The WIPO Negotiations on the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions Move Towards Clearer Objectives for the International Instrument
By Dr. Viviana Munoz Tellez
The 53rd session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) in September 2026 moved past a long textual standstill by agreeing to changes to the draft texts on traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, including a new proposed formulation of objectives. This progress reflects growing alignment among the African Group, the Asia-Pacific Group, the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC) and Indigenous Peoples and local communities, with the Like-Minded Countries playing an important role as a cross-regional group. Building greater convergence among them, in particular on the obligations the instrument will create, will be important ahead of the 2027 WIPO Assemblies.
Modern for Whom? Interrogating the New Generation of EU – Africa Economic Partnership Agreements
SEATINI & South Centre Regional Webinar
Wednesday, 7 October 2026, 2-3:30 PM EAT/3-4:30 PM CEST
Venue: Zoom
An African-led discussion on the enhanced EU–ESA4 EPA and what the new generation of EPAs could mean for Africa’s policy space, industrialisation and regional integration under the AfCFTA.
Beyond Amicus Curiae: Rethinking the Role of Third-Party Participation in Investment Arbitration and Environmental Governance
By Paulina Kuehme, Lakshmi Swathi Ganti, Brian Kelly Nyaga, Mattia Semenza
Supervisor: Prof. Elena Cima
Prepared for the South Centre as part of the Geneva Graduate Institute’s LL.M. Legal Clinic Programme, International Environmental Law and Governance Stream
This document examines third-party participation in Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), with a particular emphasis on environmental considerations. It investigates how to ensure procedural fairness and enable meaningful involvement of affected communities in cases concerning environmental protection. The study assesses the scope and challenges of such participation, including the ability to present evidence and legal arguments related to environmental impacts. It also explores the potential role of third-party involvement in shaping counterclaims against investors for environmental damage, and its possible influence in mitigating compensation by introducing arguments and evidence related to environmental costs. Through this analysis, the project aims to support a more balanced and sustainable ISDS framework – one that protects both investors and the environment – while fostering community empowerment and strengthening accountability for environmental harm.
Statement by the South Centre to the Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on the WHO Pandemic Agreement, Eight Session (IGWG8)
Geneva, 14 September 2026
Our statement to WHO IGWG8 calls for a Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) system that makes equity enforceable.
The statement urges negotiators to secure:
Standard, legally binding contracts with WHO that link access to benefit-sharing commitments.
Real-time set-asides and donations of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, alongside non-exclusive licensing and transfers of technology and know-how.
Monetary contributions from entities that commercialize products or services developed using PABS materials or sequence information.
Legal certainty, traceability and accountability.
The South Centre cautions that a “hybrid” architecture offering access through two routes, with benefit-sharing obligations attached to only one, would make benefit sharing a choice for some users, and hence is not a viable proposition.
We also think a federated workbench model discussed in informal negotiations merits further consideration.
For the WHO Pandemic Agreement to deliver on equity, access and benefit sharing must stand on an equal footing.
Intellectual property and the green technology divide: barriers, policy spaces and collective options for developing countries
By Paulo Esteves
Developing countries are expected to industrialise, decarbonise, and adapt to climate change simultaneously. Yet, many crucial climate technologies remain inaccessible because key knowledge is protected by patents and trade secrets held by multinational companies in a few countries. Drawing on the intellectual property (IP) and climate literature, the paper maps this green technology IP landscape and synthesises four interacting barrier clusters – access costs, transaction costs, legal and institutional constraints (including TRIPS and “TRIPS plus”), and information and absorptive capacity gaps – that hinder diffusion and reinforce dependence. It concludes that closing the green technology divide requires a combined strategy: using and defending TRIPS flexibilities (e.g., compulsory licensing and tighter patentability standards), building collective licensing and transparency mechanisms (such as patent pools), mobilising finance, and investing in domestic capability and competition policy so access translates into real deployment and learning.
South Centre Inputs on Workstream III on dispute prevention and resolution (Co-Leads’ Draft Protocol on the Prevention and Resolution of Tax Disputes)
24 August 2026
The South Centre supports the development of an effective multilateral framework for the prevention and resolution of tax disputes. The Protocol should reflect the different capacities of States and provide sufficient flexibility for broad participation.
The Protocol should contain sufficient legal and procedural detail to provide a legal basis for mechanisms where none currently exist and to ensure coherence with mechanisms available under existing instruments. As such, the protocol itself should establish who can invoke it, when it applies, the obligations of competent authorities, and the relationship with existing instruments, and minimum procedural safeguards. Detailed operational procedures such as how an advance pricing arrangement (APA) or joint audit is conducted or mediator is appointed should be addressed through accompanying guidance issued by the Parties to the Protocol.
The protocol should cover the broad range of dispute-prevention mechanisms, but none should be mandatory, to allow flexibility given different State capacities.
The Mutual Agreement Procedures (MAPs) could constitute the core mechanism for the resolution of tax disputes under the Protocol, as it has a well-established basis in international tax practice.
The Protocol should not establish mandatory arbitration. Any arbitration mechanism, if retained, should be expressly voluntary and based on the consent of all competent authorities concerned.
