| South Centre in Media - 2009 |
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Division between developed and developing countries Environmentalists advocate developing nations bypass the carbon age and develop alternative technologies. Yet adoption of these technologies is cost-prohibitive if they are to be asked to pay a monopoly ransom to the West for their use. Martin Khor, director of the South Centre, points out, “When intellectual property rights attached to a technology becomes a barrier to its transfer, because it increases the costs and it prevents developing countries from making the same technologies, then we have to overcome this barrier in order to have the greater international global good.” Bangor Daily News (Maine) 23 December 2009 Available at: http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/133241.html
Copenhague: mataron a Kyoto Dice Martin Khor, presidente del South Centre de Ginebra, que los países industrializados quieren cambiar el método para cuantificar las emisiones. Actualmente, con el PK, rige el sistema “de arriba hacia abajo”, donde se determina cuál es la reducción total que se necesita y, luego, se negocia lo que cada país tiene que hacer, con mecanismos vinculantes. Con el nuevo sistema “de abajo hacia arriba”, cada país decide cuánto quiere reducir sus emisiones, sin mecanismo para verificar su cumplimiento. Goldway Peru (Peru) 21 December 2009 Available at: http://connuestroperu.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9029&Itemid=1
Rich and poor countries blame each other for failure of Copenhagen deal Martin Khor, director of the South Centre, an intergovernmental think tank for developing countries said, "Developing countries are very disappointed because they've invested a lot of time in the documents they're negotiating here." Politicians from all corners of the world were blamed widely for not setting ambitious enough targets to counter climate change. "They refused to lead and instead sought to bribe and bully developing nations to sign up to the equivalent of a death warrant. The best outcome now is no deal," said Tim Jones, climate policy officer from the World Development Movement. Guardian (UK) 19 December 2009 Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/19/copenhagen-blame-game
Leaders must strike deal - Obama "It is very confusing, and developing countries are very disappointed because they've invested a lot of time in the documents they're negotiating here," said Martin Khor, executive director of the South Centre, a Geneva-based think-tank. Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (Ghana) 18 December, 2009 Available at: http://gbcghana.com/news/30303detail.html
Africa: Faith Message At Copenhagen Says Small Actions Now Count
Martin Khor, executive director of the South Centre, a non-governmental organization that campaigns for climate change, described the 7 to 18 December United Nations conference as, "this year's biggest global event", where people from around the world are trying to mobilise coordinated actions from leaders, particularly those from the rich nations. All Africa (Mauritius) 11 December, 2009 Available at: http://allafrica.com/stories/200912120007.html
Division Remain Deep On Eve Of Copenhagen Climate Conference By Martin Khor - Executive Director, South Centre In late November the news on climate change has been on the downgrading of expectations for the Copenhagen conference in December. This is a surprise to those who have been involved in or following the UNFCCC climate talks. The last two sessions of the climate talks - Bangkok in October, Barcelona in November -- to saw the deepening of disagreements, instead of bridging of the gaps. There was little progress on the key issues, and a few dramatic events that showed the depth of the impasse. But it was not all doom and gloom. There was some advance in clarifying some issues, for example some new texts were discussed in finance and technology issues. This helped countries to clarify their positions better, including on structural issues in finance and technology. First is the future of the Kyoto Protocol. What was signaled in Bangkok in early October was confirmed in Barcelona, that almost all the developed countries have decided to abandon the Protocol... Asian Tribune (Bangkok ) 5 December 2009 Available at: http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2009/12/05/division-remain-deep-eve-copenhagen-climate-conference
A desperate need for liquidity (in French) The depletion in international financial flows has created an abysmal deficit in the developing countries. According to Martin Khor, Executive Director of the South Centre, rich countries should mobilize the funds needed to support the innocent peoples suffering from the financial crisis. Interview with Jane-Lise Schneeberger... Swiss Dece December 2009
CLIMATE CHANGE: Rich Nations Resist Binding Commitments
Proposals to end Kyoto come as a shock to developing countries, said Martin Khor, executive director of the South Centre, an intergovernmental organisation of developing countries based in Geneva. Khor acknowledges that the U.S., coming out of its "dark ages", is not ready to make a full Kyoto-like binding agreement yet. But there is flexibility under the current rules for a significant U.S. commitment that is less legally binding without throwing out Kyoto, he said. Instead, rich countries are trying to restart negotiations and have made emissions reduction commitments far below the 30 to 40 percent by 2020 that is needed to have any chance of keeping some small island states from being overwhelmed by rising sea levels, he said. "Rich countries are climbing down from their commitments at a time when they should be stepping up, and shifting the responsibilities to developing countries," Khor said. Inter Press Service (IPS) 9 December, 2009 Available at: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49572
GLOBAL ECONOMY: ‘Put Development First’
"The
more realistic and sobering estimates are still the World Bank 2005
projections of the gains from a 'likely' Doha deal, says the South
Centre. The Bank estimated that the global gains in the year 2015 would
be just $96 billion, with only $16 billion going to the developing
world. InDepthNews (IDN) 29 November, 2009 Available at: http://www.indepthnews.net/news/news.php?key1=2009-11-29%2009:42:19&key2=1
Living with or without the Kyoto Protocol South Centre executive director Martin Khor also noted a similar attempt by developed countries to split developing countries by creating new categories such as “advanced developing countries,” which are to be subject to emission-reduction targets and would get “little global public funds”; and “especially vulnerable countries,” which are to be promised global funding. Khor said the criteria for such categories are arbitrary and have not been agreed upon. BusinessMirror (Philippines ) 26 October 2009 Available at: http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/perspective/17774-living-with-or-without-the-kyoto-protocol.html
