Sustainable Development

South Centre Statement for 3rd South Summit, 21-23 January 2024

Statement for the Third South Summit of the Group of 77 and China

Kampala, Uganda

21-23 January 2024

South Centre stressed that the theme of the G77 Summit ‘Leaving No One Behind ’ reflects the urgent needs and aspirations of the Global South towards meeting their Sustainable Development priorities.

The Centre highlighted the importance of South-South Cooperation for dealing with the most critical challenges of our time, eradicating poverty, healing and securing our planet, & shifting the world onto a sustainable and resilient path.

The South Centre stands ready to support developing countries and the G77+China to find common positions and mutual understanding in key areas of global governance and multilateral negotiations for effectively addressing the global crises that define our time.

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Research Paper 183, 15 September 2023

Least Developed Countries and Their Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals

By Peter Lunenborg

This Research Paper reviews Least Developed Countries’ (LDCs) collective progress on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), based on the available data on the indicators for the 169 SDG targets. It makes recommendations for LDCs and other States to consider advancing in relevant UN processes as well as the WTO’s.

LDCs made progress on 28% of the SDGs. This collective progress shows that these countries are far from achieving what were deemed achievable goals in 2015. With respect to trade-related SDGs, LDCs have not made progress on any of the five trade-related SDGs that mention LDCs specifically.

This paper does not delve into the causes of this gap, but it suggests that international cooperation and, particularly, the developed countries’ assistance, has been insufficient to address the needs of a large part of the world population that still lives in poverty and without hope of a better future. However, the Doha Programme of Action (DPoA), a development framework with targets specifically for LDCs -which overlap with SDG targets- appears to dilute several original SDG targets, in particular those in SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

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SC Contribution – Call for Inputs by UN SR on HRs & Environment, 14 June 2023

Response to the Call for Inputs by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment

Should the interests of foreign investors trump the human right to a clean,
healthy and sustainable environment
?”

South Centre

14 June 2023

To realize the right to clean, healthy & sustainable environment and reduce ISDS risks, States need to align their FDI policies with human rights, climate action and SDGs, including via reform of the international investment regime.

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SC Submission to the Global Digital Compact, April 2023

Submission to the Global Digital Compact

Apply Human Rights Online

 South Centre

 Geneva, April 2023

The South Centre’s Board approved in September 2022 its Programme of Work 2023-2025 where the policy dimensions of digital transformation are highlighted as one of the priority areas for developing countries, including the need to harness digital technologies in education, health and the production of goods and services, support the development of a domestic digital industry, improve their digital infrastructure, advance digital equity and inclusion, effectively tax the digital companies and contribute to shaping the digital governance architecture to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Following the call made in the Declaration on the Commemoration of the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the United Nations (A/RES/75/1) for improved digital cooperation, the United Nations (UN) Secretary General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation and his report ‘Our Common Future’, the South Centre submits the following written contribution to the UN Secretary General ahead to the Summit of the Future with the objective of providing support to developing countries in the intergovernmental process concerning the digital transformation.

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SouthViews No. 246, 5 April 2023

Preserving Regulatory Space for Sustainable Development in Africa

By Roslyn Ng’eno

Investment has an important role for achieving sustainable development in developing countries. Although international investment agreements (IIAs) can serve as instruments to promote such objective, protection oriented IIAs have undermined the ability of States to regulate in the benefit of the community. Likewise large financial reparations imposed by arbitral tribunals have increased the threat of regulatory chill in the face of major global challenges. Strengthening the right to regulate of States and addressing regulatory chill are key matters to consider in the reform of IIAs and the international investment regime. 

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Policy Brief 117, 14 March 2023

The Midterm Comprehensive Review of the International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development amid growing tension between a human rights perspective and the commodification and privatization of water

By Luis Fernando Rosales Lozada

Climate change is affecting the availability of water resources in different regions around the world. In addition, some growing trends towards water commodification and privatization could exacerbate the problem since they are guided by profit maximization strategies. The United Nations (UN) will hold the Midterm Comprehensive Review (MCR) of the Implementation of the Objectives of the International Decade for Action, “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018–2028, from 22 to 24 March 2023. This is an important opportunity for the international community to assess the challenges on access to clean drinking water and sanitation. The MCR debates and outcomes should be guided by a human rights approach towards promoting access to water for all in 2030 in alignment with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.

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SouthViews No. 244, 31 January 2023

Graduating from the LDC Group: Challenges Facing Bangladesh

by Mustafizur Rahman

A significant number of LDCs will be graduating in the near term future. On graduation these countries will face formidable challenges as they will lose the benefits accruing from LDC-specific international support measures. Bangladesh is the first major LDC which is slated for graduation, to take place in November 2026. This article examines the various graduation challenges facing Bangladesh, and articulates some of the strategies that the country needs to pursue in order to graduate with momentum and make graduation sustainable.

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Statement – International conference on “Climate Change and Sustainable Development”, 26-27 March 2022

Climate change and trade: what policies for environmental goods and services?

Carlos Correa, Executive Director, South Centre

International conference on “Climate Change and Sustainable Development”

26-27 March 2022, Cairo, Egypt

While the importance of protecting the environment in the context of trade policies is firmly recognized, a key question is the extent to which trade disciplines aimed at protecting the environment can reach their intended or declared objectives and affect the trade interests and economic growth prospects of developing countries. Developing countries are also among the most affected by climate change and, hence, they have a major interest in international action to address it. However, the intensification of environmental threats faced by developing countries is not of their making, and advancing an agenda -with no evidence that it would lead to reduced emissions- is likely to just disadvantage the developing world which has the least responsibility historically for today’s climate-related damages. Given this history, as well as the tight external constraints imposed on their efforts to mobilize resources, developing countries cannot be expected to either successfully mitigate climate change or adapt to climate change, without significant financial and technological support. The South Centre has been assessing the policy implications that the initiatives on trade and environmental sustainability will have for the Global South.

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Statement – Regional Consultation on Sustainable Development & ICESCR, 8 February 2022

Oral Statement of the South Centre for the Regional Consultation on Sustainable Development and the ICESCR

Geneva, 8 February 2022

The following statement is delivered by the South Centre during the consultation convened by the Drafting Group of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for the development of a General Comment on Sustainable Development and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

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LEAD Journal Special Issue 2022 Call for Papers

Call for Papers for LEAD Journal Special Issue 2022

PLANETARY HEALTH IN TIMES OF CONVERGING CRISES – CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

The Law, Environment and Development Journal (LEAD) Journal Special Issue 2022 will reflect on environmental issues in the context of the Stockholm Conference’s 50th anniversary and the COVID-19 crisis.

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Investment Facilitation for Development: Identifying key policy issues for facilitating responsible, inclusive and resilient investment, 3 December 2021

Session 28: Investment Facilitation for Development: Identifying key policy issues for facilitating responsible, inclusive and resilient investment

Friday, December 3, 2021, 3:00 PM – 4:15 PM CET, Virtual

Investment facilitation policies can support States’ efforts to achieve sustainable development, but they cannot be considered in isolation. This session will raise some considerations on the Structured Discussion on Investment Facilitation discussion in the WTO and bring additional perspectives on the need to safeguard the right of countries to adopt the necessary measures to articulate and apply policies designed to achieve inclusive, equitable, fair and sustainable development and enabling and advancing sustainable investments that add value to the developmental process of host States.

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