The timelines provided in the protocol should be indicative rather than hard deadlines.
The protocol should provide for capacity building and technical assistance for the implementation.
South Centre Inputs on Workstream II on Taxation of Services (Co-Lead’s Draft Protocol on the Taxation of Income from Cross-Border Services)
26 August 2026
The South Centre welcomes the Draft Protocol on the Taxation of Income from Cross-Border Services and submits the following comments:
Scope: Cover all cross-border services broadly, not limiting it to technical and digital services alone, to avoid fragmentation.
Optionality: No reservations on key substantive provisions (Articles 5, 6, 7, 9); reservations permitted only for non-key administrative/procedural matters (e.g., rates, timelines).
Article 1. Subject to tax rule can apply to cross-border services income within Protocol scope, with the statutory rate fixed in the Protocol; extend paragraph 4’s residence state preservation to Articles 5–11.
Taxes covered: Exclude excise taxes.
Define “beneficial owner,” “payer,” “payment,” and “special relationship“; as applied in Articles 5 and 6.
The automated digital services list in Article 6(4) should be expressly non-exhaustive.
The protocol should provide guidance on nexus and revenue-sourcing rules under Articles 5 and 6, particularly for remote/data-driven monetization with no direct in-country payment.
The protocol should broaden “physical presence” beyond employees/agents and provide guidance on profit-allocation methods, including simplified profit allocation approaches under Article 9.
Existing treaties: Where inconsistent with an existing treaty, the Protocol should ideally automatically override the relevant provisions. However, in case treaty-by-treaty renegotiation is preferred, then the Protocol should trigger mandatory renegotiation within a defined timeframe aligned with Article 21 of the Framework Convention.
Implementation: In case the option of treaty-by-treaty renegotiation is chosen, then implementation can be done by a UN Fast-Track Instrument to streamline bilateral treaty alignment.
South Centre Inputs on Workstream I – Co-Lead’s Zero Draft of UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation
26 August 2026
Fair allocation of taxing rights should include nexus factors based on OR rather than AND, should specify methods of allocation and be de-linked from the objective of avoiding double taxation.
Conference of State Parties (COSP) should be the supreme body for administering the Framework Convention (FC) and the Protocols and any other instruments it produces, be able to undertake any actions required to achieve the objectives of the FC, and should be able to make decisions by simple majority vote.
Amendments to the FC and adoption of the FC’s Protocols should also be by simple majority.
All Parties to the FC and its Protocols should make regular and mandatory contributions. This is essential for the success of the UNFCITC. Sustained non-payment should result in denial of voting rights, as is currently the practice in the UN General Assembly under Article 19 of the UN Charter.
The commitment to align existing tax treaties, domestic law and other instruments with the FC and its Protocols should not be request-triggered, and the COSP should determine a timeline by when it will be done.
The COSP shall take measures to ensure that no Party to the FC is prevented from implementing the Convention, its Protocols and any other instruments adopted by the COSP.
The Growing Centrality of UNDROP in the International Governance of the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas
By Raffaele Morgantini
The UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) is increasingly becoming a key normative and political tool for transforming food and agricultural systems, particularly in the Global South. In a context of growing corporate concentration, commodification, and external dependencies, UNDROP provides a framework for strengthening peasants’ rights, food sovereignty, and democratic control over rural development.
Its growing influence results from both grassroots appropriation by peasant and rural organizations and its progressive integration into international and national legal frameworks. UN human rights mechanisms, courts, legislatures and public institutions are increasingly using UNDROP to interpret rights and develop policies concerning land, seeds, food, health, climate, and rural livelihoods. Recent developments in countries such as Honduras, Colombia, Kenya, Ecuador, and Brazil illustrate this shift towards practical implementation.
For the Global South, UNDROP offers a strategic opportunity to strengthen food and agricultural sovereignty, support agroecological pathways, protect biodiversity and traditional practices, and reduce dependence on concentrated global markets. Its effective implementation requires sustained political mobilization, institutional commitment and greater cooperation among States, human rights bodies, legal practitioners and rights holders.
ADVANCING THE RIGHT TO HEALTH AND GLOBAL HEALTH EQUITY THROUGH THE UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW
Co-organized by the Global Center for Health Diplomacy and Inclusion (CeHDI) and South Centre
8 September 2026
4:00 to 6:00 pm
Followed by a cocktail
Kyoto Building, 3rd Floor, Chemin du Pommier 42, 1218 Le Grand Saconnex
(also online)
This Ambassadorial Dialogue will bring together ambassadors, senior diplomats, UN agencies, and global health experts to exchange views, in a spirit of South-South cooperation, on how the UPR can serve as a practical mechanism for advancing the right to health and promoting global health equity. The dialogue will bridge work at the Human Rights Council and the World Health Organization, at a decisive moment for the Pandemic Agreement and equitable access to health products. The event will launch the South Centre Toolkit on Leveraging the UPR to Advance the Right to Health of Women and Girls, and present CeHDI’s Health and Rights Observatory, a digital platform for analysing UPR health outputs and tracking right to health commitments, both designed for direct use by delegations.
