Building of A Common Platform Between Developing Countries

On 4-5 December 2008, the South Centre organized a training workshop on EPAs/FTAs for developing country negotiators in Brussels.

The workshop was organized by the Trade for Development Programme of the South Centre.

Workshop agenda can be downloaded from here.

Working Lunch on WIPO Programme and Budget Committee and WIPO Assemblies

On 3 December 2008, the Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme (IAKP) of the South Centre organized a working lunch meeting to discuss and coordinate developing country participation at the WIPO Programme and Budget Committee (10-11 December) and the Assemblies of the Member States of WIPO (12 December).

These two meetings took decisions with respect to two key issues: defining new goals for the organization, and the financing for all it activities, including the implementation of the WIPO Development Agenda and technical assistance to developing countries.

An analysis by the South Centre estimates that the budget share for development
activities has decreased by about 15.5% in the Revised P&B in comparison to
the P&B approved at the WIPO General Assembly in March (GA/44/2).

Principles and Modalities of EU-Indian Cooperation on African Development

Dr. Yash Tandon, Executive Director of the South Centre delineated the "Principles and Modalities of EU-Indian Cooperation on African Development" at an international conference on “Engaging with a resurgent Africa” organised in New Delhi on 20th and 21st of November.

The conference was organised jointly by Observer Research Foundation and Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung of Germany.

According to Dr. Tandon, in any future relationship between Europe and India on Africa’s development, it must be a matter of common understanding that the colonial history should not be repeated. Development is a good objective, but it cannot justify an asymmetrical power relationship between the three partners of development, or an unequal sharing of its benefits. This should be the starting point of any discussion on the subject of this triangular relationship.

Capacity Building of Parliamentarians from Eastern and Southern Africa on EPAs

Ms. Luisa Rodriguez, Programme Officer, Trade for Development Programme gave a presentation on "Food Security and EPAs" at a workshop organized by Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development (ACORD) in Kenya to build the capacity of parliamentarians on EPA-related issues.

The workshop was held on 14 -15 November 2008 in Nairobi.

Working Lunch Meeting on SECURE and IP Enforcement Issues

South Centre organized Working Lunch on Tuesday, 25 November to discuss the recent Fourth SECURE Working Group Meeting and Other IP Enforcement Issues. Almost 20 delegates were present for this lunch meeting chaired by Dr. Xuan LI, Coordinator- Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme, South Centre.

During the meeting, there was a:
(i) Brief on the recent discussions at 4th SECURE Working Group meeting held on 30-31October 2008;
(ii) Strategization for the upcoming Policy Committee to be held in Argentina on 9 December 2008.

Mr. Henrique Moraes, the Brazilian delegate based in Brussels briefed the delegates on the outcome of the recent 4th SECURE Working Group meeting.

South Centre hosts Meeting of Delegates for possible upcoming WTO mini-Ministerial

South Centre hosted a meeting of delegates from developing countries to have a dialogue and discuss common strategies regarding the possible upcoming WTO mini-Ministerial in Geneva next month. Over 20 delegates from various Developing Countries Missions to the UN participated in the meeting.

Ending Aid Dependence (Second Edition) launched at Chatham House

On 4 November 2008, South Centre launched the second edition of the book "Ending Aid Dependence" authored by Dr. Yash Tandon, Executive Director, at an event organized by the Chatham House.

Over 40 colleagues participated in the book launch which was chaired by Mr. Firoze Manji, Director, Fahamu.

The book launch was attended by over 40 colleagues. Dr. Tandon briefed the audience on some of the key messages coming out of the book and the steps needed to ending aid dependence. He also explained the innovative taxonomy presented in the book based on rainbow color to distinguish different kinds of aid, from solidarity aid (Purple) to ideological aid (Red).

On the whole, the book cautions countries of the South against falling into the aid trap and endorsing the aid agenda of the OECD – the club of rich donor countries. If endorsed, it would subject the recipients to a discipline of collective control by the donors right down to the village level. This will specially affect the donor-dependent countries, in particular the poorer and more vulnerable countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Watch a short commentary below by Yash on the need for "change of mindset" that we cannot develop without aid to end Aid Dependence, recorded by the Eldis Community.

For more information on the book and to purchase a copy, go to http://www.aidexit.org/

Yash Tandon on Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) at the Norwegian Social Forum

On 8 November 2008, Dr. Yash Tandon, Executive Director, South Centre participated at a seminar about bilateral investment treaties (BITs) at the Norwegian Social Forum (Globaliseringskonferansen). Other panelists included Knut Solli from NHO (the largest Norwegian business/employer organization) and Audun Lysbakken – co-chairman of the Norwegian Socialist Left party.

The Norwegian government is currently in the process of developing BIT-models to be negotiated with developing countries. NHO obviously supports these treaties which will mean better opportunities for its member companies – Tandon naturally oppose them as they will diminish the political elbow space of the governments of developing countries.

For more information, go to:
http://www.blogging.no/blog.php/isfjeld/post/21647

2nd Annual Forum of Developing Country Investment Negotiators - Marrakech

The 2nd Annual Forum of Developing Country Investment Negotiators jointly organised by South Centre and IISD was successfully held in Marrakech, Morocco, 3-4 Nov. 2008. Over 50 participants attended the Forum.

The key objective of this Forum was to update participants on key issues in the International Investment Law regime today. These include the changes in this field at the multilateral, regional and bilateral levels; issues relating to the role of development policy space and home country and investor obligations; issues relating to the link between investment agreements and climate change; and other relevant topics.

South Centre was represented by Mr. Vice Yu, Mr. Offah Obale and Mr. Khalil Hamdani.

The background papers and presentations made during the Forum are available from the South Centre website at:
http://www.southcentre.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=853&Itemid=77

Crossroads debate: how will the financial crisis affect Africa?

World markets are collapsing. Can Africa withstand the impact? What can Africa learn from the failed policies of the world's wealthiest economies?

Yash Tandon, Executive Director of the South Centre participated in the panel discussion on this issue along with other panelists, namely Colm Foy, editor of African Economic Outlook at the OECD's Development Centre and Aly-Kahn Satchu, commodity trader on the Nairobi Stock Exchange, author of Anyone Can Be Rich.

Listen to the discussion at:
http://www.rfi.fr/actuen/articles/107/article_2045.asp

African template for EPAs is endorsed – with recommendations

A continental workshop on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between European and African countries held at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, ended with the endorsement of proposals towards an African template for EPA negotiations. The discussion of the proposals, which were drafted by the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC), was one of the key agenda items at the workshop, under the theme "Reaping the benefits of the EPAs".

South Centre was represented in this workshop.


More information: http://www.entrepreneurnewsonline.com/2008/11/african-template-for-epas-is-endorsed-with-recommendations.html

Financial Crisis: Collapse of an ideology

According to the South Centre, the global economic system is at a turning point, and the need to rethink the Financing for Development (FfD) concepts proposed by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) is becoming increasingly apparent. It is unlikely that leaders from the North and South will rise to this challenge when they meet for the UN conference on development finance in Doha later this month.

Available at: http://www.inwent.org/ez/articles/082661/index.en.shtml

South Centre calls for Revamping the Global Financial Architecture

Statement by Board Members of the South Centre

The financial crisis has shown how dysfunctional the current international financial architecture is to manage the global economy of today, with its myriad of interconnections through which financial turmoil spreads across the world and with its revealed and significant regulatory deficit. In the 1980s, the debt crisis in Latin America, Africa and other parts of the developing world, and in the late 1990s the succession of the Asian, Russian and Latin American crises, had already revealed that something was deeply wrong with that architecture. The industrial world did not understand the need for serious rethinking of the governance of global finance.The fact that this time developed countries are at the center of the storm may now lead them into action.

