fries vs. Chile, declared admissible in March 19 2009 (See official information about the case at: http://www.cidh.org/annualrep/2009eng/Chile406.03eng.htm [English version]  or http://www.cidh.oas.org/annualrep/2009sp/Chile406-03.sp.htm [Spanish version]).

The demand by farmers, environmentalists, consumers, scientits and policy-makers to have access to official information regarding GMO crops and biosafety in order to inform the public of the potential human, social and environmental aspects of such products has generated a serious conflict between the governments and civil society in the Americas. 

The IACHR’s admissibility decision in the Fredes et al vs. Chile case is a very important step in the direction of recognizing an individual’s right to access GMO-related information, and a State’s obligation to provide access to such information, as important rights and obligations covered by the American Declaration and Convention and other instruments. 

More than ever, these rights need to be supported against the intense pressure by transnational GMO corporations, who seek to reduce transparency and information access in order to avoid public participation in these issues. The thematic hearing will build a detailed basis for the Fredes et al vs. Chile case and in general help guarantee the right of access to information and public participation in matters relating to biosafety and GMO enhancing transparency in Chile and the Americas.

A broader goal of the thematic hearing may also be to address the environmental impacts of the release of GMOs and related risks to human health and the environment in the Americas.

While the technical merits and appropriate risk/benefit analysis with repect to GMO crops and products is open to debate and discussion.  What should not even be open for debate is an individual’s right to access the governance and environmental policy information that is necessary to enable citizens, farmers and consumers to make truly informed decisions.

The overall goal of the Fredes et al vs. Chile case is to promote a change in the behavior of public servants and policy makers and to foster legal and policy reforms that would result in more informed public participation by individuals communities in GMO and biosafety decision-making processes in Chile and throughout the Americas.

We strongly believe this is a goal that we all can agree on. We also recognize that there is a diverse range of interests and expertise on these and other GMO-related issues, and we believe that by joining together we can more effectively push the IACHR to give more attention to this important area. For these reasons, we ask that you join us in requesting a thematic hearing as outlined above.

We would be very interested in hearing any thoughts you might have on the idea of a thematic hearing, what it might look like, and how you and/or your organization might participate. We invite you to contact us using the information provided below. If it appears useful, we may schedule a conference call on these issues in the near future. We attach a proposed letter to the Commission in both Spanish and English versions for your perusal.

                    Very truly yours,

Miguel Fredes Petitioner miguelforest@yahoo.com  Santiago, Chile

Aaron Page Counsel  aaron@forumnobis.org  Washington DC, US

See below Letter to Mr. Santiago Cantón:

Spanish version Letter_Canton_GMO_hearing_spa_version.pdf

English version  Letter_Canton_GMO_hearing_Eng.v.pdf