The South Centre Events

Webinar: Towards Justice in the International Economic Order: Proposals from the South

Webinar: Towards Justice in the International Economic Order: Proposals from the South

This webinar is a collaboration between Afronomicslaw and the South Centre, Geneva, to mark the 25th anniversary of the South Centre. Both the South Centre and Afronomicslaw share a commitment to the protection and promotion of the development interests of countries of the Global South.

The theme of the webinar “Towards Justice in the International Economic Order: Proposals from the South” reflects this shared commitment. In particular, the webinar will focus on selected initiatives proposed by the Global South. An important premise of the webinar presentations will be that the countries of the Global South are not mere spectators in the construction of the global order. Among the issues that the webinar will discuss will be access and a development-oriented approach to the WTO TRIPS Council (including the recent waiver proposal by South Africa and India on TRIPS obligations, and attempts to reframe the e-commerce and IP agenda). It will also reflect on the soon to be launched African Sovereign Debt Justice Network (AfSDJN), relating to issues of sovereign debt that have become particularly germane in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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International virtual seminar on Equity in Global Tax Regimes and Implications for the SDGs, 7 October 2020

International virtual seminar on Equity in Global Tax Regimes and Implications for the SDGs

The seminar is designed to be an introduction to two topics: (1) key issues faced by developing countries in international taxation (2) redistributing taxing rights to the Global South through the ongoing proposals on taxing the digitalized economy. The speakers will be two Members of the United Nations Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters. The seminar is organized in collaboration with The Sustainability Platform (TSP) Asia, the University of Mysore and the Indian Economic Association.

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SC Webinar Series: Powering Africa after Covid-19: Options for Energy

Webinar Series: Powering Africa after Covid-19: Options for Energy

 

Webinar 1: Carbon Trading: Panacea or Placebo for Africa’s Energy and Climate Policies?

Building on the first webinar series that took place in July 2020, this next series will focus on identifying the various energy and development options that are present for African policymakers, drawing on the policy
and technical expertise of African and international experts and policymakers.

The first webinar “Carbon Trading: Panacea or Placebo for Africa’s Energy and Climate Policies?” will investigate various perspectives about the potential use of carbon pricing and carbon trading mechanisms in Africa as part of its energy, climate and development policy mix. Experts from Africa and around the world will be invited to look into the challenges and opportunities that carbon pricing and carbon trading policies may have for Africa, drawing on previous experiences with respect to REDD+, the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism, and other experiences, and on on-going policy discussions with respect to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Invited speakers for this webinar will be from the African Development Bank, African climate change policy implementors and civil society, and European and Chinese experts in their respective carbon trading regimes.

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Webinar, 15 September 2020

SOUTH-SOUTH AND TRIANGULAR COOPERATION IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID-19

Lessons, Experiences and Insights for the Future of Development Cooperation

The world is going through an unprecedented time, grappling with the socio-economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Countries are dealing with this challenge by strengthening their healthcare systems, conducting research to find a cure or vaccine and providing social safety nets to make sure those who are vulnerable don’t suffer extreme consequences. In this context, many countries have also been helping each other through South-South and Triangular Cooperation. Stakeholders ranging from governments to bilateral cooperation agencies, private sector to civil society, have learned many lessons, enhanced their experiences and gained new insights into development cooperation.

This webinar will provide an opportunity to discuss early lessons learned and share experiences from the development cooperation scene in the context of the ongoing pandemic, while looking into specific insights about how South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTrC) has been used so far, and how it can further be strengthened to benefit development cooperation in times of severe and sudden external shocks in the future.

Join speakers from various cooperation and development agencies from across the globe and share your insights through this event!

