India, Feb. 28 -- Write to director general about WTO's failure to ensure safety and rights of participants

Civil society organisations (CSO) have complained that they have been shut out of normal participation at the ongoing World Trade Organization's (WTO) 13 th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi.

A day after filing a complaint to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, WTO director general, about several incidents of detainment, confiscation of materials and heavy-handed restrictions on lobbying CSOs, participants alleged they have faced an "escalation in repression" despite fully complying with the WTO's guidelines for the conference.

"Two participants, who have been advised not to release their names publicly while still in the country, were...