Copenhagen: rich countries push dirty deal Executive director of the South Centre Martin Khor said the outcome of the Bangkok talks was “astonishing and unfortunate”. In the October 12 Malaysian Star, he said the fortnight ended “by taking steps backwards from progress towards this December’s Copenhagen conference”. “This has sent shock waves around the world, and raised the prospect of utter failure in Copenhagen”, he said. ... Green Left Weekly (Australia) 17 October, 2009 Available at: http://www.greenleft.org.au/2009/814/41858
Bangkok sees much ado about Protocol Martin Khor, executive director of the South Center, an intergovernmental organisation for G77 plus China, the largest group of developing country representatives, has observed the trend with much worry. He said there has been recent discourse that the Protocol was expiring, a condition he maintained was absolutely not true. What was expiring was its First Phase, and negotiators had made clear at the Bali meeting two years ago that the Protocol would continue and enter its Second Phase, with more commitments. In addition, Bali's conclusions also established possible approaches to deal with developed countries that were still acting outside the Protocol by requiring them to come up with "comparable efforts". The US, for instance, could engage with the Protocol in this way via a new legal form or condition attached, Mr Khor said. But what happened here in Bangkok was that several major developed countries were "jumping ship from the Protocol into a new nationally binding model," he said. "If they jump ship, then we will be left with an empty shell," Mr Khor said. "Then it will be replaced by something else as it will no longer be a binding commitment for the international community. We have an ironic situation, where we have seen the dismantling of an internationally binding model into something inferior." Bangkok Post (Thailand) 10 October, 2009 Available at: http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/25364/bangkok-sees-much-ado-about-protocol
A new and dangerous form of trade and technology protectionism is fast emerging in the name of climate change, and it is poisoning North-South relations in the two negotiating arenas on climate change and on trade. There are clear signs that some developed countries, especially the United States, are preparing to use unilateral trade measures, such as imposing tariffs, taxes or charges on the products of developing countries, on the grounds of combating climate change. A bill passed recently by the US House of Representatives gives the US president authority to impose financial charges (or taxes) on some imports coming from developing countries that in the US view are not taking enough action to curb their greenhouse gas emissions. Asia Times (Thailand) October 10, 2009 Available at: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/KJ10Dj01.html
‘Climatological’ Totalitarianism A cooperation framework is supposed to have emerged when all the participating countries agreed to integrate disaster risk reduction in adaptation measures within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). All countries acknowledged historical responsibilities, committed to take deep cuts in emission levels (mitigation) and provide adequate structures for finance and technology (adaptation). But, according to Martin Khor of the South Centre, an inter-governmental organisation of developing countries, “we are far from operationalising this framework” because of the stonewalling by developed countries. In a press conference convened by the South Centre at the Unescap building where the UNFCCC meetings were being held, Ambassador Lumumba Di Aping, head of delegation of Sudan and chairman of the G77 plus China, stressed that developed countries have very “low ambitions in meeting their emission targets” and gave “no positive response at the establishment of financing and technology structures within the Convention.” This only shows that the ground is being prepared (by developed countries) for commitments not to be honoured, he added. Sin Chew Jit Poh - Malaysia October 10, 2009 Available at: http://www.mysinchew.com/node/30033
ENVIRONMENT: Developing Nations Refuse to Ditch Kyoto Protocol But this distinction – of voluntary emission cuts by developing nations as against the internationally agreed cuts as part of a global environmental regime by the developed nations – is in danger of being blurred. "The developed nations want to become developing nations to avoid meeting their responsibility for global warming," said Martin Khor, executive director of the South Centre, a Geneva-based think tank. "The European Union made this clear on the first day of the negotiations here, declaring that they want a new agreement with some select elements of the Kyoto Protocol included," Khor said in an interview. "Their negotiators had come here to dismantle the Kyoto Protocol rather than negotiating clear targets to reduce emissions." The groundwork for this assault on the protocol was laid during the last two climate negotiating sessions in Bonn, Germany. "Australia, Japan and the U.S. were among those who started talking about a new agreement, but it was not clear what the contents were," Khor revealed. "We thought the new proposals would be an addition to the agreed commitments of the Kyoto Protocol." "This has been the biggest surprise and setback at the negotiations here," the Malaysian national added. "We are in a critical stage, with the biggest issue being the uncertain future of the climate regime." Inter Press Service News (IPS) October 9, 2009 Available at: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48784
Climate talks: The story so far "The United States wants to have a national target without binding it to a global treaty. It appears to have won over many other developed countries. They are stressing that developing countries have 'common' responsibilities," said Martin Khor, director, South Centre, an intergovernmental organization of developing countries based in Geneva. Rediff (India) October 9, 2009 Available at: http://business.rediff.com/report/2009/oct/09/guest-climate-talks-the-story-so-far.htm
Climate talks concluding with rich-poor rift wide open BANGKOK: Two weeks of crucial UN climate talks were concluding Friday after exposing huge rifts between rich and poor nations, just weeks ahead of the deadline for sealing a planet-saving global deal. 'We are at a critical stage with major issues unresolved,’ said Martin Khor, executive director of the South Centre, a Geneva-based think-tank aligned with developing world positions.
