Statement made by: WFFP, ICSF and IPC on Implementation of the Code of Conduct.
Made at: the 28th Session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI), FAO, Rome. March 2009.
Members of the FAO Committee on Fisheries, Government representatives, Non Governmental observers; Civil Society Organizations, comrade artisanal fishermen and fisherwomen.
My name is Zoila Bustamente, I am a fisherwoman from the Republic of Chile, President of CONAPACH (the National Confederation of Chilean Artisanal Fishermen), and I am speaking to you on behalf of the World Forum of Fisherpeople (WFFP), the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF), and the International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC).
We would like to express our thanks for the opportunity to participate in this event, which will deal with some very important issues that have a direct bearing on our lives and on the quality of life in fishing communities.
Over the period 2007 to 2009, with the support and cooperation of FAO, our respective organizations have organized 4 regional workshops to take stock of the implementation of the FAO’s Code of Conduct, particularly with regards to securing our rights and defining our responsibilities as small-scale and artisanal fishers and fishworkers. These were organized in Siem Reap, Cambodia (Asian Region) in 2007, and in 2008 in Zanzibar, Tanzania (Eastern and Southern Africa), in Punta de Tralca, Chile (Latin America Region), and in Conakry, Guinea (West Africa Region).
These workshops highlighted the importance of extending and strengthening the Code in relation to some important issues. In particular we would like to draw delegates’ attention to the important role of women in fisheries, which is not mentioned in the Code, in any single place. We feel that this is omission requires urgent attention. Moreover we feel that insufficient attention has been given in the code to present and future generations, to guaranteeing food security, poverty alleviation, to sustainable development, and to guaranteeing human, social and cultural rights. Thank you very much, Mr Chairman, and Honourable delegates.