Civil society groups have expressed their reservations about genetic modification (GM) among the tools of biotechnology and wish to inform the ECOWAS Ministers as well as African and international public opinion of the reasons underlying this position.

We denounce and we reject:

 1. the patenting of life, which comes with GM, because it dispossesses small-scale African producers and violates their economic and cultural rights

 2. the absence of labelling of GM products, which violates consumers rights to information

 3. the lack of any mechanism for traceability in our countries, which prevents us from identifying the source of any eventual problem brought on by GM

We demand:

 4. the recognition of liability of producers/users of GM technology with regard to any damage to the environment or human health, in conformity with the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

 5. that the adoption of any innovation using genetic modification be postponed in the long term (10 years) to allow different actors to build their capacities in terms of verifying the absence of risk from GMOs

These five recommendations were the subject of intense debate between civil society and experts both at the plenary session of the Ministerial Conference and in the working groups. However, they have been left out of the final report that is being officially submitted to the ECOWAS Ministers.

Signed: West African Network of Peasant Organisations and Producers (ROPPA) / West African Network of Chambers of Agriculture (RECAO) / Consumers International / Mali Coalition for the Protection of Genetic Heritage / Francophone Africa Coalition for the Protection of Genetic Heritage