Image: WTO / FIS

Japan adds donations to help LDCs engage in fisheries subsidies negotiations

Japan is contributing CHF 55,934 (USD 60,700) in 2023 to help cover the expenses of officials from least-developed countries (LDCs) in order to facilitate their in-person participation in the second wave of negotiations to curb harmful fisheries subsidies. The contribution is provided by Japan to the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Trust Fund that was created in May 2019 at the request of the WTO’s LDC members.

Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said: “Japan's donation will continue to strengthen the participation of LDCs in these negotiations ahead of the upcoming 13th Ministerial Conference in February 2024. A shared global effort is required to build on last year's landmark Fisheries Subsidies Agreement by disciplining subsidies that contribute to overfishing and overcapacity. It is critically important to ensure LDCs' voices are well represented in the discussions.”

Ambassador Kazuyuki Yamazaki of Japan said: “Fisheries subsidies disciplines are crucial for our future marine resource sustainability and food security. With aiming of concluding the second wave negotiations at the 13th Ministerial Conference, full engagement from all WTO members, including LDCs, is highly important.”

The donation is in addition to Japan's contribution of approximately CHF 763,000 (USD 828,000) to the WTO Fisheries Funding Mechanism to help developing and LDC members implement the landmark Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies adopted at the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in June 2022.

Overall, Japan has contributed CHF 12.6 million (USD 13.68 M) to the various WTO trust funds from 2002 to 2023.

Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies

The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, adopted at the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) on 17 June 2022, marks a major step forward for ocean sustainability by prohibiting harmful fisheries subsidies, which are a key factor in the widespread depletion of the world’s fish stocks. The Agreement represents a historic achievement for the membership as the first Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target to be fully met, the first SDG target met through a multilateral agreement, the first WTO agreement to focus on the environment, the first broad, binding, multilateral agreement on ocean sustainability, and only the second agreement reached at the WTO since its inception.

Source: ISSD

For the Agreement to become operational, two-thirds of members have to deposit their “instruments of acceptance” with the WTO. Members also agreed at MC12 to continue negotiations on outstanding issues, with a view to making recommendations by MC13 for additional provisions that would further enhance the disciplines of the Agreement.

Source: WTO

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