Input of the South Centre to the Report of the Secretary-General on the Implementation of UN General Assembly Resolution 69/5 dated 28 October 2014 on the Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba
On 28 October 2014, the United Nations General Assembly approved by an overwhelming vote of 188-2 a resolution (Resolution 69/5 ) reiterating its long-standing call upon all States to refrain from promulgating and applying unilateral economic and trade measures by one State against another that affect the free flow of international trade, referring in particular to the United States’ 1996 “Helms-Burton Act”, whose application has had extraterritorial effects that affect that sovereignty of other States, the legitimate interests of persons under their jurisdiction and the freedom of trade and navigation. (more…)
A new climate change agreement is to be adopted in Paris in December, but there are big differences on how to reach a fair deal, and the negotiations are tough. The UN Climate Conference in Paris in December may become a Climate Summit if many top political leaders accept an invitation to attend. What role they are to play is not yet known, or even the dates they are requested to come. A new agreement to tackle climate change is expected to be adopted. But there are many hurdles to overcome before a deal is reached. (more…)
The Nagoya Protocol: Main Characteristics, Challenges and Opportunities
The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity entered into force in October 2014. Its provisions clearly reflect the need for countries to set up access and benefit sharing rules and procedures for the Protocol’s implementation at the national level. (more…)
After a late flurry of additions to the founding membership of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, attention now turns to setting the China-led AIIB’s rules and regulations. But important questions remain – most important, whether the AIIB is a potential rival or a welcome complement to existing multilateral financial institutions like the World Bank. Since China and 20 mostly Asian countries signed the AIIB’s initial memorandum of understanding last October, 36 other countries – including Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom – have joined as founding members. (more…)
Policy Brief on Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCS)
Part A: Introduction: The issue of ‘intended nationally determined contributions’ (INDCs) has come to be one of the important components of the process towards the UNFCCC’s 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) to be held in Paris in December 2015. Countries have been in the process of preparing their INDCs. This Paper is intended to provide the background information on the INDCs, and a guide to developing countries on how to formulate their INDCs. (more…)
The author argues that the West, led by the United States, has taken on itself the right to intervene in the affairs of others and, in the case of the Arab world, has created situations that justify subsequent military interventions which have had a high cost in both human and financial terms. (more…)
Towards a More Coherent International Legal System on Farmers’ Rights: The Relationship of the FAO ITPGRFA, UPOV and WIPO
This Policy Brief outlines some key areas of interrelation among the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). (more…)
Statement at Asian African Summit, Jakarta-Bandung
The attached is a Statement delivered by Mr. Martin Khor, Executive Director of the South Centre at Asian-African Summit Conference held in Jakarta, Republic of Indonesia from 22-24 April 2015. (more…)
Guidelines on Patentability and Access to Medicines
Until recently, the link between the examination of patents carried out by national patent offices and the right of citizens to access to medicines was not at all clear. They were two functions or responsibilities of the State that apparently had nothing to do with each other. Examining the growing literature on intellectual property and access to medicines, it seems that the analysis of one actor has been left out: the patent offices. (more…)
Can the World Afford to Put All Hopes on Debt Contract Improvements for Sovereign Debt Workout?
By Yuefen Li
The lack of a formal sovereign debt restructuring mechanism has been considered by many as a serious deficit or missing link in the international financial architecture. However, even though the international debates on the topic have been going on for decades, heating up each time with the onset of a debt crisis and cooling down when the crisis was contained, up to now such debates have not yet come to fruition. With the onset of the global financial crisis and especially the legal litigation against Argentina and Greek debt crisis, the debate has become even more intensified with views more convergent than ever on the need of a mechanism. For decades, timely and orderly sovereign debt restructuring which can restore medium term debt sustainability to debtor countries as well as less costly to creditors has been the common expectation of stakeholders involved in sovereign debt restructuring, except those who want to get their windfalls in the debt crisis. (more…)
Developing Economies Increasingly Vulnerable in Unstable Global Financial System
By Yılmaz Akyüz
After a series of crises with severe economic and social consequences in the 1990s and early 2000s, emerging and developing economies have become even more closely integrated into what is widely recognised as an inherently unstable international financial system. Both policies in these countries and a highly accommodating global financial environment have played a role. Not only have their traditional cross-border linkages been deepened and external balance sheets expanded rapidly, but also foreign presence in their domestic credit, bond, equity and property markets has reached unprecedented levels. New channels have thus emerged for the transmission of financial shocks from global boom-bust cycles. (more…)
South Centre Statements on Sovereign Debt Restructuring Processes
The following are two Statements presented by the South Centre on Options for moving forward and Crisis Resolution & International Debt Workout Mechanisms for a multilateral legal framework for sovereign debt restructuring processes. (more…)
