March 29, 2006
The President of Brazil, Lula Inácio Lula Da Silva, has declared his clear support for a strong international moratorium on Terminator. President Lula made the statement at the opening of the High Level Segment of the UN COP8 Conference in Brazil where Ministers of Environment from around the world are gathered this week. The Government of Brazil currently has a ban on Terminator seeds.
Yesterday, Brazil’s Environment Minister, Marina Silva, stepped out of the meeting to address a protest of approximately twelve thousand farmers and trade unionists. The Minister promised that Brazil would stay strong in making sure that the moratorium holds.
Other Ministers spoke in opposition of Terminator including the Minister of Environment from Pakistan.
Today, Ministers are concluding their meeting. A government representative from Venezula spoke in support for the moratoriumon as well as Botswana on behalf of the Southern African Development Community group of countries. Ministers continue to state their positions today.
President Lula’s statement:
"Biodiversity, all of the different lifeforms, is the greatest treasure of our planet. Anything that threatens it or conspires against the equitable sharing of its resources must be rejected as a threat to the survival of humanity and of the planet. This understanding has directed the Brazilian position in this conference, in keeping with the spirit of COP5 in Nairobi, which forbids the use of sterile seeds. Whatever threatens life or monopolizes access to its resources does not serve the common cause of humanity. "
"A biodiversidade, o conjunto das diferentes formas de vida, é o maior tesouro do nosso planeta. Tudo o que possa ameaçá-la ou conspirar contra a repartição eqüitativa dos seus recursos deve ser rejeitado como ameaça à sobrevivência da Humanidade e da Terra. Esse entendimento orientou a posição brasileira de preservar nesta Conferência o espírito da COP-5, realizada em Nairobi, de proibição do uso de sementes estéreis. Nada que ameace a vida ou monopolize o acesso aos seus recursos serve à causa comum da humanidade."