Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Policy Brief 27, August 2016

The Right to Development: 30 Years On

The Declaration on the Right to Development, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1986 (as Document 41/128) is 30 years old.  It is appropriate to celebrate this anniversary.  For the right to development has had great resonance among people all over the world, including in developing and poor countries.  Even the term itself “the right to development” carries a great sense and weight of meaning and of hope. (more…)

Policy Brief 24, March 2016

Five Points on the Addis Ababa Action Agenda

The outcome of the Third International Financing for Development Conference held in Addis Ababa on 13-16 July 2015 exposes the waning state of multilateral development cooperation today.  In the outcome, which was nevertheless grandly called the “Addis Ababa Action Agenda” (AAAA), there were no new commitments and no proposed actions that can properly be deemed responsive either to (1) the flimsy state of international financing today or (2) the financing requirements of the UN’s new development agenda based on the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs). (more…)

SouthViews No. 123, 7 December 2015

COP21: Great start but how will it end?

By Martin Khor

The climate change conference in Paris had a grand start last week, with high profile speeches from host French President Francois Hollande, American President Barack Obama, Britain’s Prince Charles and many other leaders. Immediately after the opening, the negotiators got down to work and they have not stopped. They realised that their task, to produce the Paris agreement on climate action after 2020, is all-important, whatever good rhetoric the political leaders may come up with. At the half-way mark of the two-week conference, there is no certainty that a final deal can be reached. The conference, known as COP21 (21st Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), is scheduled to end this Friday but could stretch till Saturday or even Sunday. (more…)

SC/ILO/IPD Paper on Austerity Trends 2010-2020, October 2015

The Decade of Adjustment: A Review of Austerity Trends 2010-2020 in 187 Countries

By Isabel Ortiz, Matthew Cummins, Jeronim Capaldo, Kalaivani Karunanethy. Geneva: ILO, IPD Columbia University and the South Centre.

This paper: (i) examines the latest IMF government spending projections for 187 countries between 2005 and 2020; (ii) reviews 616 IMF country reports in 183 countries to identify the main adjustment measures considered by governments in both high-income and developing countries; (iii) applies the United Nations Global Policy Model to simulate (more…)

SouthViews No. 120, 10 November 2015

China’s boost to South-South cooperation

By Martin Khor

Two new Chinese funds totalling US$ 5.1 billion to help developing countries tackle climate change and development problems could be a game changer in South-South cooperation and international relations. China gave a big boost to South-South cooperation when its President, Xi Jinping, made two unprecedented mega pledges totalling US$5.1 billion to assist other developing countries, during his visit to the United States in September. (more…)

Statement, 6 October 2015

South Centre at the WIPO 2015 Assemblies

The South Centre calls on WIPO Member States to guide the work of the organization towards shaping a more inclusive and balanced international intellectual property system.

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Policy Brief 19, July 2015

Financing for Development Conference 2015: A View from the South

On 19 July 2014 the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations agreed on a draft of a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals, taking the first steps toward a renewed development agenda for after 2015. The effort to agree on the SDGs was the follow up to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), whose end-date is 2015. Aside from the 17 specific goals, the draft SDGs included 169 associated targets. (more…)

SouthViews No. 118, 11 June 2015

Climate Change — The Rocky Road to Paris

By Martin Khor

A new climate change agreement is to be adopted in Paris in December, but there are big differences on how to reach a fair deal, and the negotiations are tough. The UN Climate Conference in Paris in December may become a Climate Summit if many top political leaders accept an invitation to attend. What role they are to play is not yet known, or even the dates they are requested to come. A new agreement to tackle climate change is expected to be adopted. But there are many hurdles to overcome before a deal is reached. (more…)

Statements, 3-5 February 2015

South Centre Statements on Sovereign Debt Restructuring Processes

The following are two Statements presented by the South Centre on Options for moving forward and Crisis Resolution & International Debt Workout Mechanisms for a multilateral legal framework for sovereign debt restructuring processes. (more…)

Statement, 3-5 November 2014

South Centre Statement at 2nd UN Conference on LLDCs

The attached is a Statement by the South Centre at Second UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries. (more…)