Input for the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee
Study on the Impact of Artificial Intelligence Systems on Good Governance
South Centre
May 2026
The South Centre has submitted technical input to the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee regarding AI systems and governance. The submission analyses the integration of AI through the framework of Rule of Law principles: effectiveness, accountability, and inclusiveness.
Three Decades of Global Engagement: The South Centre’s Contribution to Intellectual Property and Development
By Nirmalya Syam
South Centre 30th Anniversary Series No. 2, 30 April 2026
This paper is part of a series of publications made in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the South Centre, an intergovernmental organization established in 1995 to advance the interests of developing countries in global governance. Tracing its origins to the 1990 South Commission, it examines the Centre’s pivotal role in shaping intellectual property (IP) policies to promote equitable development. Through rigorous research, advocacy, and technical assistance, the South Centre has supported negotiations at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and World Trade Organization (WTO), influencing milestones like the 2007 WIPO Development Agenda and extensions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) transition periods for least developed countries.
Key contributions include promoting TRIPS flexibilities for public health, biodiversity, and technology transfer, with seminal publications on compulsory licensing, patent examination, and traditional knowledge protection. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centre advocated for IP waivers to enhance access to vaccines and therapeutics. Impacts include empowering Global South nations to implement development-oriented IP strategies and reform patent laws. Looking ahead, the paper addresses challenges from digital transformation, artificial intelligence (AI), and data governance, calling for strengthened South-South cooperation and proactive advocacy to ensure inclusive IP frameworks. The South Centre remains essential for fostering sustainable development and reducing global inequalities.
The First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels: Reclaiming Multilateralism for a Just Transition
Informal Note, 28 April 2026
By Daniel Uribe Terán
The First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands, serves as a necessary platform for reclaiming multilateralism for a just transition. This paper analyses how the conference addresses the ‘judicialization’ of climate obligations following landmark 2025 advisory opinions from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR). It highlights critical barriers facing developing countries, specifically the ‘regulatory chill’ caused by Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms and the ‘debt-fossil fuel trap’ that binds extractive economies to external risks. It also recognises that integrating the ‘People’s Summit’ outcomes into the official Conference could promote a reparative financial model and strengthen the principle of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). Ultimately, Santa Marta should provide a blueprint for systemic reform, ensuring that global decarbonisation respects resource sovereignty and human dignity while moving toward a coordinated, legally backed effort for collective survival.
Inputs to the Global Dialogue on AI Governance
South Centre
April 2026
These inputs have been provided in response to the letter by the Co-Chairs of the Global Dialogue on AI Governance dated 18 March 2026 requesting for stakeholders to share perspectives, priorities and proposals to inform the thematic focus, structure and preparations for the first Global Dialogue, to be held in Geneva on 6-7 July.
Input for the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development
For the 2026 thematic reports to the Human Rights Council on “Participation in development” and to the United Nations General Assembly on “Peace for development”
South Centre
April 2026
The South Centre has submitted its latest input to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development for the 2026 thematic reports on “Participation in Development” and “Peace for Development”.
Our report underscores that development is not a charitable concession but an inalienable human right. To overcome the structural violence of the current international order, we advocate for:
Global Activism to Make Patented Drugs More Accessible: An ITPC Case Study of Bedaquiline for Treatment of Tuberculosis
By Priti Patnaik
This report documents efforts by civil society organizations (CSOs) in various countries, including Brazil, Ukraine and Thailand, to make Bedaquiline more accessible by using the flexibilities provided in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) – the safeguards in the intellectual property system that take into account public health needs. The case study was undertaken during 2023-2024.