More information at: http://www.southcentre.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=871&Itemid=1

LIVE @ Al Jazeera TV (with Riz Khan) : Dr. Yash Tandon, South Centre

Dr. Yash Tandon, Executive Director, South Centre appeared as a panelist on Riz Khan's Live show at Al Jazeera on 23 rd October 2008 on financial crisis.

Dr. Tandon provided a commentary on Africa's growth strategy and the need to end aid dependence. He also fielded several question from the viewers on the development path to be followed by Africa and the steps Africa must take to get out of aid dependence.

Briefing on Global Financial Crisis and Possible Multilateral Responses to Systemic Issues

South Centre in partnership with G77 and UNCTAD will hold a briefing on the Global Financial Crisis and especially how it relates to the Doha FFD Review Conference and Beyond. The briefing will be held on 31 October 2008, 10:00-13:00, Room XXV, Palais des Nations, Geneva.

The meeting will be chaired by Ambassador Chipasaka Chipaziwa, G77 Chair -Geneva.

For more information and the agenda, go to: http://www.southcentre.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=863&Itemid=77

South Centre @ International Forum on Climate Change Policy, Korean Environment Ministry, Seoul

Mr. Vice Yu, Coordinator, Global Governance for Development Programme, made a presentation on "MRV for developing countries and its linkages to mitigation actions, technology, financing and capacity-building" on at the International Forum on Climate Change Policy organized by the Korean Environment Ministry, from 29 Sep to 3 Oct. 2008

Read related paper "Measurable, Reportable, and Verifiable: Using the UNFCCC's Existing MRV Mechanisms in the Context of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long Term Cooperative Action under the Convention" available from
http://www.southcentre.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=633&Itemid=1

South Centre @ Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Meeting on an African EPA Template - Addis Ababa

The South Centre was invited to an Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) meeting on EPAs entitled ‘African Workshop on Economic Partnership Agreements – the benefits of the EPAs: Taking Stock of the Interim Agreements to ensure African Countries Reap the Benefits of the EPAs’

The meeting took place on 8 – 10 October 2008 in Addis Ababa. Those attending the meeting included many government negotiators based in capitals but also in Brussels.

The meeting was essentially an attempt to respond to an African Heads of States request for a template for Africa in the EPA negotiations. As such, the ECA invited a number of experts to address various issues raised in the interim EPA agreements, and also to provide ideas and comments in the discussions on an African EPA template.

The presentations made by the South Centre by Ms. Aileen Kwa and Mr. Offah Obale at the workshop are available from: http://www.southcentre.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=858&Itemid=77

Seminar on "New thoughts on Aid"

Dr. Yash Tandon, Executive Director of the South Centre participated made a presenation at the seminar on "New thoughts on Aid" organized by the Freedom of Expression Foundation, Oslo on 3 October 2008.

The Seminar addressed important issues associated with the aid industry, mainly why aid is not more effective, how aid is viewed by recipient countries, and what the future of aid might look like.

The seminar was organized by Asle Toje, an advisor to Norway's Progress Party, a political party that is critical of current aid practices.

The seminar was filled to capacity; representatives from all the major players in Norwegian aid were in attendance.

Global Financial Meltdown: the West and the Rest

The debt-financed US-led global economy is crumbling. What lessons can the leaders of the South learn from the present meltdown of the Western capitalist system?

The first lesson, surely, is that contrary to mainstream thinking, the market does not have a self-corrective mechanism. In the present crisis the "market makers" are watching nervously from the sideline as the Congress and the politicians huddle together to see how to bail out the banks. The leaders of the South have been instructed in innumerable reports and policy recommendations by "experts" from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as well as Northern politicians that they should let their economies be ruled by the market.

South Centre organises Training Workshop for new Developing Country Delegates on Intellectual Property

(Click here to read the South FACE produced of the "Second South Centre International Symposium: Examining Intellectual Property Enforcement from a Development Perspective" held on 16th September 2008).

On 9 October 2008, South Centre organized a Training Workshop for new Developing Country Delegates on Intellectual Property.

The training session was aimed at providing developing country delegates, particularly newly-posted colleagues in Geneva, with a holistic overview of the current multilateral negotiations and other processes on intellectual property. The training was intended to allow delegates to understand and relate the current agendas and discussions on the subject of intellectual property in key multilateral organizations in Geneva and elsewhere. These include Geneva-based organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as the World Customs Organization (WCO) based in Brussels, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) based in Paris, and related processes such as the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Treaty (ACTA).

Over 50 participants from various developing country mission benefited from this training and encouraged South Centre to hold such training programmes regularly.

Click here for more information on agenda and speakers.

Yasuni-ITT Initiative of Ecuador

Ambassador Francisco Carrion, as Personal Representative of the President of Ecuador to the Yasuni-ITT Initiative visited the South Centre on 10 September 2008 along with Ambassador Mauricio MontalvoPermanent Representative of Ecuador to the United Nations and other International Organizations – Geneva.

Yasuni-ITT Initiative is aimed at strengthening the Ecuadorian efforts to contribute for the mitigation of climate change by avoiding the exploitation of fossil fuels.

US Farm Bill: Agriculture-related policy making in the US

On 23 September, South Centre through its trade for development programme organized jointly with ForumDemocracy, an NGO-Think tank based in Washington DC, a meeting with some agriculture and dispute settlement delegations on agriculture-related policy making in the US.

The 2 experts Robert Stumberg and Peter Riggs made a presentation on two aspects of the Farm Bill:

1. New provisions in the 2008 U.S. Farm Bill that should be analyzed in the context of WTO compatibility and WTO negotiations
2. What's already been adjudicated on cotton?

Over 20 delegates participated in the meeting which covered several topics, including among others, key components and sectors protected under the Farm Bill and the link between negotiations on reduction of subsidies and current US support levels.

Ms. Aileen Kwa, Coordinator of the Trade for Development Programme chaired the meeting.

Legal aspects of climate change-related border measures

On 10 September, South Centre hosted an expert meeting on the legal aspects of climate change-related border measures. A small group of almost 15 experts were present for this meeting organized by "Climate Strategies" group.

Integrating human rights in financing for development

Mr. Vice Yu, Coordinator - Global Governance for Development, South Centre presented his views on "Enhancing The Coherence And Consistency Of The International Monetary, Financial And Trading Systems In Support Of Development" at the workshop on Integrating human rights in financing for development.

The workshop was organized by th eOffice of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in conjunction with the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Network (ESCR-Net) and the Center of Concern (CoC) in Geneva from 15-17 September 2008.

Working Lunch meeting on WIPO Assemblies

South Centre, through its Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme (IAKP) organized a working lunch for the Geneva delegates of developing countries in advance of the WIPO General Assembly from 22 to 30 September 2008.

Among other agenda items, areas which South Centre will be tracking as an intergovernmental observor at WIPO include:

• Report on the sessions of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP)
• Report on the Work of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), including the Protection of Audiovisual Performances and Protection of the Rights of Broadcasting Organizations
• Report on the Work of the Advisory Committee on Enforcement (ACE), and the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights
• Progress Report on the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC)
• Report on the Work of the Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP)

issues, the WIPO General Assembly will be considering the progress of the WIPO Development Agenda when discussing the outcome of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP).

Ending Aid Dependence Book Launched at Accra High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness

South Centre launched its publication "Ending Aid Dependence" at a side event to the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra, Ghana on 1st September 2008.