‘If there is no improvement in the divisions, the prospects are certainly not bright for an outcome in
...‘The European Union, which was the most loyal to the Protocol up to now — seems to be wavering. If they jump ship,
US blamed as Bangkok talks failure looms "The new financial institute under the structure of UNFCCC would help us to secure funding management for adaptation and mitigation for developing countries," South Centre's executive director, Martin Khor, said yesterday at a press conference. The financial support mainly would come from governments, and carbon-credit trading as the complementary fund. However, the carbon credit should not be the main mechanism to lead the direction of the source of funding under the UNFCCC's financial institution for adaptation and mitigation. A group of developing countries is also asking developed countries to exempt clean technology from intellectual property rights so that developing countries could use such technology to cope with the adverse effects of climate change. But developed countries said intellectual property rights are the source and inspiration for creating new clean technology. Khor said many parties are talking about holding a special convention, which would drag the United States to join the rest of the world's attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Nation (Thailand) 9 October, 2009 Available at: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/10/09/national/national_30114099.php
China: Climate talks sabotaged "The United States wants only to have a national target without binding it to a global treaty. It appears to have won over many other developed countries," said Martin Khor, the director of the South Center, a think tank of poor countries based in Geneva, the Guardian reports. United Press International (UPI) (US) October 5, 2009 Avaliable at: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/Resource-Wars/2009/10/05/China-Climate-talks-sabotaged/UPI-10781254778700/
China leads accusation that rich nations are trying to sabotage climate treaty ..."The United States wants only to have a national target without binding it to a global treaty. It appears to have won over many other developed countries," said Martin Khor, the director of the South Centre, a think tank of poor countries based in Geneva. "They are stressing that developing countries have 'common' responsibilities, a code for pulling in the developing countries into emission-reduction obligations, while down-playing the 'differentiated' responsibilities that recognise that the developing countries have had little role in the historic emissions and need space for economic development." Guardian (UK) October 5, 2009 Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/oct/05/climate-change-kyoto
G20 remains vague on crisis social impact measures ...But the cures for these ills fell far short of what is needed, with one or two specific commitments, plus some broad brush promises. While, the statement gives further details on the purposes and financial instruments that will deliver planned funding via the IMF and World Bank, it fails to make specific commitments on additional financial support for low-income countries. Martin Khor of the Geneva-based intergovernmental body of developing countries South Centre commented that the G20 "did not tackle key issues of immediate concern to developing countries, such as providing more liquid funds, or to help countries from falling into a foreign debt crisis caused by the financial downturn." The most concrete pledge was on agriculture. The G20 decided that the World Bank should work with others to develop a new trust fund to "help support innovative efforts to improve global nutrition and build sustainable agricultural systems". Anticipating recipient country concern about a new sector specific funding vehicle, the communiqué continues that this facility "should be designed to ensure country ownership and rapid disbursement of funds, fully respecting the aid effectiveness principles agreed in Accra." ... EURODAD (Belgium) October 3, 2009 Available at: http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3846
Equalising burden-sharing by Mukul Sanwal who is associated with the South Centre, Geneva While the impact of climate change is global, the response is piecemeal and there is an increasing burden on the developing countries, and the poor living there. How to achieve global consensus on addressing the challenge of climate change is today an unresolved and intensely debated issue. The matter is a sensitive one, as the quest for a global response raises questions as to how to share the burden of reducing the threat among the countries of the world. After all, it is undeniable that the nations of the world have had varying roles in causing the problem, and also have differing vulnerabilities to the harm caused by climate change. Himal Southasian (Nepal) October 1, 2009 Available at: http://www.himalmag.com/Equalising-burden-sharing_nw3583.html
Asia debates moving away from IMF and West ...Yilmaz Akyüz, special economic advisor to the South Centre, an intergovernmental body based in Geneva, said that Asia meets the criteria for developing a common currency just as much as the European Union at the time of the initial work on the euro. Akyüz said that in the past, financial integration in Asia had been stifled by the unconstructive intervention of the IMF and other international actors. “But this time Asia is really serious,” he said, “The European Monetary Union took years to create, and Asia has to move in a similar direction.” Bretton Woods Projects (UK) 22 September, 2009 Available at: http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/art-565291
