United Nations (UN)

SouthViews No. 36, 19 October 2014

Climate talks at new crossroads before COP 18

By Martin Khor

The latest round of UNFCCC climate negotiations in Bangkok in September has revealed a major problem. The Bali Road Map launched in December 2007 had 2 tracks. The Kyoto Protocol track seems to be ending in a very weakened outcome, while the Bali Action Plan track is in danger of being killed without a proper closure or a transfer of its unsettled issues.

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SouthViews No. 22, 20 July 2012

Developing countries very vulnerable to global economic crisis, UN role is vital: South Centre speech at UN

By Yilmaz Akyüz

The world economy is as fragile today as in 2009. Developing countries are very vulnerable to a slowdown caused by the Eurozone crisis. There has been no global reforms and the G20 is ineffective. Thus the role of the UN on global economic issues is vital. These are highlights of the speech by the South Centre’s Chief Economist at the UN General Assembly High Level Thematic Debate on the State of the Global Economy in New York on 18 May.

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SouthViews No. 20, 18 July 2012

Sustainable Development as an Answer to Economic and Financial Crises

Below is the speech delivered by Dr Yilmaz Akyüz, Chief Economist of the South Centre on the Sustainable Development Dialogue Roundtable on the Global Financial Crisis, UN Conference on Sustainable Development 2012, in Rio de Janeiro on 16 June 2012. (more…)

SouthViews No. 19, 17 July 2012

The Rio+20 Summit and its Follow Up

By Martin Khor

The Rio+20 summit from 13 to 22 June was disappointing to many, but it could still succeed through the mandated follow-up actions. The South Centre’s Executive Director gives an in-depth assessment.

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Policy Brief 10, June 2012

The State of the World Economy – South Centre Statement to the UN High Level Thematic Debate on the State of the World Economy.

The South Centre’s Chief Economist, Dr. Yilmaz Akyüz, took part as a speaker at the UN General Assembly’s two-day Thematic Debate on the State of the World Economy, held in New York on 17-18 May 2012. Below is the statement he presented to one of the four roundtables at the conference. (more…)

Press Release, 12 April 2012

Press Release: Silencing the message or the messenger …. or both?.

On 11 April 2012, two former senior UNCTAD officers held a press conference at the Club Suisse de la Presse, Geneva, Switzerland. They presented a statement signed by almost 50 former senior UNCTAD officers and staff that expressed deep concern and alarm regarding the pressure placed on UNCTAD and the Group of 77 by major developed countries in the preparations for UNCTAD XIII. (more…)

Statement, 3 December 2009

Statement at UN High Level Conference on South-South Cooperation, Nairobi, Kenya

On behalf of the Chairman of the Board of the South Centre, H.E. former resident Benjamin W. Mkapa of the United Republic of Tanzania, and the Executive Director of the South Centre, the South Centre is pleased to articipate in this Conference, and congratulates you on the successful negotiation of the outcome document. (more…)

Paper on UN Global Economic Governance, August 2009

The Role of the United Nations in Global Economic Governance

Global economic policy issues are often addressed by specialized multilateral agencies in a fragmented, incoherent and inconsistent manner and often with failures in relation to certain areas of global policy – particularly in trade and finance – that have broader implications for the multilateral system as a whole. (more…)

Statement, 25 March 2009

Statement at the UN General Assembly Extraordinary Thematic Dialogue on The World Financial And Economic Crisis And Its Impact On Development, New York

1. The extraordinarily serious global economic crisis has its origins in the developed countries. Developing countries are not responsible, but they are severely affected, and in ways that are worse than the developed countries, as they also lack the means to counter the effects. (more…)

Analytical Note, October 2008

Developing country perspectives on the role of the Development Cooperation Forum: building strategic approaches to enhancing multilateral development cooperation.

This Analytical Note follows up the study on stakeholder perspectives on the Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) prepared by the South Centre entitled “Reshaping the International Development Cooperation Architecture: Perspectives on a Strategic Development Role for the Development Cooperation Forum” (more…)

Analytical Note, August 2008

Comments on the 3rd high level forum on aid effectiveness. Final Draft of the Accra Agenda for Action.

This South Centre Analytical Note looks at the 25 July 2008 final draft text of the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA) that is being proposed for adoption by participants at the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra, Ghana, in September 2008. (more…)

Analytical Note, July 2008

Financing for development from Monterrey to Doha.

This Analytical Note evaluates how far the commitments contained in the 2002 Monterrey Consensus were fulfilled. It also examines the adequacy of the Monterrey Consensus as a framework for guiding international policy decisions and actions in current circumstances, (more…)