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

Delegation from the Chinese National Intellectual Property Strategy Organisation (NIPSO) visits South Centre

A delegation from the National Intellectual Property Strategy Organisation (NIPSO) of China visited the South Centre on 12 March 2008. The delegation was headed by Dr. ZHANG Qin, Deputy Commissioner, State Intellectual Property Office and the Standing Deputy Director General of National IP Strategy Formulation Leading Group Office, China.

The purpose of the visit was to exchange views and understandings on intellectual property (IP) issues, with specific focus on understanding the international dimensions of IP, and the status of IP negotiations at various international fora including the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Dr. Yash Tandon, Executive Director of the South Centre and Dr. Xuan Li, Coordinator of the Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme (IAKP), South Centre and her colleagues briefed the delegation.

South Centre makes a presentation at the High Level Segment on Development Cooperation Framework (DCF)

Dr. Yash Tandon, Executive Director of the South Centre made a presentation at the Global Preparatory Meeting "Towards the 2008 Development Cooperation Forum" held in New York on 6 March 2008. The presentation focused on the "Stakeholders Expectations for the DCF" based on the initial desk study done by the South Centre and interviews of some South government delegations and negotiators (mostly Geneva-based), IGO groups (such as G77), IGO agencies (such as FAO, IFAD, WFP in Rome), and some civil society representatives.

The meeting was organized to discuss how the 2008 DCF – as a principal forum for global policy dialogue and review of international development cooperation – would be expected to influence the processes of the Monterrey Follow-up Conference and the Accra High-level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, both of which will take place in the second half of 2008.

South Centre participates in the LDCs Ministerial Meeting in Lesotho

Luisa Bernal, Coordinator of the Trade for Development Programme of the South Centre participated in the LDCs ministerial meeting held in Maseru, Lesotho. The purpose of the meeting was to assess the current situation of the Doha round, particularly in terms of issues of particular interest to the LDCs, and contribute to strengthen the group's cohesiveness. This was the first time the group met at the Ministerial level since 2005, when ministers met right before the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference.

South Centre and the Third Global Governance School organized by the German Development Institute (DIE)

Vicente Paolo Yu, Coodinator of the South Centre's Global Governance for Development Programme, taught a course module at the Third Global Governance School organized by the German Development Institute (DIE) in Bonn, Germany from 25-26 February 2008.

The module focused on the role of the South in today's world, and looked at the development challenges, trends, prospects, and opportunities that developing countries face. The participants of the Global Governance School are young and mid-level policy professionals and researchers from government, NGO, and academic research institutions based in China, Brazil, India, South Africa, Mexico, Indonesia, and Egypt.

South-South Governance Adaptation in Multilateral Trade Institutions

Mr. Vicente Paolo Yu, Coordinator, Global Governance for Development Programme, South Centre presented his paper on "Unity in Diversity: South-South Governance Adaptation in Multilateral Trade Institutions through Coalition Building" at the Workshop on WTO Reform held on 3 March 2008 at the Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies, Geneva.

This paper was prepared under the joint research project on trade and economic global governance of the Geneva Graduate Institute for International Studies, Oxford University, and the South Centre, supported by the Geneva International Academic Network (GIAN).

South Centre participates in Geneva Brainstorming for World Economic Forum on Africa

Vikas Nath, Coordinator of the South Intellectual Platform, South Centre participated in the Geneva Brainstorming session of the World Economic Forum on Africa which will take place between 4-6 June 2008 in Cape Town, South Africa.

Mr. Nath shared the reflections emerging from the South Intellectual Platform meetings periodically organized by the South Centre on how the South is reshaping the global agenda and on the need to furthering South-South cooperation.