Leading African Biodiversity Advocate Denied Canadian Visa Days Before UN Forum
Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on
MONTREAL, July 4, 2018 - United Nations biodiversity negotiations are underway in Montreal, but a key African expert is missing from the fray. Ali Tapsoba, President of the organization Terre à Vie in Burkina Faso, was planning to speak at two events on behalf of Burkinabé civil society who oppose the release of gene drive mosquitoes, a controversial new biotechnology, in their communities.
His visa application was denied without explanation by the Canadian embassy in Dakar on Friday.