Special Issue: Trade and Justice (IV)

This edition of Pambazuka News is the fourth in a series of four special issues published over the last year dealing specifically with issues of trade and justice. Together with this edition, over the last year, we’ve published a total of 26 articles tackling all aspects of Africa’s involvement in the global trade regime.

The first edition in this series was released in January 2005 and asked the question: Can trade in the era of globalisation be ‘just’? Articles examined Africa’s historical and current trading relationship with the rest of the world. The second edition was released in June 2005, and tackled the relationship between trade and human rights. Articles looked at the impact of trade policies on the right to health in Kenya, the crude oil trade and community rights in the Niger Delta, the rights of informal traders in Africa, genetically modified crops and the right to food, cotton and farmer rights in West Africa. The third reader, released in September 2005, explored the issue of trade and women’s rights. The articles profiled the damaging effect of trade policies on women’s rights. The articles in today’s edition deal predominantly with trade and agriculture.

Taken together, these articles provide an insight into how ill-considered trade policies have a profoundly negative impact on the rights of communities. Whether it’s the absence of women’s voices at global trade negotiations, the decimation of country health systems as a result of international trade policies or the sacrificing of community rights in the interests of multi-national corporations in the Niger Delta, it’s clear that trade polices impose a profit first and people last regime on Africa. You can read all of these articles by clicking on the links below. Each of the articles has a comment function, enabling you to debate the points made in each article.

The focus on trade justice has been complemented by the launch and development of a Pambazuka News web page featuring recorded interviews, poetry and performances with a general theme of trade and justice. Visit to listen to these broadcasts.

Many of these articles have also been published in the French edition of Pambazuka News, either in their original French versions or in translated form. Visit
Trade justice two:

This initiative has also included the production of a series of interviews and recordings that can be listened to or downloaded at

We acknowledge with thanks the support of HIVOS for the production of these special issues of Pambazuka News and associated podcasts.