GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION AT VOTE
Repeal “Food Welfare Act”
A resolution to repeal previously passed legislation
Category: Repeal
Resolution: GA#52
Proposed by: Knootoss
Description: WA General Assembly Resolution #52: Food Welfare Act (Category: Social Justice; Strength: Strong) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.
Argument:
The World Assembly,
ACKNOWLEDGES that many of the recommendations made by the Food Welfare Act are sound;
RECOGNISES, however, that the problems of starvation and malnutrition are insufficiently addressed by this resolution, creating several problems:
- Dumping food from prosperous Member States into recipient nations through the “surplus donation system” may drive local farmers out of business;
- The IFWO does not provide any reason for the governments of recipient nations to reduce their dependency on food aid, leaving the system open to abuse;
- The provision allowing governments to “seize food” from local farmers and from businesses may deter social enterprises from achieving community solutions;
- The mandate of the ITA to “gradually reduce protectionist practices” and “manage trade issues” is overly broad and vague, which prevents the World Assembly from passing better trade legislation;
CONCERNED that the Food Welfare act may have unintended consequences as a result of these problems, aggravating the hardships experienced by people suffering from starvation and malnutrition:
- Food aid provided by the IFWO may be resold on the black markets of nations that experience famine, at prices that undercut local food producers;
- Governments of nations receiving unconditional food aid from the IFWO may divert funds from their own food-support budget to their military budgets;
- Permitting governments to seize food supplies from local farmers may lead to some farmers refusing to cooperate in producing additional food for the benefit of the nation;
- Food aid provided by the IFWO may be offset by other economic programs, such as tariffs and agricultural subsidies, hollowing out the agricultural sectors of recipient nations;
LAMENTS that the aid programmes established by this resolution may result in greater harm to nations in need of assistance;
REPEALS the Food Welfare Act.