Statements and Press Releases

SouthViews No. 27, 30 July 2012

Can Africa and China Learn from Each Other?

The following is a speech made by Dr. Lim Mah-Hui on behalf of the South Centre at a Seminar on the 18th meeting of Afreximbank Advisory Group on Trade and Export Development in Africa, High-level Roundtable 1– Can Africa learn from China?, in Beijing on July 13. The seminar was held in conjunction with the 19th General Meeting of Shareholders of African Export-Import Bank.

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SouthViews No. 23, 24 July 2012

Equity is the Gateway to Environment Ambition: South Centre statement in UNFCCC

Below is the statement by Martin Khor, Executive Director of the South Centre, which was presented at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Ad-hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA) Workshop on Equity in Bonn on 16 May 2012.

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Statement, 18 May 2012

Statement to the UN High Level Thematic Debate on the State Of the World Economy, New York

1. Global economic conditions continue to have a strong bearing on production, trade and investment in developing economies (DEs). In this respect the current landscape is not very encouraging. After three years of recovery the world economy still remains highly fragile. (more…)

Statement, 16 May 2012

Statement at the UN Framework Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) Ad-hoc working group on long-term cooperation (AWG-LCA), Workshop on Equity, Bonn

In the quest for an international climate agreement on actions to address the climate change crisis, three aspects have to be the basis simultaneously: the environmental imperative, the developmental imperative, and the equity imperative. This EDE formula requires that the different pieces of the climate negotiations be seen and addressed as a whole, in a holistic way. (more…)

Statement, 23 April 2012

Statement at the Plenary of UNCTAD XIII, Doha

The South Centre is honored to take part in this general plenary of UNCTAD XIII. We in the South Centre ourselves are very close partners with UNCTAD. We are therefore committed to strengthen our collaboration with UNCTAD in a wide range of issues and activities. (more…)

Press Release, 12 April 2012

Press Release: Silencing the message or the messenger …. or both?.

On 11 April 2012, two former senior UNCTAD officers held a press conference at the Club Suisse de la Presse, Geneva, Switzerland. They presented a statement signed by almost 50 former senior UNCTAD officers and staff that expressed deep concern and alarm regarding the pressure placed on UNCTAD and the Group of 77 by major developed countries in the preparations for UNCTAD XIII. (more…)

Speaking notes,19 July 2011

Perspectives on an Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development (IFSD): South Centre speaking notes at the DESA/Indonesian Government high level dialogue on institutional framework for sustainable development in Solo, Indonesia

Twenty years after the Rio Summit 1992, the global sustainable development situation has deteriorated. The environment crisis has worsened. (more…)

Press Release, 17 June 2011

Climate Regime On The Brink: South Centre press briefing at UNFCCC session.

We agreed in Bali in Dec 2007 to build a much stronger international climate regime to better cope with recent alarming analysis of the disastrous effects of climate change. (more…)

Statement, 10 May 2011

Statement at the high-level panel on Trade, at the LDC-IV conference, Istanbul

Trade has been at the centre of discussion of LDCs improving their economy and social conditions. It was said that LDCs are not integrated into the world economy; that is why they are marginalized. This is not true. Many LDCs have higher exports to GNP ratio than some developed countries. (more…)

Statement, 10 December 2010

Statement at the UNFCCC Climate Conference (COP16, CMP6), Cancun

As an inter-governmental organisation with 51 developing countries, the South Centre is very pleased to be participating in the COP16 and CMP6 in Cancun. Climate change is among the top priorities for the Centre as we believe that it poses a threat to the global environment as well as to development prospects in developing countries. (more…)

Press release, 8 November 2010

A South Centre report suggests the reforms needed in the global financial and monetary system.

The current turmoil in the world economy has demonstrated once again that the international arrangements lack mechanisms to prevent financial crises with global repercussions. Not only are effective rules and regulations absent to bring inherently unstable international financial market and capital flows under control, (more…)

Press release, 8 November 2010

A South Centre report argues that the IMF should focus on crisis prevention not crisis lending.

The record of the IMF in preventing financial instability and crises leaves much to be desired.  The period since the breakdown of the Bretton Woods arrangements has seen repeated gyrations in exchange rates of major currencies, persistent and growing trade imbalances, recurrent balance-of-payments, debt and financial crises with global repercussions in both emerging and mature economies. (more…)