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SC Webinar Series on Development and COVID-19

Responsible Investment for Development and Human Rights: Assessing Different Mechanisms to face Possible Investor-State Disputes from COVID-19 Related Measures

Developing and least developed countries (LDCs), particularly in Africa, are especially vulnerable to the unfolding effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to UNCTAD, foreign direct investment flows will drop drastically up to 40% during 2020-2021. A number of developed and developing countries, including LDCs, have introduced a number of measures aimed at limiting the effects of the pandemic, protecting domestic industries for strategic sectors (e.g. health industry, energy sector, telecommunication, food production, etc.), and safeguarding the real economy, particularly by offering bonds or bailouts for companies and the public in general.

Law firms and risk managers are already advising foreign investors about the possibility of initiating investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) claims against host States on the grounds of the alleged breach of their investors’ rights, based on provisions such as : (i) full protection and security; (ii) fair and equitable treatment; (iii) national treatment and most-favoured nation treatment; and (iv) unlawful expropriation.

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SC Webinar Series on Development and COVID-19

Webinar on Tax Policy Options For Funding the Post-COVID Recovery in the Global South

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected tax revenue collection globally, with the Global South especially hard-hit. The decline in economic activity has meant reduced corporate profits, declining consumption and increasing unemployment. This in turn implies declining revenue from corporate income taxes, goods and services taxes and personal income taxes. Resource-rich countries are especially being affected by the drop in global commodity prices and decline in international trade. This reduction in revenue collection is limiting developing countries’ ability to effectively respond to the COVID-19 crisis. It is therefore necessary to explore what are the concrete tax policy measures developing countries can take to raise revenue at this critical time. Measures pertaining to the digitalized economy are of particular importance given the increasing sales of tech companies and highly digitalized businesses during the lockdown.

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SC Webinar Series: Energy for sustainable development in Africa in the post-COVID19 world – looking for the New Normal

Webinar Series: Energy for sustainable development in Africa in the post-COVID19 world – looking for the New Normal

Webinar 2: Sustainable Energy for Africa: transition through growth. How to boost output, improve access and reduce impact on the nature and society? Technologies, scenarios, strategies, sources of finance and business models.

Africa, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, has generally low levels of socio-economic development and energy usage. The COVID-19 outbreak and its consequent economic downturn present additional challenges and pose questions requiring urgent answers. Success of the pandemic measures depend upon, among other elements, on a strategic vision reflecting current situation and future uncertainties; and aligning interests of all stakeholders. In order to build such strategic vision, we have invited leading experts in our webinars to facilitate information gathering and to generate ideas for further work on strategies development and stakeholders’ engagement necessary for the continent’s energy transition in the post-COVID-19 world.

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SC Webinar: Reflexiones sobre la Judicialización de la Salud en America Latina

Reflexiones sobre la Judicialización de la Salud en America Latina

Cuales son las causas de la problemática de la judicialización de la salud? Que efectos provoca sobre el sistema? Se discutira esta temática a partir del análisis de jurisprudencia y regulación en Argentina, Colombia y Ecuador.

Fecha: 23 Junio 2020

Hora: 7 pm Suiza, 2 pm Argentina, 12 pm Columbia/Ecuador

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SC Webinar – COVID19: Intellectual Property Management for Access to Diagnostics, Medicines and Vaccines

The COVID-19 Pandemic: Intellectual Property Management for Access to Diagnostics, Medicines and Vaccines

Developing countries and LDCs in particular in Africa are especially vulnerable to the unfolding effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. A priority area for global collaboration is to ensure that diagnostics, vaccines and medicines are made available, affordable and accessible worldwide. There is currently no vaccine and no proven safe and effective direct therapy for COVID-19. There is also the need to accelerate testing capacity and tools in developing countries and LDCs with increased access to low-cost diagnostics. The approach to the management of intellectual property rights by research institutions, pharmaceutical and biotech companies and R&D funders will decisively affect availability and access, as well as the transfer of technology and know-how. Governments must ensure that they have legislative and procedural frameworks in place to enable them to over-come, consistently with the TRIPS Agreement, any patent, data exclusivity and trade secret barriers to procure and produce COVID-19 diagnostics, vaccines, medicines and other therapeutics.

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