Tuberculosis remains a major global health crisis, with drug-resistant forms requiring newer more effective treatments like Bedaquiline which offers shorter treatment times and fewer side effects than older regimens. The report offers an overview of global and country-specific efforts by CSOs to challenge patents held by Johnson & Johnson on the tuberculosis (TB) drug bedaquiline (BDQ) to improve patient access and affordability. CSOs primarily focused on opposing “evergreening” secondary patents that extend Johnson & Johnson’s monopoly beyond the original patent expiration, arguing that these patents lack inventive merit and artificially inflate prices. Successful actions, such as patent rejections in India and Thailand and Johnson & Johnson’s agreement not to enforce patents in 134 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), are discussed alongside challenges, including judicial difficulties, insufficient political will, and the strategic importance of pursuing pre-grant patent oppositions.
The UN Treaty on Business and Human Rights: Regulating Corporate Power in the Era of Deregulation
South Centre and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Geneva Office Report, March 2026
By Daniel Fernando Uribe Terán
This study examines how the United Nations Legally Binding Instrument (LBI) serves as a vital tool to preserve state sovereignty and to ensure the primacy of human rights in the era of deregulation.
WEBINAR REPORT
Elevating South Voices in the Global AMR Response
Hosted by the South Centre, 5 March 2026, Virtual (Zoom)
On 5 March 2026, the South Centre convened a virtual webinar to mark the conclusion of its seven-year antimicrobial resistance (AMR) programme, supported by the Fleming Fund, Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), United Kingdom (UK) since 2018. The main objective of the webinar was to present the findings of an Impact Assessment of the programme and to gather reflections from key partners on lessons learned and the way forward. The South Centre emphasised that the end of the Fleming Fund grant marks a transition, not a closure as the organisation remains committed to AMR as a core area of work and is actively seeking new partnerships.
The webinar was opened by Prof. Carlos Correa, Executive Director of the South Centre, and moderated throughout by Dr Viviana Munoz Tellez, Head of the Health, Intellectual Property and Biodiversity programme of the South Centre. Eleven speakers from multilateral institutions, the UK Fleming Fund, government delegations, academics, civil society, and the media shared perspectives and calls to action.
Prioritize Antibiotic Access to Tackle Resistance
South Centre and One Health Trust Information Note
March 2026
92 million deaths could be averted by 2050 with improved access to antibiotics and infection care. The time to act is now, and it requires both access and stewardship.
Together with One Health Trust, we highlight key recommendations to make it happen in a pointed brief.
* Available in 3 languages (English, Portuguese and Spanish)
MC14 in Yaoundé: Mapping of Member Submissions on WTO Reform
A Reference Note on Member and Group Submissions on WTO Reform, 19 March 2026
By Vahini Naidu
This reference note maps written submissions on WTO reform circulated to the WTO General Council between May 2024 and March 2026, to support negotiators’ preparations for MC14 in Yaoundé. It organises Member and group positions thematically, with comparative tables on issues such as decision‑making and consensus, special and differential treatment, plurilaterals, institutional governance, and dispute settlement, and includes a detailed comparison of the EU and Paraguay draft ministerial decisions on WTO reform. A final cross‑cutting section distils areas of convergence and divergence to offer a factual overview of the current reform landscape.
MC14 in Yaoundé: Consider, Endorse or Finalize? Mixed Procedural Signals in the WTO Reform Package
An Analytical Note on the Procedural Design of the MC14 WTO Reform Package, 17 March 2026
By Vahini Naidu
This note examines the procedural design of the MC14 WTO reform package and its implications for developing countries. It maps six conflicting formulations of what Ministers are expected to do with the draft reform texts, identifies an institutional tilt towards the Facilitator’s document, and shows how non‑binding breakout “takeaways” and informal small group consultations are being used to shape post‑MC14 work. It concludes with practical recommendations for safeguarding a genuinely member‑driven, consensus‑based reform process.
MC14 in Yaoundé: Twenty Questions on the Process Documents
A Note on Questions Arising from the MC14 Documents Released on 6 March 2026, 9 March 2026
By Vahini Naidu
This note raises twenty questions arising from the MC14 process documents released on 6 March 2026. It examines whether the conference architecture is consistent with the Geneva First Principle, the WTO Rules of Procedure, and the member-driven character of the organisation.
