Flirting with the Private Sector: The GCF Private Sector Facility — achievements, challenges and constraints in engaging the private sector
By Rajesh Eralil, Mariama Williams and Dianyi Li
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is committed to include the private sector as both driver and beneficiary of climate action. It envisions in particular the inclusion of not only large enterprises, but puts much emphasis on the cooperation with micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in developing countries. This paper evaluates the state of play of the GCF work with the private sector and its MSMEs. It finds that the fund’s success in stimulating private sector engagement has been underwhelming and imbalanced. To begin with, only a minority of GCF projects are in fact private and a considerable amount of these projects operate through multilateral and other public institutions. GCF’s private sector projects show on top of that a strong bias towards energy access and generation, while only little funding goes to adaptation. Attempts to include MSMEs in developing countries have moreover been largely unsuccessful, although MSMEs constitute an important pillar of developing countries’ economies. It is suggested that there is a need for a bottom-up approach when dealing with the private sector in developing countries, including a more sustained and sustainable focus on MSMEs, including capacity building of MSME networks.
Contribution of the South Centre to the Report of the Secretary-General on the Implementation of UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/74/7 dated 12 November 2019 on the “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba”
The imposition of unilateral economic, financial and trade measures against Cuba, in violation of basic principles of the United Nations (UN) Charter, has severe socio-economic impacts on the Cuban population. The UN General Assembly adopted by an overwhelming majority the resolution “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba” (document A/74/L.6). In response to the request in paragraph 4 of this resolution, the South Centre prepared a contribution to the report of the Secretary-General. This highlights, in particular, the obstacles that the US embargo poses for the attainment of the right to health in Cuba.
Antimicrobial Resistance: Examining the Environment as Part of the One Health Approach
By Mirza Alas
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a serious issue that is threatening the medical and agricultural advances of today. The connections that exist among human health, food production and the environment necessitate a One Health approach to address the challenge of AMR. Recent research points to the environment as an essential factor in the spread of AMR, as well as a possible reservoir of antimicrobial resistant bacteria and genes. The process, however, of the environmental transmission of resistance genes, along with their effects and how to mitigate them, is still being examined. As new research emerges, so to have new challenges regarding the selective pressure of antibiotics on the environment. AMR in the environment is not new, with resistance genes found even in isolated places (e.g. in permafrost or volcanoes) but understanding this natural process and its implications for tackling AMR continue to pose many questions. This paper aims to examine some of the emerging research on AMR from a One Health perspective and in particular to highlight the role of the environment. It will explore the use of antibiotics and their effects in different ecosystems, as well as the challenges they pose for developing countries: in particular, in designing policies to address antimicrobial resistance that take into account the connections among humans, animals and the environment.
India and recent updates on the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework’s Two-Pillar Approach
By Subhash Jangala
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)/Group of Twenty (G20) Inclusive Framework in its January 2020 Statement has affirmed the commitment to arrive at a consensus-based solution to the tax challenges arising out of digitalization of the economy by the end of 2020 and take forward the on-going discussion on the two-pillar approach. This article examines some of the key issues in the Statement for developing countries, such as the scope, new nexus rules, role of accounting standards and proposed source rules. India’s proposal on profit attribution through a two-factor apportionment using employees and assets is mentioned as a potential option for country-wise thresholds in the new nexus.
Political Declaration on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women
Ministers and representatives of governments of the Member States of the United Nations met at a special one-day session of the 64th meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW64) and adopted a Political Declaration commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995, and its major seminal output, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BD & BPfA).
The ISDS Reform Process: The missing development agenda
By Nicolás M. Perrone
The foreign direct investment (FDI) governance agenda is centred on the reform of international investment agreements (IIAs) and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). The proliferation of IIAs and ISDS has contributed to narrowing the FDI agenda. A key policy question is whether this fragmented approach remains consistent with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Current FDI discussions point at the need for a holistic approach in this policy area, quite the opposite of a regime primarily aimed to protect foreign investors through treaty standards and international arbitration. The realisation of the SDGs depends on multi-stakeholder partnerships to combat poverty and provide clean water and energy to the world population. Crucially, these partnerships will require more cooperation and coordination than IIAs and ISDS can promote and nurture.