The book is authored by Dr. Yash Tandon, Executive Director, South Centre and the foreword is written by H.E Benjamin W. Mkapa, President of Tanzania (1995-2005).

About The Book
Developing countries reliant on aid want to escape from this dependence, and yet they appear unable to do so. This book shows how the developing countries can liberate themselves from the aid that pretends to be developmental but is not. Exiting aid dependence should be at the top of the political agenda of all countries.

For more information, please go to: http://www.aidexit.org/

EPAs and Competition Policy

Fostering Trade through Public-Private Dialogue

Mr. Darlan F. Marti, Programme Officer, Trade for Development Programme, South Centre made a presentation on EPAs and Competition Policy in the Public Private Dialogue for the East and Southern African countries, focusing on the business implications of negotiations on Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union and issues relating to regional integration.

The Dialogue was organized by the International Trade Centre (ITC), in partnership with the Commonwealth Secretariat in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 9-10 September 2008. This regional dialogue encompasses the participation of the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) Community i.e.Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

South Centre on Air @ "Radio Cité", Geneva

Celina Inones, Head of the Translation Unit appeared on air on the Radio Cité FM Station, Geneva. She spoke about South Centre and its various activities in French in their morning programme on current affairs on 29 August 2008.

Pan-African Parliament Session and SADC EPA Services Workshop

Mr. Offah Obale and Mr. Darlan F. Marti, Programme Officer, Trade for Development Programme, South Centre participated in the the SADC EPA services workshop and the Pan-African Parliament session from August 25-28.

The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) requested the South Centre to prepare and present two papers on "The Impact of Free Trade Agreements in National Policy Space and Development Prorities - Case of The Economic Partnership Agreements". The tiltle of the of the papers presented by the South Centre during the session were: What Are the EPAs, What Consequences Might They Have and Where Do They Stand by Darlan Marti, and Liberalisation of African Services Markets in the EPAs by Offah Obale.

International Workshop on India’s Development Cooperation – Opportunities and Challenges

Dr. Yash Tandon, Executive Director of the South Centre was a Commentator for the session on "India’s development cooperation with African countries and its contribution for the future
international development agenda" in the International Workshop on India’s Development Cooperation – Opportunities and Challenges in Bonn, Germany.

The workshop was organized by the German Development Institute on 27th August 2008.

Formulation of West Africa's EPA market access offer to the EU

Mr. Darlan Marti, Programme Officer, Trade for Development Programme participated in workshop organized by the commission and secretariat of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and West Africa's Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) on 4 and 5 August 2008 in Dakar, Senegal for the validation of a regional list of sensitive products with a view to preparing the West Africa's EPA market access offer to the EU.

The workshop built upon the work of national committees entrusted with the identification of agricultural and manufacturing sensitive products in West Africa's member states.

The South Centre and its work to support the region in the topics of the workshop was acknowledged by the ECOWAS' Commissioner of Trade during the opening ceremony.

South Centre participates in Assilah Foundation Forum on UN Reform and South-South Cooperation

Mr. Vice Yu, Coordinator, Global Governance for Development Programme, participated in the Assilah Foundation Forum on UN Reform and South-South Cooperation from 8-11 August 2008 in Assilah, Morocco.

The Forum was a part of the 23rd session of the Moatamid Ibn Al-Abbad Summer University, organized by the Assilah Forum Foundation within the framework of the 30th International Cultural Festival of Assilah.

New York: Review Meeting of Doha Outcome Document

Irfan ul Haque, Special Advisor Finance and Development, South Centre participated in the Meeting on Preliminary Review of the Doha Outcome Document organized by the G77 and South Centre in New York on 4 August 2008.

Benjamin W. Mkapa Launches the INSouth

8 August 2008: Mr. Benjamin W. Mkapa, the former President of Tanzania and the Chairperson of the South Centre today launched the Intellectual Network for the South (INSouth) www.INSouth.org at the opening session of the Fourth South Intellectual Platform at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, on the outskirts of Geneva.

INSouth embodies an understanding, from a South perspective, of the new and emerging issues in the international arena, and the challenges and opportunities they pose for the South.
It is envisaged that the INSouth will serve as a reference point for the South for:
• Analysis of existing development paradigms, imbalances in the current global system, and the limits they pose to the development and policy space of the South
• Alternative solutions that address the development needs and priorities of the South.
• Promoting new forms of South-South and South-North cooperation.

The Network brings together intellectuals from the global South amongst policymakers, research and academia, the media, the private sector and civil society.

INSouth is currently hosted by South Centre , the Geneva-based intergovernmental policy thinktank of the developing countries.

For more details, write to Mr. Vikas Nath, Coordinator, the Intellectual Network for the South (INSouth), Geneva.

21st Meeting of the Board of the South Centre held in Geneva

6-7 August 2008: The Board Members of the South Centre convened in Geneva under the Chairmanship of the former President of Tanzania, Mr. Benjamin W. Mkapa to review the work of the South Centre.

H.E Zeine Ould Zeidane, former Prime Minister of Mauritania Visits South Centre

The immediate former Prime Minister of H.E Mauritania Zeine Ould Zeidane, and now special envoy of the President visited South Centre along with Her Excellency Mrs. Mounina Mint Abdellah, Ambassador of Mauritania to the UN Mission in Geneva on 30 July.

The meeting last over one hour and covered wide ranging issues including trade and investment, WTO Mini-Ministerial, food and energy security, climate change and South-South Cooperation.

H.E Zeidane was Prime Minister of Mauritania from 20 April 2007 to 6 May 2008. During this time he led the country's first post-transition government.

Business Daily/South Centre: Paris Declaration on aid a form of collective colonialism by donors

South Centre article authored by Yash Tandon, Executive Director, South Centre appears in Business Daily (Nairobi):

August 1, 2008: At first glance, the Paris Declaration (PD) looks benign. It recognises faults of the present system, and sets out sensible principles. Why, then, are the developing countries not all that excited? Many have signed on to the PD, but apparently without fully analysing the implications of its proposals. Meanwhile, awareness is growing among both civil-society and government actors in the developing world that not all that glitters about the PD is gold, and that underlying the declaration could be another agenda not readily transparent at first reading.

Read the complete article at:
http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9072&Itemid=5821

South Centre organizes e-Forum on Aid Effectiveness: Donor Harmonisation or Southern Discomfort?

The Third High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness will be held in Accra from 2-4 September 2008 where the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA) to strengthen the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness is expected to be endorsed by the participants. While the governments of rich nations want to streamline their aid efforts within the OECD-DAC context, those of many developing countries are less enthusiastic, and doubt the OECD High Level Forum in Accra in September will achieve much good.

This forum jointly hosted by the South Centre (South Intellectual Platform) and Fahamu will carry out discussions leading upto to the Accra meeting on the issue of "Aid Effectiveness: Donor Harmonisation or Southern Discomfort?"

The forum will run for two weeks from 8 August until 22 August 2008. Join this e-Forum by registering yourself at:
http://lists.fahamu.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/aidexit-list

WTO Mini-Ministerial: Doha Collapse because of Failure to Deliver Development

Mini-ministerial meet of 30 countries in Geneva attempting to reach an accord on liberalising markets in agriculture and industrial goods to salvage the Doha trade round collapses on day nine.

The collapse of the Doha talks illustrated a clear lack of political will on the part of the developed countries to deliver on development. From the start, the developed countries were hearing but not actually listening to the development concerns the majority in the WTO have been voicing. This continued through the past week until it became untenable to bridge the differences.