Developing countries express concern over WIPO's hidden agenda of pushing patent harmonization But, there are apprehensions among the developing countries over the larger intentions of the WIPO. It is evident from an analytical note issued by the South Centre, an intergovernmental organization of developing countries, which says, "Discussions in the WIPO Global Symposium of IP Authorities on 17 and 18 September, 2009 will focus on improving the international patent infrastructure through international collaboration for work-sharing between patent offices and improvement of the PCT system." "These discussions may promote the establishment of a globally harmonized system of patent administration networks. This may fundamentally affect the way in which substantive decisions about granting patents are taken by national offices in developing countries. The discussions in the symposium are particularly significant in view of the proposal by the WIPO Secretariat before the General Assembly to establish a new Committee on Global IP Infrastructure with wide discretionary powers to make recommendations directly to the Director-General without approaching the General Assembly," it said. September 21 2009 Pharmabzi.com (India) Available at: http://www.pharmabiz.com/article/detnews.asp?articleid=51768§ionid=&z=y
U.S. Reluctance on Climate Change Persists They also take issue with a provision in the House’s climate bill that would place tariffs on goods from countries that have failed to accept limits on global warming emissions. “The developed countries, which are mainly responsible for the climate crisis, should be assisting developing countries instead of making them victims, doubly, of the effects of climate change and of climate-linked trade protectionism,” Martin Khor, the executive director of the South Center, an organization representing 50 developing countries, wrote in a column in The Star, a Malaysian newspaper, last week. Such is the backdrop as hundreds of global leaders, industry executives, academics, economists and environmental groups descend on American cities this week for all manner of climate-related discussions. New York Times (US) September 20, 2009 Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/business/global/21iht-green21.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
The financial crisis: A blessing in disguise? ...to overcome the possibility of the influence of developed countries over research, I suggest a more independent space which is more representative of the world’s poor. I suggest therefore the forging of an intellectual project coordinated by a body, such as the South Centre which already has a structure in place for such an undertaking The South Intellectual Platform (SIP) is a South Centre initiative to reflect on issues and challenges affecting the South. The SIP emerged since the work of the South Commission. The research capacity of this existing mechanism may be strengthened by hiring researchers who are representative of various countries and regions to conduct research and to make recommendations appropriately. The researchers should be selected by academic institutions in their respective region/country and should be of good repute with a high record of integrity and excellence. Research should be conducted collaboratively, on the basis of teams, always consisting of researchers from a variety of countries and regions. Newsday (Trinidad and Tobago) September 13, 2009 Available at: http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,107236.html
TOWARD COPENHAGEN: Developing Nations Reject ‘Climate Protectionism’ BERLIN (IDN) – In run-up to a critical global conference coming December in Denmark, the developing countries are not inclined to “suffer the slings and arrows” of a new and dangerous form of trade and technology protectionism fast emerging in the name of Climate Change. On way to Copenhagen, they are determined to “take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them”. In fact they have no option other than opposing strong winds and rough seas on way to the United Nations climate change negotiations Dec. 7-18. Martin Khor, executive director of the Geneva-based South Centre says the rise of ‘climate protectionism’ is “poisoning North-South relations in the two negotiating arenas on climate change and on trade”. InDepthNews Service (IDN), Germany September 12, 2009 Available at: http://www.indepthnews.net/news/news.php?key1=2009-09-12%2000:26:42&key2=1
Is the real action taking place outside UN forum? A report by the South Centre, an intergovernmental organization of developing countries established by an international agreement in 1995, says that current developed country actions in relation to climate financing undermine the institutional effectiveness of the UNFCCC. It estimates that climate financing, that is available or may be made available by the developed world in the foreseeable future, is a little over one-tenth of the minimum estimated requirements for climate financing coming from the UNFCCC or the G-77 (a coalition of developing nations) and China. India and China have also been arguing at the UNFCCC that any funding commitment and flow for climate should be committed under the framework and not externally through bilateral and multilateral agreements. The South Centre report added, “The public financing from developed countries for climate change-related actions that go through non-UNFCCC channels reflect and respond to the donors’ political and economic priorities and interests rather than to the sustainable development priorities of developing countries.” Livemint.com August 12, 2009 Available at: http://www.livemint.com/2009/08/11220953/Is-the-real-action-taking-plac.html?pg=1
CLIMATE CHANGE: Obama Sounds Too Much Like Bush "To avoid deepening their debt, developed countries must seek to become carbon neutral and more," says the Third World Network based in Penang, Malaysia. "Reflecting their historical responsibility, their assigned amounts of atmospheric space in any future year should be even lower. They must take a lead in cutting emissions through deep domestic reductions, and by accepting assigned amounts that reflect the full extent of their historical emissions debt." The Network is a leading civil society organisation involved in research and publications in trade, environment and development issues. Its former director Martin Khor, now director of the South Centre, the inter- governmental policy think-tank of the developing countries, said historical responsibility should serve as a guide to climate change. Addressing an event at the Bonn conference, Khor drew attention to a noting in the UNFCCC preamble that "the largest share of historical and current global emissions of GHG has originated in developed countries, that per capita emissions in developing countries are still relatively low and that the share of global emissions originating in developing countries will grow to meet their social and development needs." Inter Press Service News (IPS) August 12, 2009 Available at: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47202