In a more and more climate change threatened world, Africa’s energy vision should be premised on moving from an energy landscape based on underdeveloped and carbon intense pathways to a modern, clean and decentralized energy system. This transition is a critical enabler of meaningful and endogenous socio-economic development. While the continent may face a broad set of challenges in achieving this vision, it has at the same time the opportunity to avoid the fossil fuel lock-in that many industrialized countries face and to take advantage of vast supplies of untapped energy resources and/or any stranded asset problem. The Africa Energy Transition Program in the making under the auspices of the African Energy Commission forms a continent-wide and coordinated approach in facilitating the required transformation for the realization of Africa’s development aspiration.
Submission by the South Centre to the Draft Issues Paper on Intellectual Property Policy and Artificial Intelligence (WIPO/IP/AI/2/GE(20/1)
The South Centre welcomes the opportunity to submit to the WIPO Secretariat input on the draft issues paper on intellectual property policy (IP) and artificial intelligence (AI). The South Centre hereby provides recommendations for the revised Issues Paper. The aim of the Issues Paper should be to provide a framework for informed discussion among Member States on the topic of IP policy and AI, without pre-empting the substance of such discussion, and to complement a process of sharing of views and experiences between different Member States and constituencies. The Development Agenda should also be mainstreamed into the discussion of IP policy and AI.
Comments by the South Centre on the CESCR Draft General Comment on science and economic, social and cultural rights Art. 15: 15.1.b, 15.2, 15.3 and 15.4
The South Centre welcomes the opportunity to submit its comments on the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Right (CESCR) Draft General Comment on science and economic, social and cultural rights Art. 15: 15.1.b, 15.2, 15.3 and 15.4 and commends the Secretariat of the CESCR for this initiative. We recognize the paramount importance of the ESCR and of Art. 15, which is a crucial element to ensuring other rights and the development of all countries. We further acknowledge and reinforce the importance of the draft text to address multiple emerging and long-established issues, such as the risks and promises of the 4th Industrial Revolution and the relation of science and the right to food as two examples.
Reforms to Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) are being discussed in the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group III. One possible reform is the development of an appellate mechanism, either as part of the proposed two-tier standing investment court, or as a stand-alone appellate mechanism. From the perspective of developing countries as host states that face possible claims from investors, how appealing is an appellate mechanism in ISDS?
The Role of South-South Cooperation in Combatting Illicit Financial Flows
By Manuel F Montes
Developing countries bear the brunt of costs from illicit financial flows (IFFs). These losses are the result of the facilities that the global system provides transnational companies, operating in multiple tax jurisdictions, to move their profits to favorable locations. International cooperation has been seen to be a key ingredient in restricting IFFs. However, a difference in interests in the treatment of many types of transactions between developed and developing countries is an obstacle to a fast solution of the problem. Developing countries must seek to seize the initiative to restrict their losses from IFFs. They can deploy various joint and concerted actions, within the umbrella of the principles of South-South cooperation for this purpose.
Eighteen Years After Doha: An Analysis of the Use of Public Health TRIPS Flexibilities in Africa
By Yousuf A Vawda and Bonginkosi Shozi
As we observe the 18th anniversary of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement (Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) and Public Health, it is appropriate to take stock of intellectual property developments and endeavour to present a comprehensive account of the situation in the African continent in respect of the implementation of TRIPS flexibilities, specifically those regarding access to medicines. This research paper provides an overview of the extent to which selected African countries have adopted legal and policy frameworks with regard to TRIPS flexibilities, examines the actual use of these flexibilities in enabling access to medicines in those countries, and suggests some recommendations for optimising the use of the flexibilities in pursuing public health imperatives.