Read the entire commentary available online (in English, French and Spanish) at:
http://www.southcentre.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=664&Itemid=1

South Centre in Media: IP Rights In Standards Impede Competition, Disadvantage Developing Countries

South Centre gets reported in the IP-Watch News Service:

"The inclusion of intellectual property rights in standards also is creating an anti-competitive effect, said panellists at the 30 June seminar in Geneva, hosted by the South Centre.
While standards are established to ensure compatibility in technology to the advantage of all users at national, regional or international levels, intellectual property rights are meant to provide an exclusive use, reward innovation, and are territorial in nature, according to speakers."

Read the complete news clipping at: http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=1155

South Centre in Media: Africa: U.S. Farm Subsidies May Survive WTO Doha Round

South Centre gets mentioned in the Inter Press Service:

"According to an analysis by the non-governmental research and advocacy organisation South Centre, the NAMA 11 developing countries will have to reduce their tariffs by between 54 and 60 percent while the developed countries reduce their tariffs by only 30 percent. "

Read the complete press clipping at: http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=42939

Preparotory meeting for the WTO mini-ministerial

Prior to the beginning of the WTO mini-ministerial meeting on the modalities for the finalization of the Doha Round of negotiations, the South Centre organized a working lunch meeting on Tuesday 15 July 2008.

The objective of the meeting was to provide the South Centre's analysis of the revised agriculture text (including the proposals on the SSM) and the NAMA negotiations or text and also to look at the implications of the US Farm Bill in relation to the Doha mandate. The meeting was chaired by Ms. Aileen Kwa, Coordinator of the Trade for Development Programme, South Centre.

Implications of high food and energy prices for economic management

Ms. Luisa Rodriguez, Programme Officer, Trade for Development Programme, South Centre participated in the "Pan-Commonwealth Civil Society Consultation on the Special of the 2008 Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting" held in Castries, St. Lucia from 8 to 10 July in preparation for the 2008 Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting to be held in October.

The meeting was organized by the Commonwealth Foundation. The theme of the 2008 Meeting was "Implications of high food and energy prices for economic management".

The South Centre was requested to prepare a short paper on this topic for this meeting which was authored and presented by Ms. Rodriguez.

Working Lunch on IP Enforcement Issues and WCO

On 8 July 2008, South Centre's Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme (IAKP) organized a Working Lunch for delegations of developing countries.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss three ongoing IP enforcement issues: (i) Update on the recent Decision concerning SECURE made at World Customs Organization (WCO) Policy Commission and Council; (ii) Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA); (iii) Universal Postal Union - WCO on protection of IPR and detection of counterfeit and pirated items.

Mr. Henrique Moraes, the Brazilian delegate based in Brussels, made key interventions on various issues, including among others, those connected with procedural regularity, outcomes of past three meetings, negotiation strategies and tactics, coordination problems at the domestic level, and issue of representation through regional blocks.

The meeting was chaired by Dr. Xuan LI, Coordinator of Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme.

South Centre participates in Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized seminar on International Seminar on Trade and Climate Change

Darlan Marti, Programme Officer, Trade for Development Programme, participated in the International Seminar on Trade and Climate Change organised by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with IISD and ICTSD in Copenhagen from 18-20 June 2008.

South Centre participates in SIPID III in Brazil

South Centre participated in the 3rd SIPID Conference held in Rio de Janeiro on 19-20 June 2008 on patents, innovation and development. The theme this year was on "AS DIMENSÕES ECONÔMICA, JURÍDICA E SOCIAL DA PROPRIEDADE INDUSTRIAL."

Ms. Viviana Munoz Tellez, Programme Officer with Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme (IAKP), made a presenation on "the Changing Structure and Governance of Intellectual Property Enforcement" based on research carried out within the South Centre on this issue.

Working Lunch on WIPO Standing Committee on Patents (SCP)

On 18 June 2008, South Centre's Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme (IAKP) organized a Working Lunch for delegations of developing countries. The purpose of the working lunch was to coordinate and prepare for the upcoming meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Standing Committee on Patents (SCP).

The key issues that the SCP will be discussing in the session to take place from 23-27 June 2008 will be: 1) Review of the WIPO Report on the Patent System (SCP/12/3)
2) The future work plan of the SCP

The meeting was chaired by Dr. Xuan LI, Coordinator of Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme.

South-North Dialogue of Food and Energy Security opens in Geneva, 17 June 2008

South Centre and the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Indonesia in Geneva organized this joint event to assess the underlying causes and policy dilemmas related to energy security, food security and livelihood security and multilateral responses required to correct the systemic issues.

H.E I Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja, Charge d'Affairs, Permanent Mission of Indonesia to Geneva and Dr. Yash Tandon, Executive Director of the South Centre provided the welcome address. Ambassador Puja stressed the need for multilateral responses to multidimensional crisis such as that of food security while Dr. Tandon laid out the systemic issues underlying food crisis and which requires a rethinking of existing development strategies.

Opening remarks were made by Mrs. Lakshmi Puri, Acting Deputy Secretary General of UNCTAD and by H.E Ambassador Juan Antonio Fernandez Ambassador of Cuba to the UN. Mrs Puri described the food crisis as an urgent wake up call in the area of development while Ambassador Antonio Fernandez illustrated the negative impact on the realization of the right to food of the worsening of the world food crisis, caused inter alia by the soaring food prices’.

Session 1: Understanding the Extent of the Problem

Mr. Josef Schmidhuber from Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reminded the audience that food prices will remain high as long as oil prices remain high.

Mr. Mbaye Ndiaye from Permanent Mission of Senegal stressed that agriculture should be high in the economic agenda at the national and intenational level and adequate resources should be mobilized to help developing countries, especially the LDCs.

Ms. Umpika Poonachit, Permanent Mission of Thailand shared the policy responses undertaken by Thailand - as a rice exporting, middle-income developing country, to tackle the food security issue.

Section 2: Causes and Possible Solutions

Ms. Teresa Cavero (Oxfam) explained how decades of wrong policy prescriptions to developing countries and forced liberalization have led to price crisis. Developing countries were forced to let agriculture fall apart and then forced to open their markets which were flooded with cheap imports. Unregulated capital and commodity markets and push towards biofuels has fueled food crisis.

Over 80 people are participating in the event from Missions to the UN of countries of the North and South in Geneva, NGOs and other development agencies.

Working lunch on IP Enforcement (WCO, ACTA and UPU)

The Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme (IAKP) of the South Centre organized a working lunch on IP Enforcement (WCO, ACTA and UPU) for the delegates of developing countries in Geneva.

A background paper prepared by South Centre was circulated during the lunch meeting. In addition, a presentation on World Customs Organization (WCO) relevant updates and issues was given by Mr. Henrique C. Moraes, Delegate, Brazilian Mission to Brussels.

Working Lunch on WTO Agriculture and NAMA Negotiations

Following the release in May 2008 of revised versions of the draft modalities texts for agricultural and NAMA WTO negotiations, the South Centre's Trade for Development Programme (TDP) drafted comments to both the texts.

On 16th June 2008, it organized a working lunch on WTO Agriculture and NAMA Negotiations to facilitate developing country delegations to analyse and respond to both the texts. Mr. Darlan Fonseca Marti and Ms. Luisa Rodriguez, Programme Officers, TDP, South Centre chaired the meeting.

Working Lunch on WCO/SECURE with respect to standards for enforcement of IP rights

A working lunch was organized by the South Centre on 11 June 2008 to discuss strategies for the upcoming meeting of the World Customs Organization (WCO) with respect to standards for enforcement of IP rights.

A presentation on possible scenarios was given by Dr. Xuan LI, Coordinator - Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme (IAKP) and also chaired the meeting.