Why Africa depends on handouts "Food security" will never lead to African food sovereignty and independence until Europe and America do something about their own agricultural subsidies, which they pour on their own farmers. These subsidies out-compete and ravage Africa's agriculture. For example, Martin Khor, executive director of the southern world-oriented think tank the South Centre, found that currently 57 per cent of US rice farms would not have covered their costs if they did not receive subsidies. Khor also says that, between 2002-2003, rice exports were 34 per cent below the cost of producing and milling the rice. Is it any wonder that even Ghana's farmers couldn't compete with imported American rice which has been artificially cheapened because of subsidies? aljazeera July 19, 2009 Available at: http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/07/200971681917239803.html 
IMF austerity chills crisis countries Martin Khor, the director of the South Centre, an intergovernmental body of developing countries, also lamented the G20 strengthening the IMF: “Unfortunately the G20 did not insist on any IMF policy reform, but boosted its resources. This may be the most serious error of the summit.” NGO network Global Campaign for Education was particularly worried about the impact on education spending in low-income countries. In an April report it found that “what the IMF has done since the global financial crisis took hold shows that little has yet changed in practice. LICs will benefit little from the hundreds of billions of dollars announced at the G20. They may have access to some new money, but if present trends continue, that money will come with conditions attached that actively undermine investment in education. There is an urgent need to hold Dominique Strauss Kahn to his word and ensure that a fully comprehensive review of IMF macroeconomic conditions imposed on LICs leads to real change.” Bretton Woods Projects (UK) July 10, 2009 Available at: http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/art-564828
UN economic conference unable to secure financing for developing countries UNITED NATIONS -- The inability to secure funding for low-income countries is the most unfortunate development to come out of the ongoing United Nations conference on the financial crisis, said Martin Khor, the head of an influential think tank of developing countries, here on Thursday. "This is the greatest deficiency, that there was no decision made to give concrete financing to countries that are now facing major problems," Khor of the South Center told Xinhua in an exclusive interview. "This, everybody knows, and this was the weakness of the conference." The South Center, based in Geneva, is an intergovernmental organization and think tank of developing countries... Xinhua News (China) June 26, 2009 Available at: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-06/26/content_11603324.htm
Tentative Agreement on Financial Summit Document ..... Martin Khor, executive director of the South Center, a Geneva-based research organization with 50 developing countries as members, told a news conference Monday that the summit will be a success if participants say in the final document that there's a crisis; that U.N. members agree to help developing countries facing plunging exports, falling reserves, and the possibility of a new debt crisis, and decide to follow up with specific proposals for action. ... Google News June 24, 2009 Available from: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jNUTtdwF1Fe4m0pqkydJ8uvRtAyQD990S9N00
Poor countries call for 1 trillion dollars-plus in stimulus (Roundup)
M & C 22 June, 2009
To reach a climate agreement in the near future, countries must look into the past The South Centre, a Geneva-based intergovernmental organization, estimates that the atmospheric space left for the emission of greenhouse gases can hold up to 600 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions - and developed countries have already used more than their fair share. According to Martin Khor, executive director of the South Centre, as people in poorer nations continue to improve their quality of life, fight for access to electricity, and grow their domestic industry they will need their fair share of this space (including the amount by which developed countries have exceeded their fair share). Failing to take this reality into account at the climate negotiations will doom the people and economies of all nations. Grist (USA) 15 June, 2009 Available at: http://www.grist.org/article/2009-06-15-climate-agreement-future
Week of Decision for Global Economy Hopes are fading that the Group of 20 summit meeting this week will take decisions on the global financial reforms needed and which will really benefit developing countries. THIS will be a crucial week for the fate of the global economy, as political leaders meet in London this Thursday to discuss the financial and economic crisis. It will be the second meeting of the so-called Group of 20. The first was hosted by former US president George W. Bush last November, and it launched what was to be a series of summits to reform the world financial system. The Star(Malaysia) March 30, 2009
Crisis Forces a Rethink on FTAs At an African Trade Ministers’ meeting last week, the anxiety on the increasing effects of the global recession was palpable. In particular, African countries are worried about the free trade agreement being negotiated with the European countries. LAST week I attended a meeting of the Ministers of Trade of Africa held in the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. I found that the political leaders and government officials of that continent are very worried about the effects of the global recession on their countries. This anxiety was best captured in a report of another meeting in London, in the same week, between some African leaders and the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in preparation for the G20 Summit to be held in early April... The Star (Malaysia) March 23, 2009
