COMBATTING ILLICIT FINANCIAL FLOWS (IFFS) AND ENHANCING DOMESTIC RESOURCE MOBILISATION (DRM) FOR FINANCING DEVELOPMENT: A DECADE UNDER REVIEW
Hosted by the South African G20 Development Working Group and the South Centre, funded by the International Economic Partnership Programme
Date: 30 April 2025
Time: 13:15 to 14:30
Venue: Room CR-D United Nations Headquarters, New York
The side event focuses on the importance of reducing illicit financial flows (IFFs) and enhancing domestic resource mobilisation (DRM) to support the financing for development initiatives.
STATEMENT BY DR. CARLOS CORREA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE SOUTH CENTRE, TO THE MINISTERS AND GOVERNORS MEETING OF THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL GROUP OF TWENTY-FOUR (G24)
22 April 2025, Washington, D.C.
The South Centre statement to the G24 Ministerial Meeting highlights the risks of a darkening global economic outlook and need for collective action at UN and FfD4 for addressing systemic issues & reforming the international financial architecture, especially for taxation & sovereign debt.
Advancing Women and Girls’ Health in a Time of Converging Crises
Date: 24 April 2025
Time: 14:30 to 16:30 PM
Venue: Maison de la Paix, Petal 2, Room S12, Eugène-Rigot 2, Geneva, Switzerland
The global community faces unprecedented challenges in realising the right to health for all. While progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) acknowledges the importance of gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), this progress is threatened by persistent inequalities, the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, escalating climate change impacts, ongoing conflicts, and socio-economic disparities. These converging crises disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, exacerbating marginalisation and hindering progress towards achieving universal health coverage, with particularly severe consequences for women and girls.
This briefing aims to provide a comprehensive overview of these challenges and propose concrete strategies to advance SRHR within international cooperation and the SDGs. The South Centre will host this briefing to foster policy dialogue on how States can fulfil their obligations to advance the right to health for all, with a central focus on SRHR.
Human Rights Council 58: Neurotechnology, Ethical Frontiers and Human Rights
By Daniel Uribe
The UN Human Rights Council’s 58th session examined the impact of neurotechnology on human rights, with a particular focus on privacy. The Special Rapporteur guided discussions on the report on neurotechnology, which detailed risks to privacy, autonomy, and mental integrity, and proposed principles such as human dignity, informed consent, stringent security measures, rights-by-design, and precautionary approaches to the development of this technology. This SouthViews considers the Member States’ discussion during the presentation of this report, taking into account the profound ethical challenges, the need for safeguards, equitable access (especially for developing nations), and international cooperation, while voicing concerns about potential misuse. The relevance of UNESCO’s ongoing work on the ethics of neurotechnology is also considered. The session underscored the pressing need for a proactive, holistic, and ethically grounded governance framework for neurotechnology, emphasizing core human rights principles and international collaboration to ensure the responsible development and use of this technology.
Statement of Carlos Correa, Executive Director of the South Centre, on occasion of the Council of the Global South Research Center
Beijing, March 28th, 2025
We welcome the creation of the Global South Research Center with the Secretariat of the Center for International Knowledge on Development (CIKD), and look forward to the opportunities to cooperate on themes of particular relevance for the Global South.
South Centre Statement to the Resumed Thirteenth Meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body to Draft and Negotiate a WHO Convention, Agreement or Other International Instrument of Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response
7 April 2025
Negotiations resume for a WHO pandemic agreement, aiming to finalise the text in 5 days. Will Member States show the needed leadership and will to deliver an impactful outcome with equity at the core?
Strengthening Antimicrobial Stewardship Policy: Insights from COVID-19 and Future Pandemic Preparedness
South Centre Webinar
Date: 14 April 2025 Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM CEST | 6:00 AM – 7:00 AM EDT | 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM IST Location: Virtual (Zoom)
In this one-hour webinar, we will explore how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programmes and what lessons can strengthen future pandemic preparedness, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Advancing National Action Plans on Antimicrobial Resistance amidst Health Financing Challenges
By Afreenish Amir
The South Centre held a webinar on advancing national action plans (NAPs) on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) amidst health financial challenges, on 20 March 2025. The webinar brought together various national focal point leads for NAPs on AMR and international experts.
Advancing International Cooperation under the Global Digital Compact
By Danish
Bridging the global digital divide in new and emerging technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence, will require developing countries to strongly leverage international cooperation to build digital skills, knowledge and gain access to these technologies which can accelerate their digital transformation and sustainable development. This emphasis on international cooperation is also deeply embedded in the Global Digital Compact, which was adopted as part of the Pact for the Future. This paper therefore looks at how international cooperation modalities have been included in the GDC across the different issue areas, how developing countries are already engaging with the GDC through their national initiatives, and provides some useful considerations going forward.
Will the Global Digital Compact ensure an equitable future for Developing Countries?
By Daniel Uribe
The Global Digital Compact (GDC), adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2024, aims to establish a framework for equitable digital transformation, particularly for developing countries. While the GDC acknowledges the importance of human rights, bridging the digital divide, and ensuring a just transition, it faces significant challenges in addressing structural inequalities and implementing robust accountability mechanisms. This paper examines the GDC’s potential to foster an inclusive digital future, highlighting the necessity of addressing fundamental rights, promoting business accountability through a legally binding instrument, and recognising the interconnectedness of digital inclusion with access to essential resources like energy, education, and healthcare.
South Centre Capacity Building Workshop on Monitoring and Evaluation Frameworks in National Action Plans on Antimicrobial Resistance
Date: 28 March 2025
Time: 4pm Geneva Time / 11am ET / 3pm GMT
This workshop will explore best practices for implementing National Action Plans on Antimicrobial Resistance and their corresponding Monitoring and Evaluation frameworks. Country-specific updates on NAP AMR progress will be shared, followed by a panel discussion with esteemed experts who will discuss strategies for guiding M&E targets and promoting accountability in NAP implementation.