IP Enforcement and WCO Provisional Standards Employed by Customs for Uniform Rights Enforcement (SECURE)

Dr. Xuan Li, Coordinator of the Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme (IAKP), delivered a presentation on "WCO Provisional Standards Employed by Customs for Uniform Rights Enforcement (SECURE)" at the strategy workshop on Intellectual Property and Enforcement hosted by the Open Society Foundation (OSI) in London on June 2-3, 2008.

The workshop was held in the context of a number of domestic, bi-lateral and multilateral policy agendas on intellectual property enforcement has recently been placed. Some of the proposed measures may seriously violate fundamental rights of consumers and citizens as well as inhibit the development of new, innovative (business) models for knowledge production and dissemination.

Confronting the Challenge of Technology for Development: Experiences from the BRICS

Dr. Xuan Li, Coordinator of Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme (IAKP) along with her program colleagues Yogesh Pai and Jinmin Wang participated in the Oxford Conference on "Confronting the Challenge of Technology for Development: Experiences from the BRICS" in Oxford on 29 - 30 May 2008.

Two presentations were delivered by South Centre, on "Patent Application as Indicator of the Geography of Innovation Activities: Problem and Perspectives" and on "The Innovation of SMEs and Development of Industrial Clusters in China".

For more information, please contact, Dr. Xuan Li at li@southcentre.org

South Centre in Media (Business Daily): Regional trade helps fight hunger

May 28, 2008: Regional trade agreements could not only serve to protect farmers in developing countries but could also be used for the swift distribution of food aid from neighbouring countries in times of famine.

Luisa Bernal, coordinator of the trade development programme at the South Centre in Geneva, made these remarks last week in an interview with IPS about the links between commodity dependence and development.

South Centre, together with ActionAid, recently concluded a report revealing how a few large players have secured most of the agricultural commodity business for themselves. South Centre is an intergovernmental organisation working at enhancing South-South cooperation.

Read complete news article at: http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7877&Itemid=5822

South Centre in Media: Africa: The Committed Intellectual - Reviving And Restoring the National Project

South Centre appears at AllAfrica.com:

A man or woman with no passion has no heart; one with no power of reasoning has no mind, writes Yash Tandon.

It is the combination of heart and mind that produces the balanced person who uses their mind to pursue their passion. Let us speak truth to power, but let us also speak the existential truth of our people's world to the negotiated truth of the diplomatic world. Our collective efforts, he continues, will lead to a new vision of a better world, one that is fair, just, peaceful and bountiful to all the peoples of the world.

Read the complete news article at:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200805300034.html

South Centre Participates in UNFCCC Sessions of the Subsidiary Bodies in Bonn

Mr. Vice YU, Coordinator, Global Governance for Development Programme, South Centre is in Bonn to participate in the twenty-eighth sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change taking place from 4-13 June 2008.

Working Lunch on Trade Facilitation (in advance of Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation)

South Centre organized a working lunch on trade facilitation on Thursday, 22 May 2008, from 13h00-15h00. Over 25 colleagues from the Geneva Missions participated in this meeting to discuss and brainstorm on specific proposals (with respect to GATT Articles V, VIII, and X and with respect to TACB and S&D) in advance of the meeting of the Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation that took place in Geneva from 26-30 May 2008.

Mr. Vice Yu, Coordinator- Global Governance for Development Programme, South Centre chaired the meeting and a presentation was delivered by Mr. Ram Kumar working in the same programme.

South Centre provides support to São Tomé and Príncipe the context of the Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations

Mr. Darlan F. Marti, Programme Officer, Trade for Development Programme provided support to São Tomé and Príncipe for the preparation of their market access offers on goods and services for submission to the European Union in the context of the Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations from 15 May to 22 May.

South Centre participates in the African Group Retreat on WTO Doha Negotiations

Ms. Luisa Rodriguez and Mr. Darlan F. Marti participated in the WTO African Group Seminar on Agriculture and NAMA modalities from 23-25 May 2008. The two programme officers with the Trade for Development Programme of the South Centre participated as speakers at several of the sessions of this seminar.

South Centre on Radio: Statement on "Digital Divide" and "Access to Knowledge"

On the occasion of the World Telecommunication Day, a statement was made by Dr. Xuan Li, Coordinator- Innovation and Access to Knowledge Progrmme, on "Digital Divide" and "Access to Knowledge".

The statement was dubbed in German and broadcasted on 16th May for the World Communications Day by the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation for one of their Radio programmes from 6:05pm to 6:30pm.

The digital stream of the programme is available from:

http://www.br-online.de/imperia/md/audio/podcast/import/2008_05/2008_05_16_18_35_08_podcastiq_1605_a.mp3

Policy Space and Conditionality: South Centre participates in 2nd OECD Annual Plenary on Global Forum on Development

Dr. Yash Tandon, Executive Director, South Centre addressed the Session on "Policy Space and Conditionality" at the 2nd OECD Annual Plenary on Global Forum on Development held today (2o May) in Paris. This year’s Annual Plenary of the OECD Global Forum on Development focuses on "Strengthening Country Ownership".

More information at: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/10/32/40609197.pdf

South Centre in Media (AllAfrica/Africa Focus)- Africa: UN Conference on Trade and Development

The South Centre piece on UNCTAD XII appears at (AllAfrica/Africa Focus)....

AfricaFocus (Washington, DC). "Attempts to take matters outside of the United Nations (UN), such as at G7/8 meetings or at the World Economic Forum, have not been inclusive or democratic. The UN, with all its weaknesses, is still the only multilateral intergovernmental democratic institution the world has, and UNCTAD [United Nations Conference on Trade and Development] is part of that machinery.... Unfortunately, UNCTAD seems to have been further compromised in Accra." - Yash Tandon, Executive Director, South Centre.

South Centre in Media: Equitable Development- The Risks of Inaction

Here is the recent column piece from the South Centre appearing at the Inter Press Service.

MAY 2008 (IPS/South Centre) - There is much to celebrate in the growth and development of the South in recent years, from the ability of certain Latin American countries to avoid dependence on the North to the growth of the economies of certain Asian countries whose increasing sovereign wealth is now being tapped to bail out distressed banks in the North. While there are signs of growth in Africa too, the continent is worse off than the rest of the South, writes Yash Tandon, Executive Director of the South Centre.

Complete piece is available at: http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=42330

FAO: Implementation of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources

Dr. Xuan Li, Head - Innovation and Access to Knowledge, attended the first meeting of the Capacity Building Coordination Mechanism for the implementation of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, held on 16 May 2008 in Bonn, Germany.

The meeting was aimed at establishing a platform of providers of capacity building on Treaty implementation. The platform will serve organizations involved in capacity building activities for the implementation of the Treaty as a central point for information exchange and coordination on capacity building initiatives around the world.

South Centre the only IGO Observer at the WCO/ SECURE Meeting

The World Customs Organization (WCO) held its Third Meeting of the Working Group on the Provisional Standards Employed by Customs for Uniform Rights Enforcement (SECURE) at its Headquarters in Brussels 24-25 April 2008. The meeting, largely driven by selected developed countries and private members, is an attempt to promote their TRIPS-Plus-Plus agenda on international border enforcement, i.e. voluntary international standards and best practice that exceed those established by the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), in the absence of the scrutiny of the international community.

The proposed SECURE under WCO, if adopted, will have far reaching consequences. Compared with the WTO TRIPS Agreement, the proposed SECURE standards on IP enforcement border measures represents a significant departure from TRIPS provisions in terms of scope and intensity of the border measures and member states obligations. The delicate balance under TRIPS would be broken, thus affecting the flexibilities contained in TRIPS. Compared with WIPO Development Agenda, the proposed SECURE standards tend to favor the right holders of IPRs, thus affecting the balance between the rights holders and other stakeholders, such as importers, manufacturers, consumers, for example in respect of generic pharmaceutical products, etc.

