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.
UK–India CETA: Patents and International Intellectual Property Governance
By Pratyush Nath Upreti & Virender Chandel
This policy brief locates the United Kingdom-India Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement’s (CETA) intellectual property rights (IPRs) rules in the midst of trade-offs. It succinctly provides an overview of the IPR Chapter, analyses the specific provisions on patents and contextualises IP in the broader context of international IP governance. The analysis of the IPR Chapter shows the parties’ objective to establish meaningful commitments on intellectual property protection and enforcement while preserving regulatory flexibility on development-centric and public health priorities. All in all, the IPR Chapter reflects a compromise between a country with an established, strong IP regime and a country seeking greater policy space and advancing IP norms in areas such as traditional knowledge. As India continues integrating into the global trade architecture through bilateral agreements, the CETA IPR Chapter will serve as a critical test case for whether strategic policy space can be meaningfully preserved within contemporary trade frameworks.
Evidence of Partnerships in the Cuban Pharmaceutical Sector
By Graziela Ferrero Zucoloto
This article analyzes the pharmaceutical partnership agreements of Cuban institutions. It identifies various partnerships with national and foreign firms that spanned 17 countries, with several developed nations appearing as recipients of Cuban technologies, and with Cuban institutions acting as the primary technology holder and licensor in the majority of agreements identified. These findings suggest that Cuba’s state-directed pharmaceutical model has produced an active, innovation-generating sector, with potential lessons for other countries, including Brazil, that maintain public pharmaceutical laboratories.
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.
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.
Towards an Operative Pathogen ABS System: Implementing the Equal Footing Requirement of Article 12 of the WHO Pandemic Agreement
By Viviana Munoz Tellez, Nirmalya Syam
Multilateral negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) system remain deadlocked. As required by Article 12 of the World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Agreement, the annex operationalizing the PABS system must place on equal footing the rapid and timely sharing of PABS Materials and Sequence Information with the rapid, timely, fair and equitable sharing of benefits that arise from their sharing and utilization. The Annex cannot impose binding sharing obligations on State Parties while making it optional for users of PABS Materials to opt in to the PABS system voluntarily, without legally binding obligations on benefit sharing arising from the utilization of PABS Materials and Sequence Information. The Annex also cannot create a hybrid system providing alternative routes for access, either “open” or “restricted”. This would be inconsistent with Article 12 of the Pandemic Agreement and with the obligations of parties under the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization. The Annex must include a standardized contractual framework binding all actors in the PABS chain, a minimum manufacturer participation threshold before country obligations become active, and ensure benefit-sharing is not confined to pandemic emergencies.
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:
Reforming the Global Architecture: Democratising the Bretton Woods institutions and the UN Security Council to rectify the historical underrepresentation of Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
A “Human Rights Economy”: Transitioning from voluntary corporate “tick-box” exercises to a Legally Binding Instrument (LBI) that ensures extraterritorial accountability for transnational corporations.
Dismantling “Regulatory Chill”: Reforming the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system, which currently prioritizes corporate profits over the policy space needed for development and climate justice.
A Paradigm Shift to “Positive Peace”: Redirecting a portion of the $2.7 trillion global military expenditure toward the SDGs and grant-based climate reparations.
Substantive Justice: Recognising traditional and indigenous knowledge as valid evidence in policy-making and ensuring reparative justice for historical dispossessions.
Engaging the UN Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence for the Global South
By Danish
The UN General Assembly has set up the new Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence to assess how the development and deployment of AI technologies are creating risks, impacts and opportunities. Co-chaired by Maria Ressa and Yoshua Bengio, the Panel will be presenting its inaugural report in July 2026. This paper presents significant priorities for developing and least developed countries around AI impacts, benefit-sharing and governance, and provides some recommendations on how these priorities can be addressed by the Panel for promoting sustainable development in the global South.
Pending the Moratorium: the Status of Non-Violation and Situation Complaints Under the TRIPS Agreement Following MC14
By Viviana Munoz Tellez, Nirmalya Syam
The 14th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14), held in Yaoundé, Cameroon, concluded on 30 March 2026 without extending the moratorium on non-violation and situation complaints (NVSCs) under the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement). This policy brief argues that the expiry of the moratorium does not render NVSCs automatically applicable to disputes under the Agreement. The requirement under Article 64.3 for the TRIPS Council to examine the scope and modalities of NVSCs and for the WTO Ministerial Conference to adopt a consensus decision thereon, has not been fulfilled.