Das System steht in Frage Mit dem Treffen der G20-Staaten am 2. April in London maßen sich die Industriestaaten einmal mehr die Regelungskompetenz in allen Fragen der Weltwirtschaft an. Gegen diese undemokratischen Showveranstaltungen und dürftige Beschlüsse regt sich Widerstand. Mit der Konferenz »Linke Auswege aus der Krise ökonomische und soziale Perspektiven« wollen die Bundestagsfraktion DIE LINKE und die Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung zur Mobilisierung beitragen. Wir werden Gewerkschaften, Wissenschaftler und Bewegungen aus Asien, Afrika, den USA und Europa zu Wort kommen lassen. Es beteiligen sich die Globalisierungskritikerin Susan George, der Träger des Alternativen Nobelpreises Walden Bello, Yashpal Tandon vom South Centre, Nicola Bullard, Peter Wahl, Stephen Gill und Michael Krätke. Die Gewerkschaften werden mit Margret Mönig-Raane, Dirk Hierschel und Axel Gerntke vertreten sein. Neues Ddeutschland (Germany) March 20, 2009 Available at: http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/145839.das-system-steht-in-frage.html (in German) Translation available at:http://translate.google.ch/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.neues-deutschland.de%2Fartikel%2F145839.das-system-steht-in-frage.html&sl=de&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 (Google Translation in English)
"AFRICA COULD LOSE BIG IN ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS WITH EU" Given the way the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations have been based on the requirement for reciprocal market opening with the European Union (EU), they are likely to bring more losses than gains for Africa and make the path to development even more difficult, writes Aileen Kwa, coordinator of the Trade and Development Programme at the South Centre, Geneva. In this article, the author writes that while the price African countries would have to pay to maintain preferential access into the EU is very high, the value of this access will essentially vanish in 5-10 years because the EU is already negotiating Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Central America, Andean countries, ASEAN, India, and other entities. For preferences that will last but a few years, African countries are being asked to sign away control over their trade policy. The South Centre recommends that countries that want to sign an EPA use development benchmarks pegged to their trade liberalisation schedules. This will ensure that only when countries attain a certain level of development will they have to undertake far-reaching reform of their trade regimes vis-a-vis a very strong economic partner, the EU. Inter Press Service News (IPS) March 18, 2009 Available at: http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=46164
A Lot More Needed to Make South-South Trade Work
...The South Centre’s Aileen Kwa agrees that South-South cooperation, even more than trade, can be a way out of the crisis. "Trade must benefit small agricultural holders and small industries,’’ she adds. ‘‘We always support African countries in their search for regional integration but it must be real. What Kwa calls for, is a different kind of trade, "not based on the same old pattern of just using opportunities of market access. We don’t want a big country coming in and taking over the market of a small neighbouring one. "Rather, it should provide know-how on how to organise the smaller country’s economy and how to upgrade its industry to produce complementary products. The market must be used to increase income equity within the region." Inter Press Service News (IPS) March 17, 2009 Available at: http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=46137
"EPA Accord with EU’ll Stifle Nigeria’s Growth"
Switzerland-based intergovernmental organisation, South Centre, has warned Nigeria and other African nations that the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) being proposed by the European Union (EU) will eliminate the capacity of African nations to industrialise within five to 10 years of signing the agreement. The EU had in the last few years been breathing down the necks of African nations including Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’ Ivoire, Senegal, among others, trying to goad them into endorsing the EPA, which had been identified by various stakeholders as obnoxious and harmful. The EU had so far got countries such as Ghana, Cote d’ Ivoire and some others to endorse an interim version of the EPA and had penalised Nigerian exports to EU countries because Nigeria refused to endorse the interim EPA. South Centre, in a report released to THISDAY yesterday, warned that the way EPA had been conceived, based on the requirement for reciprocal market opening with the EU, is likely to bring more losses than gains to Africa. According to the group, the EPA gains are not much for African countries, as the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), which make up 34 out of 47 African countries negotiating the EPAs, can avail of the Everything But Arms (EBA) Preferential Scheme of the EU and the value of the preferences African countries will reap from an EPA will essentially become nil in about five to 10 years. “It is of vital importance for developing and the least developed countries, that the options for industrialisation for future generations are not foreclosed. This Day (Nigeria) February 18, 2009 Available at: http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=136007
Martin Khor on the Global Economic Meltdown: “We Could Have One Billion More People in the Developing World Plunging into New Poverty Because of this Crisis” Mr. Martin Khor, the incoming Executive Director of the South Centre and director of the Third World Network, was interviewed by Amy Goodman today on her "Democracy Now" show. "Democracy Now" Show (USA) 17 February, 2009 Watch the show or read the transcript at: http://www.democracynow.org/2009/2/17/martin_khor_on_the_global_economic
La innovación es el motor del crecimiento