Dr. Xuan Li, Head of the Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme, South Centre, participated in the meeting. South Centre was the only intergovernmental organization of the developing countries present as an observer for the Meeting.

South Centre hosts International Trade Policy Students from University of West Indies

South Centre hosted the International Trade Policy Students, Cohort 4, Academic Year 2007-8 from the University of West Indies on 13 May 2008 at its office.

The Coordinators of the South Centre programme areas briefed the students on the various activities of the Centre, its constituency and the impact they have had.

South Centre organizes Meeting on SECURE / World Customs Organization

The South Centre organises a working lunch for its member countries in view of certain developments on issues concerning intellectual property (IP) enforcement at the World Customs Organisation (WCO). The WCO is increasingly focussing on the formation of enhanced border measures, primarily supported by G8 countries. In this connection, the third meeting of the Working Group on the provisional Standards Employed by Customs for Uniform Rights Enforcement (SECURE) in Brussels from April 24 to 25, 2008.

The meeting called for by the Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme (IAKP) of the South Centre focused on the implications and possible strategies that developing countries must adopt in making their concerns properly addressed at the WCO. Dr. Xuan Li, Coordinator of the IAKP gave a presentation on the defects in both the process and contents in WCO SECURE draft provisions. According to Dr. Li, many provisions are TRIPS-Plus, which the developed countries were trying to push hard through the back door.

The member country delegates raised serious concerns over the choice of forum on IP enforcement related issues and strongly stated that such provisions in SECURE, and WCO as a forum to discuss IP enforcement, was totally unacceptable. The need for better coordination among and within developing countries was emphasised.

South African ‘Oliver Tambo: Gold' Honour for South Centre Board Member Chief Emeka Anyaoku

Chief Emeka Anyaoku, the distinguished Board Member of the South Centre has been conferred with South Africa's highest national honour for non-South Africans, the Order of Supreme Companions of O.R. Tambo: Gold.

The honour was conferred on Chief Anyaoku by South African President Thabo Mbeki in on 22nd April 2008 in a special ceremony in Pretoria, South Africa.

South Centre and its staff members extend their heartfelt congratulations to Chief Anyaoku on this honour.

South Centre in Media: UNCTAD To Address Challenges Of Change In Africa

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

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

ECOWAS Workshop on Sensitive Products in the EPA negotiations

Ms. Luisa Rodriguez, Programme Officer, South Centre participated in the workshop to assess the process of identification, by the West African Region, of Sensitive Products in the EPA negotiations organized by the ECOWAS Commission in Bamako, Mali from 28 to 30 April 2008.

The South Centre was invited to participate in this event because of its research experience on EPAs and because of its contribution to the process of identification of Sensitive products in previous events organized by the region.

South North Dialogue Series: Building Capacities on Climate Change

South Centre brought together delegates from the developed and the developing world on Aril 16, 2008 as part of its South - North Dialogue Series (SNDS) initiative. Participants from the North included those from Norway, Switzerland, Germany and France while from the South it included delegates from Maldives, Mexico, China, Indonesia and Philippines; and some NGO's like Third World Network, ICTSD, IGSD and E3G Third Generation Environmentalism.

This SNDS initiative was aimed at strengthening the participation of developing countries in climate change negotiations and to forge an alliance with developed partners in capacity building, financing and technology transfer. The event was organized in the light of the ongoing Bangkok talks under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The perspective of the developed countries was summarized by H.E. Mrs. Marie-Louise Overvad, Ambassador of Denmark, who acknowledged the higher responsibility of the North in climate change "mitigation" and "adaptation" and its moral obligation to help developing countries counter the adverse effects of global warming.

From the South, H.E. Mr. I Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja, Ambassador of Indonesia, emphasized the importance of political partnerships and active involvement of all nations, if the hard-won victory in Bali is to survive and deliver.

Mrs. Bernarditas Muller, a senior negotiator from the Philippines (and now the G-77) on climate change and South Centre advisor, elaborated on the role of capacity strengthening as a cross-cutting issue which should be demand-driven and tailored to fit the needs of developing countries instead of simply being imported from the North experience. A lot has been achieved in Bali and political will and efforts should be channelled through the UNFCCC avenue rather than splitting resources and creating alternative venues for action.

The Event concluded with a common agreement that whatever capacity-building and financing should happen on climate change, should be under the Convention.

Working Lunch in preparation for the Third Session of the World Health Organization (WHO) IGWG

On 24 April 2008, the South Centre's Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme (IAKP) organized a working lunch for the delegates of developing countries working on the IP Issues.

The purpose of the meeting was to assist developing country delegations to share information, prepare and coordinate their participation in the upcoming third session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Intergovernmental Working Group on Innovation, Public Health and Intellectual Property Rights (IGWG) from April 28 - May 3, 2008.

The third WHO IGWG meeting is to negotiate and finalize the draft text of the Global Strategy and Action Plan to be submitted for approval to the WHA in May 2008. The aim of the Global Strategy and Action Plan is to create a medium term framework to increase research and development for developing medical products targeted at addressing the disease burden of developing countries.

Comparative analysis of liberalisation schedules and other commitments of the African interim EPAs

Mr. Darlan F. Marti, Programme Officer, Trade for Development Programme at the South Centre served as a discussant in the session on "Comparative analysis of liberalisation schedules and other commitments of the African interim EPAs" at Brussels on 17 April 2008.

The session was organized by APRODEV, ODI and ECDPM as a part of their meeting on the EPA negotiations state of play and assessment of options of the way forward.

Video - South Centre Statement at General Debate of the Twelfth Session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD-XII)

Watch the video of Dr. Yash Tandon, Executive Director of the South Centre delivering his statement "Towards National and Collective Self Reliance of the South" at the General Debate of the Twelfth Session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD-XII) on 23rd April at Accra, Ghana.

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".

Reflections on UNCTAD XII

South Centre organized an informal NGOs meeting on 23rd April 2008 to reflect on the UNCTADXII process, the challenges presented, the role played by the civil society, and future directions to take.

The meeting was well attended by several representatives of NGOs present for UNCTAD XII at Accra. There was an interest expressed in continuing with such informal meetings on the sides of key events to strategise and leverage efforts and actions.

Press Release: Six Major Challenges Ahead for UNCTAD

Read the Press Release at http://www.southcentre.org/info/2008Apr_Press_Release_UNCTAD_XII.pdf

Dr. Yash Tandon, Executive Director of the South Centre delivered his statement "Towards National and Collective Self Reliance of the South" at the General Debate of the Twelfth Session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD-XII) on 23rd April at Accra, Ghana.

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".

Whilst we have a lot to celebrate, we still confront major challenges.

According to Dr. Tandon, "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. 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. Tandon listed six major challenges where UNCTAD should direct its energies and future efforts. The challenges include:

1 Recognise that the three pillars set by the UN reform process -- security, development and human rights -- are interdependent; none can be sacrificed for the others.
2. Recognise that MDGs are not simply a statistical game of numbers, or simply one of finding money. There are difficult and complex political issues underlying them. Statistization and monetization of MDGs mask /mystify systemic and structural malaise behind these issues, and divert attention from them. Recognise that what led to Millennium Summit in 2000 and MDGs was the development failure in 1990s. That still remains the case.
3. Recognise that the Washington Consensus is dead, and therefore there is need for fresh thinking on development, financial architecture, and climate change.
4. Recognise that development is self-defined; the North cannot define it for the South.
5. Recognise that aid and charity are the wrong way towards addressing systemic and developmental issues, especially of Africa. UNCTAD must lead the way towards finding ways and means of exiting from aid dependence for the countries of the South.
6. Recognise that the UN, imperfect as it is, is nonetheless the only truly global inter governmental system we have, and the need therefore to work through it. But understand that power and access to knowledge are the key to hard-nosed negotiations.

