The Future of Antimicrobial Resistance Response in Developing Countries Breakfast Meeting
co-organized by the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Uganda to the United Nations and the South Centre
25 September 2024
109 West 39th Street
(2nd Floor, Sydney Room)
Bryant Park, New York, 10018
Analysis of Imbalanced Tax Treaties of Developing Countries
Insights From the Tax Treaties Explorer Database
By Aiwei Feng, Shristi Joshi and Quinn McGannon
This report will start from exploring the historical background, theoretical frameworks, and practical implications of tax treaties, with a specific focus on their impact on developing countries. Utilizing diverse literature and datasets, including the Tax Treaties Explorer (TTE) from the International Centre for Tax and Development, it aims to identify restrictive tax treaties and provisions disadvantageous to developing nations. The methodology involves desk reviews, data analysis, and case studies to offer insights into challenges faced by developing countries in international taxation. By scrutinizing key provisions like those concerning permanent establishment and withholding taxes, it aims to highlight how treaties affect revenue generation, economic sovereignty, and development outcomes of South Centre Member States. South Centre Member States have been chosen for the purpose of this study due to their status as developing countries with much to gain from renegotiating their existing tax treaties.
Ultimately, this study intends to fill the gap in terms of treaty research and development of tax treaties of South Centre Member States by identifying their restrictive tax treaties and provisions therein with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. The choice of OECD countries reflects their status as mostly developed countries. At the same time, the study also intends to supplement tax treaties literature so far dominated by legal and economic analyses by focusing specifically on identifying specific restrictive provisions.
Ensuring A Balanced Approach in UNCITRAL Working Group III
co-organized by Gobierno de Colombia, Diplomatische Akademie Wien, Universidad Externado de Colombia, and the South Centre
Views from the Global South on the Multilateral Investment Court and Procedural and Cross-cutting Issues in Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) Reform.
24 September 2024
Diplomastiche Akademie Wien,
Festsaal, Favoritenstrasse 15a,
1040 Vienna, Austria
Multilateralism From Below for the Planet and the People | Public Event
co-organized by South Centre
How can we achieve a democratic multilateralism fit for the people in the 21st century?
21 September 2024
Violeta Parra Stage, The People’s Forum,
320 West 37th Street, New York, NY 10018
FIRST DISCUSSIONS ON DAMAGES IN THE INVESTOR-STATE DISPUTE SETTLEMENT SYSTEM AT UNCITRAL WORKING GROUP III
By José Manuel Alvarez Zárate
This paper summarises the history of initial discussions within UNCITRAL Working Group III (WG.III) on the reform of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) regarding the lack of correctness, consistency and predictability of compensation awards. It covers the period up to 2022, beginning with the initial concerns expressed by some countries of the Global South regarding the methodologies used to assess damages and the Draft on Damage Assessment and Compensation prepared by the UNCITRAL Secretariat, which served as the basis for subsequent discussions among the members of WG.III. It then describes the comments made by some states and observers on this draft and the discussions that ensued, including the discussion of damages as part of the issues of ISDS reform. A second paper on this topic will describe the period from September 2022 to the publication by the Secretariat of the second draft of procedural and cross-cutting issues on July 8, 2024.
The purpose of this paper is to provide Global South States with a track record of the main concerns expressed by States on various aspects of damages during the discussions in UNCITRAL WG.III, which have often been lost at some point during the long process of discussions on ISDS reform.
Ensuring a Balanced Approach for the Global South in UNCITRAL Working Group III
By José Manuel Alvarez Zarate
This paper examines the ongoing efforts of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group III (WG III) to reform the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system. It argues that the current approach prioritises the concerns of developed countries over those of the Global South. The document highlights the disproportionate focus on the Permanent Multilateral Investment Court (MIC) and related issues, while neglecting procedural and cross-cutting concerns crucial for developing nations. The paper proposes concrete actions to rebalance the discussions, including prioritising procedural reforms and ensuring equitable representation in the MIC’s structure and appointment process. It emphasises the need for transparency, depoliticisation, and genuine consideration of the Global South’s concerns to achieve a genuinely legitimate and balanced ISDS reform.
Statement by the South Centre at the 57th Session of the Human Rights Council on “Realizing the right to development: The case for a United Nations framework convention on international tax cooperation”
September 2024
At the 57th session of the Human Rights Council, South Centre outlined the possible content of protocols to the United Nations Tax Convention for taxing Illicit Financial Flows & Digital Services.
The Right of Peasants and Rural People to Determine Their Own Food and Agricultural Systems: Food Sovereignty to Tackle the Multidimensional Crisis
Side event co-organized by the South Centre
19 September 2024
Palais des Nations, Room XXV
Ongoing Negotiation of a Pandemic Accord: South Centre’s Intervention to WHO Intergovernmental Negotiating Body to draft and negotiate a WHO convention, agreement or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response
18 September 2024
We are pleased to be participating in the morning open sessions of the World Health Organization Intergovernmental Negotiating Body’s 11th meeting for the negotiation of a pandemic instrument. See our intervention on 18 September 2024.
Reviewing the Implementation of Select Sustainable Development Goals – A Southern Perspective
By Yuefen Li, Viviana Muñoz Tellez, Vahini Naidu, Danish, Vitor Ido, Peter Lunenborg, Nirmalya Syam, Daniel Uribe
In line with the focus of the work of the South Centre, this paper specifically looks at the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Goal 1 – No poverty; Goal 2 – Zero Hunger; Goal 3 – Good Health and Well-being; Goal 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; Goal 13 – Climate Action; Goal 14 – Life Below Water; Goal 15 – Life on Land; and Goal 17 – Partnerships for the Goals. Particular attention has also been paid to the concerns of least developed countries (LDCs) in relation to the SDGs.
The paper thus seeks to provide a review of the trajectory of the implementation of the aforementioned SDGs in the years since 2015 from the perspective of the Global South. It then spells out the drivers for the progress made and the challenges and the changing narratives in the world today. It also provides some concrete recommendations which can support developing and least developed countries in their sustainable development pathways.
South Centre Statement at the 60th Anniversary Celebration of the Group of 77 and China in Geneva
13 September 2024
The South Centre participated in the 60th Anniversary of the Group of 77 and China and strongly reaffirmed our commitment to supporting the Global South countries in meeting common challenges for achieving prosperity & sustainable development.
Designing a scientific panel on AMR: Lessons from climate change policy
co-organized by Global Strategy Lab, AMR Policy Accelerator, and the South Centre
A discussion on design principles for a successful scientific panel on AMR, including lessons from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
11 September 2024
