Biowatch South Africa vs. Monsanto legal battle garners international attention

As a group of seed savers, farmers, CSOs and NGOs, representing 40 organisations from 18 countries, from Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America, gathered in Debre Zeit, Ethiopia for the meeting: "From Seed Security to Seed Sovereignty," between 5 and 12 November 2007, we want to express our concern about the injustice Biowatch South Africa has to face.

Biowatch South Africa asked the SA government for access to information on GMOs after they realized it was introduced in South Africa in a secretive and nontransparent manner. This was their Constitutional Right. The government refused to give them any information and they were compelled to go to court.

Monsanto, a multinational company known for its abuse of human rights and environmental rights across the world, and one of the biggest GMO companies, opposed Biowatch's right to information. The court awarded Biowatch the right to some of the information it requested, but ordered Biowatch to pay Monsanto's legal cost.

. We concur that Biowatch South Africa acted on behalf of the people of South Africa, and we believe their right to information should be upheld.

. We also consider that the GMO companies use South Africa as the gateway for GMOs to the rest of Africa and therefore feel that Biowatch South Africa acted on behalf of the whole of Africa.

. For this reason we are outraged at the court's judgement that Biowatch should pay Monsanto's legal cost.

. We reject this disregard of the basic human right to information, to a safe environment, to safe food, and the right to assert these human rights in the courts without facing astronomical legal bills.

. We are deeply concerned that this infringement of the right of ordinary people to know what they eat and what grows in their fields, will not only impact on South Africa, but also affect the whole of Africa. It will embolden the multinationals to impose and push their invasive technologies on Africa, but it will also have a chilling effect on ordinary people trying to defend their rights.

. We appeal to the people of South Africa and the rest of Africa to support Biowatch in this challenging time.

. Finally, we appeal to the South African courts to reconsider this poor judgement, and relieve Biowatch from paying Monsanto's legal costs.