Citizens of Dominican Rep & Haiti to: Our Friends Around the Globe, WE NEED YOUR HELP

Dear Friends from Around the World:

The citizens of the Dominican Republic, and our neighbours, Haiti, URGENTLY need your help – THIS IS OUR LAST CHANCE AGAINST A MONSANTO PROTECTION LAW!

Please sign & share our petition – http://www.change.org/danilo-medina-sanchez-dominicanos-rechazemos-la-ley-de-semillas !

The new Seed Act that is currently being reviewed and about to be passed by the Senate of the Dominican Republic, threatens the country’s food sovereignty: the right of our people to nutritious, affordable food and sustainable agricultural practices. Consequently, we would be endangering the Dominican economy as a leading worldwide exporter of organic products.

Due to the size of the Island, protecting GMO’s by law would be catastrophic!

This law aims to empower large multinational agrobusinesses who may then charge for the use of its genetically-modified, patented seeds.

Every day people around the world consume GM foods without labeling and with this new law, the Dominican Republic is taking a step closer to being exposed to potential health effects such as cancer, weakened immune systems, birth defects and abortions, etc. As well as safety concerns involving pesticide-related poisoning, population decline in bees, crop failure due to lack of pollination, loss of biodiversity and increased risk of potential food shortages.

In fact, these health & safety concerns have stemmed due to the overwhelming amount of peer-reviewed, scientific research. The general consensus by the science world has been revealed to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity, UN Biosafety Protocol Meeting, the World Trade Organization and the US Congress, in open letters such as the :

– World Scientists Open Letter, February 1999 (superceded by the Independent Science Panel Report in 2003, and by the most recent report Ban GMOs Now in 2013) calling on a moratorium on genetically modified (GM) organisms, ban on patents on life, and support for sustainable agriculture; eventually signed by 828 scientists from 84 countries in the Institute of Science in Society:http://www.i-sis.org.uk/list.php

– Independent Science Panel, constituted May 2003, consists of dozens of scientists from many disciplines. Its report, The Case for a GM-Free Sustainable World, calling for a ban on GM crops and a comprehensive shift to sustainable agriculture was presented in the UK Parliament and European Parliament, circulated worldwide, and translated into 5 or more languages.

We also believe that law is in deep violation our human rights, as stated in:

-Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that states that:

“Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.”

– and the United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights:

Article 11:

1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. The States Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international co-operation based on free consent.

2. The States Parties to the present Covenant, recognizing the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger, shall take, individually and through international co-operation, the measures, including specific programmes, which are needed:

(a) To improve methods of production, conservation and distribution of food by making full use of technical and scientific knowledge, by disseminating knowledge of the principles of nutrition and by developing or reforming agrarian systems in such a way as to achieve the most efficient development and utilization of natural resources;

(b) Taking into account the problems of both food-importing and food-exporting countries, to ensure an equitable distribution of world food supplies in relation to need.

Please show your support by signing and sharing this petition: for a better world, a better Dominican Republic and a better planet for all of us!

Best wishes always and thank you so much for your cooperation,

On behalf of the Citizens of the Dominican Republic, and our neighbours, Haiti.

Webpage with more details: https://www.change.org/p/danilo-medina-sanchez-dominicanos-rechazemos-la-ley-de-semillas