Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has linked US reform of its agricultural subsidies regime to the human rights of African farmers at a press conference in Bamako last week. Mali is one of four West African countries leading the fight for cotton subsidy reform at the World Trade Organization. "The human rights of West African farmers are threatened by the continuous dumping of US cotton causing world prices to fall," said Robinson, who is the Honorary President of Oxfam International. World cotton prices reached an all time low in 2001 and are currently plummeting again after a brief recovery, putting huge pressure on government revenues and farmer incomes.