Human Rights

South Centre Statement – 10th Session of OEIGWG on TNCs & OBEs, 16 December 2024

South Centre Statement – 10th Session of the Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Respect to Human Rights

16 December 2024

South Centre is participating in the 10th Session of the OEIGWG for a Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights, starting this week at the Palais des Nations in UN Geneva.

South Centre addressed the OEIGWG, emphasising on the need for a strong treaty to ensure access to remedies for victims of human rights violations; hold businesses accountable across jurisdictions; and ensure a just transition & digital transformation.

South Centre is committed to supporting the work of the OEIGWG.

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Geneva Graduate Institute and South Centre Report, December 2024

Investor Obligations in International Investment Law

by David Cheng, Jai Abhijit Unde, and James Casey Ryan

Prepared for the South Centre as part of the Geneva Graduate Institute’s LL.M. Legal Clinic Programme

This report first outlines key instruments and different approaches that some States across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas have taken to reform the international investment regime in relation to investor obligations. Second, it charts the trends arising from investment tribunals following Urbaser across environmental and human rights cases. Third, it describes and evaluates the reform efforts at the multilateral level. Finally, it summarises and evaluates avenues for policy reform by States. 

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SouthViews No. 279, 28 November 2024

The right to research in Africa

By Desmond Oriakhogba

African researchers continue to face information-access barriers owing to copyright exclusivity preserved by the global copyright system that is designed and skewed towards protecting rights holders’ interests. A specific explicit human right to research is an important mechanism that can ensure an equitable balance between the private commercial interest of copyright owners and the public interest in promoting access to information for research in Africa. This article demonstrates how the right to research can be constructed from the normative content and scope of the rights to science and culture, education, property and freedom of expression provided for in international, regional and national human rights regimes in Africa.

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Book by the South Centre, 2024

Les défis des futures pandémies

Enjeux politiques et négociations internationales

Les défis des futures pandémiesDetails:

De nouvelles pandémies sont inéluctables. Comment mieux s’y préparer et surtout comment éviter les erreurs et injustices commises durant la pandémie du Covid-19 ? Des négociations sont en cours pour formuler un traité international contraignant sur la prévention et la préparation pour des réponses plus justes aux futures pandémies. Ce livre se veut une contribution critique aux débats en cours.

Comment garantir l’accès équitable aux médicaments et diagnostics, alors que la majorité d’entre eux sont produits dans un petit nombre de pays ? Comment expliquer que le financement actuel de la coopération en matière de santé se retrouve entre les mains d’un groupe réduit de pays et fondations du Nord ? Comment renforcer le rôle de l’Organisation mondiale de la santé, qui ne joue plus qu’un rôle mineur dans la coordination des politiques de santé publique ? Comment se fait-il que le concept de « médicaments essentiels », une avancée majeure dans les politiques de santé publique, soit remplacé par celui de « contre-mesures médicales », un terme qui s’accorde plutôt à la logique de profit du secteur privé ?

La préparation aux futures pandémies nous oblige à nous interroger : comment préserver l’intérêt général, la défense des droits de l’homme et la santé publique ?

Auteur: Germán Velásquez est conseiller spécial en matière de politique et de santé au South Centre à Genève.

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SC Statement at the 2024 Social Forum of the Human Rights Council, 31 October 2024

Statement by the South Centre at the 2024 Social Forum of the Human Rights Council

31 October 2024

At the Human Rights Council Social Forum, South Centre Senior Programme Officer Abdul Muheet Chowdhary presented key international tax reform inputs to the upcoming Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) for “The Contribution Of Financing For Development To The Advancement Of All Human Rights For All”.

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Research Paper 200, 26 June 2024

Transforming the Non-Military Structures of Global Governance

 Assessing Priorities for Chapter 5 of the Pact for the Future

 By Harris Gleckman, PhD

Published by South Centre and Transnational Institute

The complex web of challenges confronting humanity – climate change, pandemics, economic inequality, and violent conflict – demands a robust global governance system. However, the current architecture, centred on the United Nations, is widely considered inadequate. This document delves into this debate, analysing proposed reforms for the UN system in the Summit of the Future context. At the centre of the discussion is the need for an update to the UN System, particularly strengthening its effectiveness, efficiency, and democratic representation. The document recognises the need for prioritisation, focusing on reforms that tackle the “triple crisis” – climate change, inequality, and conflict – while remaining politically achievable. The document also highlights the disconnect between economic and political institutions, arguing for a more unified approach. Reform proposals encompass a wide spectrum, including institutional changes, consultative practices, decision-making rules and financing. The reforms proposed aim to empower the UN to take decisive action on pressing global issues, looking at past reform efforts, assessing the feasibility of current proposals, and prioritising those most likely to yield tangible results. This publication aims to serve as a roadmap for navigating the complexities of UN reform and providing a comprehensive overview of proposed changes towards shaping a more effective and democratic global governance system for the future.

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SouthViews No. 266, 19 June 2024

Knocking Down Business-related Human Rights Abuses with a Feather: Is the European Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive Sufficient to Tackle Corporate Impunity?

By Daniel Uribe

In April 2024, the European Parliament approved the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), aiming to ensure that European firms and their partners uphold human rights and environmental standards in their supply chains. This Directive applies to large EU and non-EU companies, with a phased implementation starting in 2027. The CSDDD mandates the integration of due diligence in corporate policies and the development of transition plans aligned with the Paris Agreement. Despite these advancements, the Directive’s scope and civil liability provisions are limited to effectively hold corporations accountable for human rights abuses. The ongoing negotiations on an International Legally Binding Instrument on Business and Human Rights offer an opportunity to adopt common standards on due diligence and jurisdiction to improve access to justice and remedies for victims of corporate-related abuses.

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SouthViews No. 262, 24 April 2024

The Global Digital Compact we need for people and the planet

 by Anita Gurumurthy, Nandini Chami, Shreeja Sen, Merrin Muhammed Ashraf of IT for Change

The Zero Draft of the Global Digital Compact (GDC) to be adopted at the Summit of the Future is crucial to international digital cooperation under a transformative vision of global digital governance. It should identify the means for achieving equitable participation, sustainable development, gender equality, increased local capacity, public ownership of core digital infrastructure and address the concentration of power in the digital economy. This SouthViews considers some of the shortcomings of the draft GDC, particularly in attaining equitable international data governance and democratic participation in a digital multistakeholder scenario to avoid data monopolies and ensure inclusive policy-making processes, while recentering the objectives of Internet governance for inclusive and development-oriented information societies.

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South Centre Inputs to the UNSG Report on Embargo Imposed against Cuba, 11 March 2024

Contribución del Centro Sur al Informe del Secretario General de las Naciones Unidas sobre la aplicación de la Resolución A/RES/78/7 de la Asamblea General sobre la “Necesidad de poner fin al bloqueo económico, comercial y financiero impuesto por los Estados Unidos de América contra Cuba”

Esta contribución del Centro Sur se presenta en respuesta a la solicitud del Secretario General como un aporte al informe del Secretario General de acuerdo a la resolución A/RES/78/7, con respecto a la imposición de medidas económicas, financieras y comerciales unilaterales por parte de los Estados Unidos de América, contra Cuba, en violación de los principios básicos de la Carta de las Naciones Unidas.

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HRC55 Side-event, 14 March 2024

PLEASE JOIN US IN HIGH-LEVEL SIDE-EVENT AT THE 55th SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL:

The new Working Group on the Rights of Peasants & Other People Working in Rural Areas: Challenges & perspectives from the field

Palais des Nations – Room XXV

14 March 2024

4-5 PM

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