However, difficult as they may seem, UNCTAD should be bold enough to face them as the price for not taking action is something developing countries can ill-afford. And in this effort, UNCTAD will find in the South Centre a willing ally. The South Centre makes up for its woefully limited resources with hard work and independent conceptual thinking, and enjoys the confidence of the countries of the South.

Read the complete statement at:
http://www.un.org/webcast/unctad/xii/pdf/south_centre_en.pdf

or at: http://www.southcentre.org/info/EDpage/80423_Presentation_at_UNCTAD_XII.pdf

or contact: Vikas Nath, Head - Media and Communication, South Centre at nath@southcentre.org

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.

Delegation from Central Institute of Economic Management, CIEM, Vietnam visits South Centre

The Director Ms. Hoang Thu Hoa and the Deputy Director Mrs. Tran Thi Hong Minh, Information Department, Central Institute of Economic Management, CIEM, Hanoi visited South Centre on 14 April 2008.

The key objective of the visit was to learn from the experiences of the South Centre in the field of e-learning, e-publication and information portals. Mr. Vikas Nath, Head - Media and Communication, South Centre briefed the delegation on the various innovative services initiated by the South Centre including their costs and sustainability plans, and also the strategy of South centre to bring together through a single interface access to print, electronic and internet resources relevant to the growing constituency of the South Centre.

South North Dialogue: Capacity Building in Climate Change for Developing Countries

Capacity-building for developing countries to be able to adapt to climate change will be an important component in further enhancing the global cooperative framework for action on climate change under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The key question is how best to undertake capacity-building, together with the provision of financing and technology transfer under the Convention, to strengthen participation of developing countries in meeting the developmental challenges of climate change. This is an issue which needs to be discussed in a North-South as well as South-South context and forms the theme of our upcoming South - North Dialogue Series to be held on 16 April 2008 at the South Centre from 1300 - 1530.

Please RSVP your participation to: Mrs. Shirley de Leon-Garnier, By email: deleongarnier@southcentre.org, By telephone: 022 7918055 ext. 29

Opening address will be provided by Dr. Yash Tandon, Executive Director, South Centre. Perspectives will be shared by H.E. Mrs. Marie-Louise Overvad, Ambassador of Denmark, and Ms. Reena Wilfrid-René, Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of Mauritius. Closing remarks will be provided by Mr. Vice Yu, Lead Expert on Climate Change, South Centre.

The South North Dialogue Series is an activity taken up under the South Intellectual Platform of the South Centre.

For further details on the event, see the Events section at http://www.southcentre.org

South Centre participates in African Group Health Workshop organized by the African Union

Dr. Xuan Li Coordinator of Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme (IAKP), and Ms. Marion Motari, Research Fellow, IAKP at the South Centre participated in the African Group Health Workshop organized by African Union on 11-12 April 2008 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Dr. Li gave a presentation on “IPRs, Public Health and Innovation: TRIPS Flexibilities, Technical Assistance and Way Forward” while Ms. Marion Motari’s presentation was on "Options for Sustainable Financial Mechanisms to Support Medical R&D."

South Centre in Media: Speaking existential truth to negotiated truth

South Centre gets quoted in the Trinidad and Tobago Express.

Dr Yash Tandon, Executive Director of the Geneva based South Centre challenged the intellectuals of the region to once more "speak truth to power" and to push back the now dominant economic and trade theories. The problem, as Arthur pointed out, was that no one was listening to the Caribbean any more. "In the prevailing intellectual and ideological climate, it has been virtually impossible to call upon a grand design for development, subscribed to by all." Tandon was however insistent that the region should not capitulate. "Go back into the sea,if necessary .Fight against the current. Only dead fish float back to the beaches."

Read the complete article at:
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_opinion?id=161308525

South Centre launches online course of IP and Development

South Centre in partnership with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) have launched the first e-Learning course on the theme of “Intellectual Property Policy and Development”. The online course will be run from 9 June - 25 July 2008.

the adoption of the WIPO Development Agenda, the international community and developing countries in particular will have to address various IP policy issues such as public health and patents, protection of traditional knowledge, and access to digital content. This instructor-led online course, which has been reviewed by leading academics and policy makers, will provide participants from the South and North with the necessary background knowledge to address IP policy issues in various areas such as public health, agriculture, traditional knowledge, and digital and internet content.

The course is FREE for delegates and government officials from South Centre member countries. - USD 150 for other participants/institutions from South Centre member countries, and for all participant/institutions from Goup of 77 member countries which are not South Centre member countries.- USD 400 for all other participants/institutions.

UNCTAD XII Side Event: Trade, Commodities and Development: Perspectives on a Development Agenda in Commodities Trade

South Centre in partnership with Action Aid International is organizing a side event to the UNCTADXII conference in Accra, Ghana on 19 April 2008 from 12:30pm-3pm at the International Conference Centre.

The side event "Trade, Commodities and Development: Perspectives on a Development Agenda in Commodities Trade" will be chaired by Mr. Benjamin Mkapa, former President of Tanzania and Chairman of the South Centre.

The key objective of the event is to highlight the importance of taking action to address the problems linked to commodity dependence in developing countries, especially Africa. For more information about the event, the Agenda and the background documents in English, French and Spanish, please visit:
http://www.southcentre.org/Events/2008/2008Apr_UNCTADXII_Side_Event_19April.htm

or
http://www.unctadxii.org/en/Programme/Other-Events/Parallel-and-Side-Events/South-Centre-side-event/Key-Issues/

High Level Technical Meeting on EPAs: The Way Forward for the ACP

Ms. Luisa Rodriguez and Mr. Darla F. Marti, Programme Officers, Trade for Development Programme at the South Centre participated in the high-level technical meeting on EPAs organized by the Commonwealth Secretariat (UK) in Cape Town, South Africa from April 7-8, 2008.

Ms. Rodriguez gave a presentation on "Safeguards in EPAs" while Mr. Marti's presentation was on "EPA provisions regarding the Competition Policy."

The overall agenda of the meeting was to undertake a comprehensive stocktaking of EPAs that have been concluded in order to provide countries with an objective and accurate assessment of the content, character and implications of the various agreements that will help guide and inform their policy choices.

Decision-Making in the Global Trading System

Mr. Vice Yu, Coordinator - Global Governance for Development Programme (GGDP) made a presentation on "Developing Country Coalitions in the WTO" at the the event "Decision-Making in the Global Trading System" organized by the Swiss National Centre of Competence on 11 April 2008 in Research in Bern, Switzerland

South Centre launches online course of IP and Development

South Centre in partnership with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) have launched the first e-Learning course on the theme of “Intellectual Property Policy and Development”. The online course will be run from 9 June - 25 July 2008.

With the adoption of the WIPO Development Agenda, the international community and developing countries in particular will have to address various IP policy issues such as public health and patents, protection of traditional knowledge, and access to digital content. This instructor-led online course, which has been reviewed by leading academics and policy makers, will provide participants from the South and North with the necessary background knowledge to address IP policy issues in various areas such as public health, agriculture, traditional knowledge, and digital and internet content.

The course is FREE for delegates and government officials from South Centre member countries. - USD 150 for other participants/institutions from South Centre member countries, and for all participant/institutions from Goup of 77 member countries which are not South Centre member countries.- USD 400 for all other participants/institutions.