Until such a decision is taken, NVSCs remain inapplicable to TRIPS disputes. However, unless the implications of the non-extension are addressed, it may discourage the adoption of measures in the public interest by developing countries and least developed countries (LDCs) which would be fully legitimate under the TRIPS Agreement. Any attempt to suggest that NVSCs are now applicable to the obligations under this Agreement in the interim should be firmly contested. Resolving this issue through continued discussions in the TRIPS Council must be prioritized.
Access to Medicines and Intellectual Property: taking advantage of TRIPS flexibilities for post-COVID-19 resilience in Africa
By Ismaelline Eba Nguema
The call by India and South Africa for the provisional lifting of patents on pharmaceutical products has had the merit of putting the issue of access to medicines and public health back on the agenda. However, the difficulty of reconciling access to medicines and intellectual property has many factors which cannot be reduced solely to the commitments of WTO member states. A more in-depth analysis reveals the intrinsic limitations of some of its members. These include the weakness of the legislative and regulatory framework in some countries, such as those on the African continent. Consequently, the aim of this article is to demonstrate that effective use of the flexibilities in the TRIPS Agreement is only possible if African countries equip themselves with an appropriate legal framework, in addition to the judicial institutions that are supposed to guarantee the effectiveness of the standards adopted. The methodology used consisted of an exegesis of various documents, including articles, working documents of the TRIPS Council, declarations and resolutions of various bodies, as well as the national case law of certain WTO members, etc. This method led us to conclude that the compatibility between access to medicines and intellectual property is caught between human rights and economic interests. However, for the TRIPS flexibilities to be fully utilized by African countries, they would benefit from reforming their legal frameworks to take advantage of the flexibilities in the TRIPS Agreement.
Addressing Barriers to Accessing Monoclonal Antibodies (mAbs) in Developing Countries: Challenges and Potential Solutions
By Nirmalya Syam
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have revolutionized treatment in oncology, autoimmune disorders, and infectious diseases due to their high specificity and efficacy. However, access to mAbs in developing countries remains severely limited due to high costs, market concentration in high-income regions, regulatory hurdles, and intellectual property barriers. Despite the potential of biosimilars to enhance affordability, their availability remains restricted due to expensive development processes, patent thickets, and complex regulatory requirements. The dominance of multinational pharmaceutical companies in the market further restricts competition, delaying biosimilar approvals and preventing price reductions. Additionally, regulatory agencies in developing countries often lack the resources to expedite biosimilar approvals, further exacerbating delays in access.
Policy interventions such as improved regulatory harmonization, stricter patent examination guidelines, and expanded public investment in mAb production are necessary to address these barriers. The adoption of the revised 2022 WHO Similar Biotherapeutic Products (SBP) Guidelines could streamline biosimilar approval by reducing unnecessary comparative clinical trials. Moreover, technology transfer initiatives and market-shaping incentives, including compulsory licensing, could help lower costs and accelerate the availability of mAbs in underserved regions.
By implementing these strategies, developing countries can bridge the access gap, ensuring that lifesaving mAb therapies reach the patients who need them most. A coordinated global effort involving policymakers, regulators, and industry stakeholders is essential to establishing a sustainable and equitable mAb supply chain.
Balancing the Global Copyright System in the Public Interest: An Analysis of the African Group’s Proposed Instrument on Limitations and Exceptions
By Faith O. Majekolagbe
The establishment of an international instrument on copyright limitations and exceptions (L&Es) is essential to achieve an appropriate balance between exclusive rights and the overarching public interest in access to copyrighted works and related subject matter. Current international copyright instruments, including the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled, fail to adequately address L&Es for education, research, equitable access for persons with disabilities, and the operations of educational, research, and cultural heritage institutions such as libraries, archives, and museums. The proposed instrument on L&Es by the African Group seeks to establish mandatory minimum L&Es to support education, research, and access to information within the international copyright system, thereby promoting global harmonization and ensuring that copyright law supports, not impedes, development objectives and human rights obligations. This policy brief offers a thorough analysis of the proposed instrument, examining its substantive provisions and potential benefits, and proposes some improvements.
