Diakonia Council of Churches responds to the Supreme Court of Appeal judgement against Biowatch Diakonia Council of Churches joins in solidarity with other concerned groups and organisations in voicing its strongest possible objection to the recent ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal, that Biowatch be held liable for costs in the case against multinational agrochemical and gene giant, Monsanto, and other responding parties including the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs. The ruling also requires that Biowatch pay the appeal costs in the appeal case which was represented pro bono by the Legal Resources Centre.

The Chairperson of the Council, Bishop Barry Wood, OMI, stated that “It is a travesty of justice when our judicial system has every opportunity to hear the voice of groups acting in the public and environmental interest, and to explore the opportunities afforded by the provisions of the litigation-friendly NEMA, and then chooses to impart financial penalties aimed at silencing these voices in favour of monopolistic corporations who can well afford such costs themselves.” Diakonia Council of Churches again reiterates its concern that these companies claim the legal right to patent life, planting genetically modified crops without adequate research, and selling them without due consideration to warning labels. Bishop Barry added that “When we talk about food, we talk about the God-given right to healthy food, sustainable crops and life-giving opportunities for self development for individuals and communities. It seems that none of these sit high on the priority lists of huge corporations hell-bent on exploring markets for financial gain, and that this is an obvious example of the legal system being used to silence those voices that are perceived as thorns in the flesh of the multinational untouchables.” The Council calls on its member churches and other faith-based organisations to join in protest against this injustice and to continue in the pursuit of our right to information, insisting on the labelling of genetically modified products and the call for a moratorium on the proliferation of biotechnology without adequate independent research and multi stakeholder participation.

Issued by Diakonia Council of Churches
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