African Union Ministerial Conference on Trade and Finance

Dr. Yash Tandon, Executive Director of the South Centre is attending the Conference of the African Ministers of Trade and Finance taking place at the Conference Centre of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 1 - 3 April 2008. The meeting is being held in two phases. The Meeting of the Senior Officials will hold from 1-2 April 2008, followed by the Ministerial Meeting on 3rd April 2008.

The Conference of the African Ministers of Trade and Finance will dwell on the following issues: Panel Discussion on the Assessment of Interim Economic Partnership Agreements; the state of the EPA negotiations and that of the WTO negotiations; Operationalisation of Aid for Trade; Harmonisation of EPA texts and Monitoring and Evaluation of the implementation of EPAs;

Regarding the state of the EPA negotiations, the representatives of the five African Negotiating groups will present up to date reports on the status of the EPA negotiations. The focus will be on the main areas of divergences with the EU. The negotiating groups would also inform the meeting on the approach to be used in the continuation of the negotiations with the EC.

Press Release: New Voting Formula at IMF Falls Short of Bringing Genuine Change

Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cautiously backed plans for some redistribution of voting power among its 185 member countries.

Dr. Yash Tandon, Executive Director of the South Centre, a Geneva-based intergovernmental thinktank for developing countries, said that "the proposed changes with respect to votes in the IMF as a result of a new voting formula – while positive in recognizing the need for such changes – do not however go far enough to remedy the governance imbalance in the IMF. What is being proposed is too little and preserves developed country control over the IMF. To be genuine about sharing governance power in terms of votes, the increase should be much more.

Genuine IMF governance reform will not occur simply through marginal increases of voting rights. The real issue is how developing countries can have a stronger ‘voice’ in IMF governance and actually shaping how the institution is run. This means that other aspects of IMF governance must also be dealt with – e.g. enhancing developing country collective action and voice in the IMF by making the constituency system more representative and strengthening the multilateral and developing country institutions that support them."

See South Centre press release at: http://www.southcentre.org/info/news_views/IMF_Voting_Rights_1April08.pdf

See quote appearing in the article "IMF governance renovations: fresh paint while foundations rot" by Bretton Woods Project: http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/art-561041

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.

'We will all live to regret it', Professor Girvan warns that EPA could widen inequalities among Caricom states

LEADING Caribbean scholar of the political economy, Professor Norman Girvan, has said the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the CARIFORUM group and the European Commission could create wide inequalities among Caricom member states and fragment the Community.

Addressing the closing session of the ninth annual Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) conference at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Friday evening, Girvan called the EPA "an agreement we will all live to regret at a time not too far into the future".

The EPA, which was brokered last December, gives Caribbean countries duty and quota free access in goods (with the temporary exception of rice and sugar) and services to EU, and is supposed to be the replacement for preferential trade agreements.

Read the complete article at:
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20080329T180000-0500_134009_OBS__WE_WILL_ALL_LIVE_TO_REGRET_IT__.asp

Professor Norman Girvan, Member of the South Centre Board, Honoured

This year's Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) conference was held in honour of Professor Norman Girvan, from 26th to 28th March, under the theme, 'Reinventing the political economy tradition of the Caribbean’ at the Mona’s Visitors Lodge, University of West Indies, Mona.

Dr. Girvan is a Professorial Research Fellow at the Institute of International Relations, University of West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and also a member of the Board of the South Centre. Dr. Girvan is well known in the Caribbean region for his scholarship and public advocacy in a wide range of issues of Caribbean development and integration. Dr. Girvan combines an academic background with experience in government and international organizations.

19 young professionals from China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Egypt, Indonesia and South Africa visit South Centre

South Centre hosted 19 young professionals from China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Egypt, Indonesia and South Africa who formed a part of the "Managing Global Governance” programme of the German Development Institute (DIE) in Bonn for a briefing session on the programmes and activities of the South Centre.

The briefing was held on 28th March (Friday) at the South Centre and presentations were given by the coordinators of Trade for Development Programme (TDP), Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme (IAKP) and the Information and Outreach Programme.

Political scholars charged to report the real, non-diplomatic truth to govts

Academics, especially political economy scholars, must not be afraid to tell governments real, non-diplomatic truths, according to Dr Yash Tandon, executive director of the South Centre in Geneva, Switzerland.

"We who research, write and critique have an obligation, in my view, to speak truth to power, to say how things are and how they should be from the vantage point of some distance from political power and authority," Tandon said.

He was speaking at the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Studies' (SALISES) ninth annual conference at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Wednesday night. He said the challenges some Caribbean intellectuals have made to the Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the CARIFORUM group, was a case in point.

Read the complete article at:
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20080328T190000-0500_133979_OBS_POLITICAL_SCHOLARS_CHARGED_TO_REPORT_THE_REAL__NON_DIPLOMATIC_TRUTH_TO_GOVTS.asp

International Investment Agreements and the Exercise of National Policy Space

South Centre organized a working lunch event on "International Investment Agreements and the Exercise of National Policy Space" on 20 March from 1 pm -3pm.

Ms. Anna Joubin-Bret, Senior Legal Advisor, International Arrangements Section (IAS), Division on Investment, Technology and Enterprise Development (DITE), UNCTAD was the lead speaker. During her presentation, she elaborated upon the recent experiences of developing countries with respect to investment agreements contained in both bilateral investment treaties and other treaty arrangements, in particular providing Bolivia's experience as a case study.

Discussions followed on global trends in relation to international investment agreements and the development policy space issues and implications of such agreements for developing countries.

The event was organized by the Global Governance for Development Programme of the South Centre.

The Multilateral Trading System, the Doha Round and Regional Trade Agreements

Luisa Rodriguez, Programme Officer with the Trade for Development Programme, South Centre delivered a presentation on relationship between trade and development at the conference on "The Multilateral Trading System, the Doha Round and Regional Trade Agreements: Perspectives and Challenges for Mexico and Central American Countries" organized by the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation and the WTO Secretariat from 3-5 March 2008 in Mexico.

Reflections on Formulating Chinese National Intellectual Property Strategy

The sixth South Innovation Perspective Series (SIP) was organized today by the South Centre at the Palais des Nations. The keynote speaker to this event "Reflections on Formulating Chinese National Intellectual Property Strategy" was Dr. ZHANG Qin, Deputy Commissioner, State Intellectual Property Office, China & Standing Deputy Director General of National IP Strategy Formulation Leading Group Office.

The commentators to this event were Prof. Dominique Foray, Director, Chair of Economics and Management of Innovation and Dean of the College of Management of Technology at EPFL, Lausanne and Mr. Kiyoshi Adachi, Legal Officer, Intellectual Property Team, Policy Implementation Section, UNCTAD.

The event was chaired by Dr. Xuan LI, Coordinator of the Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme (IAKP) at the South Centre.

South FACE produced for this event will become available soon.

Continuing Challenge on Development and Climate Change Beyond Bali

The recent edition of Roundup published an article written by Mr. Vice Yu, Coordinator of the Global Governance for Development Programme. The article draws on his reflections of the outcomes of the 13th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Bali, Indonesia.

``....The Bali talks were also notable in being the forum in which the United States, as a result of pressure from the other UNFCCC Parties (especially developing countries) and in the full view of the international public, NGOs, and media, was pulled into joining a consensus that it had strenuously resisted and sought to water down. This might mean that the US would then be seriously engaged in the post-2012 UNFCCC process...``

Read the complete article at:
http://www.un-ngls.org/site/IMG/pdf/RU131.pdf