This issue of South Bulletin focuses on two sets of negotiations at the United Nations --  the UNCTAD XIII which starts on 21 April in Doha, and the Rio+20 summit to be held in June.

UNCTAD conferences are held every four years.  The last two sessions were quite tame affairs.  But UNCTAD XIII (21-26 April in Doha) is expected to be difficult and even fiery, because the future mandate of UNCTAD to undertake work on key issues like the global financial crisis is being questioned.  Pre-conference negotiations in Geneva hit an impasse. The developing countries are putting up a fight to preserve the mandate given at UNCTAD XII in 2008.  

The South Centre Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme is seeking to fill the position of a full-time intern. The Intern will be based at the South Centre, in Geneva (Switzerland) and will be integrated to the current work programme of the Innovation and Access to Knowledge. A critical challenge facing many developing countries and least-developed countries (LDCs) is establishing and or enhancing expertise relating to innovation, access to knowledge, and how intellectual property (IP) affects these processes.The Programme provides practical experience to interns, hence promoting their understanding of the implications of the regulatory regimes such as IP on innovation and access to knowledge. Applications are still being accepted.

13 April 2012, Geneva

The Group of 77 and China, represented by Ambassador Pisanu Chanvitan of Thailand, delivered a statement to the Preparatory Committee for UNCTAD XIII highlighting the impasse in the negotiations due to the positions of developed countries that in essence sought to weaken UNCTAD. The statement stressed the Group of 77 and China’s willingness and flexibility in order to achieve a consensual outcome document, and indicated that the Group sought the reaffirmation of the UNCTAD XII Accra Accord and then build upon it, with the “distilled” text produced by the President of the Preparatory Committee on 4 April 2012 as the minimum.

Geneva, April 2012

This is a statement signed by former senior UNCTAD staff members including Secretary General Rubens Ricupero, Deputy Secretary-Generals and Directors, regarding the pressure placed on UNCTAD and the G-77 by major developed countries in the preparations for UNCTAD XIII. The statement has been released in a press conference held today and presented to Ambassador Maruping, President of the Trade and Development Board of UNCTAD and Chair of UNCTAD XIII Preparatory Committee.

Policy Brief 8, April 2012

The current incentive-based model of pharmaceutical R&D has failed to make needed medicines available to a large number of people, especially those living in developing countries. This Policy Brief recognizes the urgent need of shifting from the incentive-based model of R&D to a model that effectively promotes not only innovation but more importantly access to medicines, particularly for diseases that disproportionately affect developing countries.

This issue of South Bulletin highlights a keynote speech made by the Chairperson of the South Centre, H.E. Mr. Benjamin W. Mkapa, former President of Tanzania, in which he made a critical analysis of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) that the African countries are negotiating with the European Union, and the alternatives for the East African Community and for African countries.