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Comments: One final question for today.

Note: David Beckham didn't achieve what was expected of him at the World Cup!

In the end the far less flashy Rio Ferdinand did a much more consistent and commendable job - in part because he didn't have a crippling (toe) injury...

The Ethiopian representative, Tewold Egziabherable, did a similarly commendable and subdued job by providing robust defence of paragraph 45ter in the dying minutes of the conference's negotiating "game". This will probably only become widely appreciated with time.

Posted by Matt Prescott on September 8, 2002 06:02 PM

Meacher made the UK ministerial delegation credible. It is not so much what difference he made as how other countries viewed the UK's commitment to environment and development.

His presence in the delegation was noted and welcomed by several African delegations who admire his persistent questioning on genetic engineering issues.

Although his may be a lone voice in cabinet on GMO issues, it was some solace to African delegations to have his support whilst they were being battered during WSSD by the US, its corporations and sycophants to accept GMOs in food aid and for food production.

Posted by Patrick Mulvany on September 8, 2002 11:51 PM

... but I should add that it was not Meacher but Dr Tewolde who was the hero of WSSD. Not only his coup on deleting "WTO preminence" text but also removing reference to the illogical interpretive text that would have weakened the already limp decision on corporate control, made him the folk hero of the Summit.

See www.ukabc.org/wssd_tewolde.htm

By the way, Meacher Chaired the Annual meeting in London of the Darwin Initiative in March this year at which Dr Tewolde gave a most excellent lecture... well worth reading. "Darwin Lecture 2002: The Human Individual and Community in the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Resources" - it's linked from the above page.

Posted by Patrick Mulvany on September 9, 2002 12:02 AM

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