Xuan Li SERVICIO DE COLUMNISTAS DE IPS FEBRERO 2009 (IPS) - En el mercado global la innovación es el latido vital de las economías basadas en el conocimiento. Abarca tanto la invención de productos y de procesos como su distribución y venta, y es un poderoso estímulo del crecimiento económico. La innovación implica la creación, el intercambio y la evolución de nuevas ideas y de su aplicación para el éxito de una organización, la vitalidad de la economía de una nación y el progreso de la sociedad como un todo. Si queremos resolver la actual crisis financiera mundial lo que se necesita no es menos sino más innovación, escribe Xuan Li, coordinadora del Programa sobre Innovación y Acceso al Conocimiento del Sur. Inter Press Service News (IPS) February 17, 2009 Available at: http://www.ipsnoticias.net/nota_col.asp?idnews=91308 (in Spanish) Translation available at: http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ipsnoticias.net%2Fnota_col.asp%3Fidnews%3D91308&sl=es&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 (Google Translation in English)
Much ado about protectionism Vicente Yu of the South Centre (OECD’s counterpart in the South), Jan Kregel of the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, Ulrich Volz from the German Development Institute and independent consultant Sue Unsworth are present during the day to stimulate debate on ways forward for the network in times of profound crisis. Yu characterised the inequitable status quo in global governance strikingly during his presentation: “If industrialised countries deny developing countries a voice in institutions like the International Monetary Fund, what is the sense of having them at all?” New Europe- The European Weekly, (Brussels) February 16, 2009 Available at: http://www.neurope.eu/articles/92656.php
Focus must be on industries and production, by Yash Tandon Symptomatically, the Geneva-based World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been on the global agenda and media spotlight more than the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). It should have been the reverse. Industry precedes trade; if there is no production there is no trade. One of the more hopeful side effects of the present crumbling of the Doha Round of Trade negotiations is that people will begin to prioritise production and industrialisation over trade. Business Daily (Kenya) February 12, 2009 Available at: http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12841&Itemid=5821
Responsables del Banco Mundial dicen que las TIC "son la agenda más importante para el desarrollo"
Por su parte, el responsable de la agencia intergubernamental South Center, Vikas Nath, hizo ver que la forma actual de trabajar en redes es buscando soluciones globales. En este sentido, defendió la necesidad de que los países desarrollen programas de cooperación, porque "el coste de no cooperar es mayor que el de cooperar". La Hora de Asturias (Spain) February 11, 2009 Available at: http://www.lahoradeasturias.com/index.php?id_ed=00000091&id_not=0000010116 (in Spanish) Translation available at: http://translate.google.ch/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lahoradeasturias.com%2Findex.php%3Fid_ed%3D00000091%26id_not%3D0000010116%23&sl=es&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 (Google Translation in English)
Nath: 'El 0,7 es un eslogan de los países ricos para transferir recursos' El responsable de Comunicación de la Agencia Intergubernamental South Centre de Ginebra, Vikas Nath, ha considerado hoy 'obsoletas' las políticas gubernamentales de cooperación y ha denunciado que el aporte del 0,7 por ciento del PIB a proyectos de desarrollo 'es un eslogan de los países ricos para transferir recursos'. Nath ha abogado por un 'cambio de mentalidad y de forma de trabajar' de las agencias estatales de cooperación internacional y ha advertido sobre el 'riesgo' que representa la dependencia de los fondos de solidaridad internacional de países desarrollados para la soberanía de los presupuestos de las naciones empobrecidas. Terra Actualidad - EFE (Spain) February 11, 2009 Available at: http://actualidad.terra.es/nacional/articulo/nath-eslogan-paises-ricos-transferir-3066179.htm (in Spanish) Translation available at: http://translate.google.ch/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Factualidad.terra.es%2Fnacional%2Farticulo%2Fnath-eslogan-paises-ricos-transferir-3066179.htm&sl=es&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 (Google Translation in English)
Finanzkrise hat dramatische Auswirkungen auf Entwicklungsländer Yash Tandon vom South Center in Genf warf den westlichen Industrieländern vor, die schwere Krise in den vergangenen 30 Jahren durch eine "Kapitalisierung der Produktion" ausgelöst zu haben. Bankgeschäfte und Finanzen seien wichtiger gewesen als Arbeitsplätze und Produktion. Als Beispiel nannte er die Spekulationen auf Nahrungsmittel, die zu den im vergangenen Jahr massiv gestiegenen Nahrungsmittelpreisen geführt hätten. Deutscher Bundestag (Pressemitteilung) (Germany) February 11, 2009 Available at: http://www.bundestag.de/aktuell/hib/2009/2009_042/03.html (in German) Translation available at: http://translate.google.ch/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bundestag.de%2Faktuell%2Fhib%2F2009%2F2009_042%2F03.html&sl=de&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 (Google Translation in English)
South Centre supports Premier Wen Jia-bao’s main proposals concerning the global economy “The 22nd meeting of the directors of the South Centre, held on 9 February in Geneva, expressed its support for the main proposals concerning the global economy that Premier Wen Jia-bao presented at Davos in Switzerland on 28 January.” “Many of the directors participating in the meeting gave high praise to Premier Wen Jia-bao’s speech, as well as the Chinese government’s proactive efforts to encourage the international community to jointly deal with the global financial crisis. (They) believe that China’s proposals and measures have been of immense importance in stimulating and strengthening the international community’s confidence, and demonstrate China’s role as a great developing country that bears its responsibilities.” “The meeting also discussed how developing countries can cooperate together to deal with the global financial crisis, trade protectionism, climate change and other problems.” Xinhua News Agency (China) February 9, 2009 Available at: http://chinanewswrap.com/2009/02/09/south-centre-supports-premier-wen-jia-baos-main-proposals-concerning-the-global-economy/ Full Chinese Version available at: http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2009-02/10/content_10791022.htm
