Proposals on the Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development (IFSD).
Twenty years after the Rio Summit 1992, the global sustainable development situation has deteriorated. The environment crisis has worsened. After a period of good development performances in some developing countries, the prospects for the global economy have worsened, with the financial-economic crisis now affecting Europe and the US, which has implications for developing countries. (more…)
The Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health Ten Years Later: The State of Implementation.
The Declaration on the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and Public Health was adopted on 14 November 2001 by the 4th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Meeting at Doha, Qatar. (more…)
Pharmaceutical Innovation, Incremental Patenting and Compulsory Licensing.
Despite the decline in the discovery of new chemical entities for pharmaceutical use, there is a significant proliferation of patents on products and processes that cover minor, incremental innovations. A study conducted in five developing countries – Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, India and South Africa – evidenced a significant proliferation of ‘evergreening’ pharmaceutical patents that can block generic competition and thereby limit access to medicines. (more…)
The Foundations and Basis Of “Sustainable Development”.
The main framework of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) 1992, its related agreements (the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification) and its follow-up processes is to place the environment together with development in a single context. (more…)
Risks and Uses of the Green Economy Concept in the Context of Sustainable Development, Poverty and Equity.
There are many challenges and obstacles facing developing countries in moving their economies to more environmentally friendly paths. On one hand this should not prevent the attempt to urgently incorporate environmental elements into economic development. (more…)
Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have recognized the need to “urgently enhance implementation of the Convention in order to achieve its ultimate objective in full accordance with its principles and commitments” (Preamble, Bali Action Plan). (more…)
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are in the news. It is ten years since these were adopted by the United Nations. And, in late September 2010, political leaders from across the world gathered in New York for a meeting of the General Assembly to discuss the past decade and the next quinquennium. This is the life span of the MDGs which are the focus of attention among people for different reasons. (more…)
Trade Facilitation State of Play and Implications of an ‘Early Harvest’ on Developing Countries.
Recently there has been an indication that some WTO members (especially developed countries) are proposing that an agreement on Trade Facilitation be one of the items to be an Early Harvest in the Doha negotiations in the WTO. (more…)
Summary overview of the recent development of the agenda of financial reform.
A cursory read of the FSB’s report on progress in the implementation of G20’s reform agenda indicates how vast the agenda has become. Agreement on the international agenda is being accompanied by measures implementing this agreement at national level and at the level of the EU. (more…)
Present Situation of the WTO Doha Talks and Comments on the 21 April 2011 Documents.
Although Doha started as a “Development Agenda” with a pledge that developing countries‟ interests would be at the centre, ironically there is hardly any development content left in the Doha elements. The WTO released on 21 April 2011, a 600-page package providing an overview of the last 10 years of Doha negotiations. The following papers provide analysis of this overall package. (more…)
Domestic Regulation of Services Sectors: Analysis of the Draft Negotiation Texts.
This document provides a paragraph by paragraph analysis of the draft domestic regulation texts which are currently being discussed at the WTO’s Working Party on Domestic Regulation (services negotiations).
Pathogens are clearly within the scope of the Nagoya Protocol (NP). Preamble 16 of the NP makes clear that pathogens are within the scope of the NP. Further the preamble does not exclude the application of the benefit sharing provisions of the NP. (more…)
