Quoted from ISD News-Ghana and Government of Ghana Portal:
UNCTADXII/Accra. The Executive Director of the South Centre, an Intergovernmental Organization of the Developing Countries based in Geneva, Dr Yash Tandon, has urged the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to direct its energies and future efforts towards addressing the obstacles to change in Africa.
He said “at the systemic level there are still many serious and formidable obstacles to change towards a more equitable and just world that needs urgent collective action by the global community” adding that “Africa looks more mired than the rest of the South in the quagmire of the past, but there are signs of growth in Africa too".
Dr Y. Tandon made this known in a statement dubbed "Towards National and Collective Self Reliance of the South" at the General Debate of ongoing UNCTAD-XII in Accra yesterday .
Complete quote can be read at:
http://www.ghana.gov.gh/ghana/unctad_address_challenges_change_africa.jsp
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
South Centre in Media: UNCTAD To Address Challenges Of Change In Africa
South Centre in Media: Aid and charity is wrong for Africa
Quoted from Ghana News, Joy Online.
UNCTADXII/Accra. An International Economist has said “aid and charity are the wrong way towards addressing the systemic challenges and development issues in Africa.”
Dr. Yash Tandon, Executive Director of the Geneva based South Centre, an intergovernmental organisation of developing countries made the statement during the general debate at the conference.He, therefore, called on UNCTAD to lead the way in finding ways and means of exiting from aid dependence for countries in the South, especially Africa.
Dr Tandon noted that though there were areas of development in the South that gave reasons for celebration “we are still confronted with major challenges at the systemic level of the world economic order that hampered the development of the South despite so much aid from the North.”
Read the complete quote at:http://www.myjoyonline.com/business/200804/15704.asp
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Video - South Centre Statement at General Debate of the Twelfth Session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD-XII)
Digital Video is available from here
(Real Player is required to view it and can be downloaded from here)
According to Dr. Tandon, "there are areas of development in the South that give reasons to celebrate. The independence shown by some countries in Latin America from dependence in the North is an example of this positive development. The growth of the economies of certain countries in Asia whose increasing so- called “sovereign wealth” is now the source of bailing out distressed banks in the North is a sign of changing times".
Monday, April 21, 2008
South Centre@UNCTAD XII: Millions of Small Producers Squeezed Out in the Commodities Game
UNCTAD is one of the few multilateral spaces available for developing countries where issues related to small producers can be defended. But more than ever before, we find that this space is shrinking. For all the talks in recent years, developed countries have failed to live up to a string of pledges to help developing countries create an environment that will help them in meeting market volatility and fluctuations head on.
"The space occupied by UNCTAD is the space developing countries should defend to protect the rights and livelihoods of the small farmers", this was one of main messages coming out of the event organized by the South Centre in partnership with Action Aid on 19th April 2008 as a pre-event to UNCTAD XII being held in Accra, Ghana.
The Event was chaired by Dr. Yash Tandon, Executive Director of the South Centre. The panelists included, among others, Ms. Dede Amanor-Wilks, International Director - West and Central Africa, Action Aid, Ms. Luisa Bernal, Coordinator - Trade for Development Programme, South Centre, and Mr. Mamadou Cissokho, President, ROPPA, Senegal.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Informal Roundable Discussion - UNCTAD XII
South Centre organized an informal Roundtable Discussion today (31st March) on Commodities Issues in the context of UNCTAD XII from 12h30- 15h00 in Room XXIV, Palais des Nations. The event was organized in cooperation with Action Aid.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
South Centre participates in deliberations of the African Group for upcoming UNCTAD XII
On 22 February, the South Centre contributed to the deliberations of the African Group on the preparatory phase for UNCTAD XII.
Mr. Vicente Paolo Yu, Coordinator of the Global Governance for Development Programme and Mr. Ermias Biadgleng, Program Officer for the Innovation & Access to Knowledge Program at the South Centre were present for this meeting held in Montreux, Switzerland.
Mr. Biadgleng elucidated on the channels of technology transfer and the link between foreign direct investment (FDI) flows and accumulation and reproduction of knowledge. He cautioned that capacity building in the South will not occur unless there was a government support for training and skills acquirement. It also required foreign companies setting up businesses in Africa to start relying more on employees from the local populations rather than bring in their own managerial staff.
The presentation delivered by Mr. Vicente Yu focused on the disastrous effects of Climate Change and its impact on Africa. According to Mr. Yu, despite negligible contribution of African countries to the global carbon emissions they will have to bear a heavy cost resulting from decrease in agricultural output and the associated loss in employment, compounded by their lack of capacity and financial resources to adapt to climate change.