Establish entity for management of crisis in Kuwait, says expert Member of the Board of Directors from Kuwait’s South Center Dr Yousef Al-Zalzalah urged Sunday both the executive branch and legislative branches in Kuwait to issue a decree to establish an entity for crisis management. Dr Zalzalah, who is attending the South Centre board meeting told the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), that such an entity is a must in Kuwait to deal with any crisis, be it political or economic. He added that the board discussed this morning in its first session the impact of the global crisis on the South and how to deal with the North while looking for global solutions for solving it. Dr Zalzalah stressed that the South Centre will establish a committee of experts who will deal with this crisis whether it is in the financial or employment fields. Arab Times (Kuwait) February 8, 2009 Available at: http://www.arabtimesonline.com/kuwaitnews/pagesdetails.asp?nid=28338&ccid=9
Beyond A Dollar A Day Despite massive flows of aid to developing countries, one in four of the world's population lives on less than a dollar a day. When it comes to unlocking the economic potential of the poor, what works best? Dr. Yash Tandon, Executive Director, South Centre appears in this documentary. BBC World News (UK) 1410 GMT on Saturday 31st January Repeated: Sunday 1st February 0810 and 1810 GMT, Monday 2nd Available at: http://www.bbcworldnews.com/Pages/Programme.aspx?id=249
PATENT COUNTS NOT A TRUE INDICATOR OF THE GEOGRAPHY OF INNOVATION In this analysis, the author writes that although patent statistics are one indication of innovation performance, they are far from an accurate measure, especially in the context of the rise in patent filings in developing countries. Accordingly, any cross-country comparison must take note of the differences in the design of patent systems. For instance, a tally of resident patents in China includes patents filed by foreigners. A patent filed by LG Electronics China Branch is counted as a Chinese domestic patent yet the same patent may also be registered in several other countries. This makes patent counts highly suspect as a basis for a geographic assessment of innovation because it combines indigenous and foreign patents, which can lead to a significant bloating of a nation's rank as an innovator. Inter Press Service News (IPS) January, 2009 Available at: http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=46152
„Für Millionen Menschen geht es ums Überleben“ - Vincente Paolo Yu, Koordinator des "South Centre" im Interviewü. Die Initiative „180 Grad – Die klimatische Wende“, hinter der die drei NGOs Greenpeace, Action Solidarité Tiers Monde und Caritas als Initiatoren stehen, hat bereits im vergangenen Jahr Konferenzen zum Thema Klimawandel organisiert und eine Studienreise nach Grönland unternommen. Am 27. Februar dieses Jahres werden einige Mitglieder nach Bangladesch aufbrechen. Im Vorfeld fand an der Universität Luxemburg eine Konferenz statt, für die die Veranstalter Vicente Paolo Yu, Koordinator von „South Centre“, gewinnen konnten, um den Klimawandel aus Sicht von Entwicklungsländern darzulegen. Im LW-Interview erklärt Yu die Position von Entwicklungsländern in den Diskussionen zum Klimawandel und schildert, welche Konsequenzen die Veränderung des Weltklimas auf jene zumeist armen Länder hat. Luxembourg Wort (Luxembourg) January 30, 2009 Available at: http://www.wort.lu/wort/web/letzebuerg/artikel/06436/fuer-millionen-menschen-geht-es-ums-ueberleben.php (in German)
Latha Jishnu: Policy of encirclement The most lethal provision of SECURE is that rights holders are not obliged to provide adequate evidence to show that there is prima facie an infringement to initiate action. This is not to be wondered at since rights holders (private industry associations) have been driving the agenda. Viviana Muñoz Tellez, programme officer for the Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme of the South Centre in Geneva, has highlighted the “cosy relationship and role of right holder groups at the WCO” who were participating in the meetings at the same level as member-states. Shockingly, they have their own vice-chair in the SECURE working group.
..... Business Standard (India) January 30, 2009
Available at: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/latha-jishnu-policyencirclement/00/21/347476/
PM Spencer completes successful tenure as chair of G77
Accomplishments cited by the release included launching of the first ever “Development Platform for the South”, further enhancement of G77’s flagship “Programme of South-South Co-operation”, finalisation of the Agreement on the Establishment of the South Fund for Development and Humanitarian Assistance, strengthening of the relationships among various institutions supporting the countries of the South and forging of a strong partnership involving in particular the Group of 77 and China, the Group of 24 and the South Centre especially in respect of international financial and economic issues.
The Antigua Sun (Antigua and Barbuda) January 27, 2009 Available at: http://www.antiguasun.com/paper/?as=view&sun=302137058601272009&an=405246047901272009&ac=Local#StoryRest
What does Obama owe Africa? While Castro sees Obama as the victim of a system, Senegalese President, Abdoulaye Wade, situates Obama within the proper context. "Obama is first and foremost an American. He´s not the only American to have roots outside the United States … but at the end of the day, they are all American." Dr. Yash Tandon of the Switzerland based think-tank – South Centre, seems to agree with President Wade. "Obama after all is answerable to his electorate, and to his own congress," he said. American Chronicle (USA) January 27, 2009 Available at: http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/89031
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