| South Centre in Media - 2008 |
The problem with aid
December 31, 2008 Available at: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_opinion?id=161418673 
US IP Attachés Take Hard-Line Position On Overseas IP Enforcement
Even the World Intellectual Property Organization has fallen sway to anti-intellectual property trends, claimed Ness and Nancy Omelko, the IP attaché at the US mission in Geneva.
...the debate is being driven by the anti-intellectual property agenda of groups like the South Centre and Oxfam, said Ness. Intellectual Property Watch (Geneva) December 26, 2008 Available at : http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=1387
Budget Debates Arise Again At WIPO; Development Fears Run High
A number of governments cited a new analysis from the South Centre – an intergovernmental think tank for developing countries – that showed the new proposed budget provides significantly less funding for development-related activities than the existing budget, which was previously approved by member states.
Intellectual Property Watch (Geneva)
I R A N N E W S
South Centre calls for Revamping the Global Financial Architecture
The financial crisis has shown how dysfunctional the current international financial architecture is to manage the global economy of today, with its myriad of interconnections through which financial turmoil spreads across the world and with its revealed and significant regulatory deficit. In the 1980s, the debt crisis in Latin America, Africa and other parts of the developing world, and in the late 1990s the succession of the Asian, Russian and Latin American crises, had already revealed that something was deeply wrong with that architecture.
Iran News (Tehran)
December 4, 2008
Available at: http://www.irannewsdaily.com (Edition number: 3934)
Climate-change funding options reviewed Executive director of the Geneva-based South Centre NGO, Yash Tandon, from Uganda, lashed out at the attempts of World Bank in saying that UNFCCC should be the only channel from where to offer climate change funds.“And if countries in the North do not comply, UNFCCC should impose sanctions on them. After all South gets sanctions from the UN if we don’t hold up our treaties,” Tandon said. Gulf Times (Qatar) December 2, 2008 Available at: http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=258201&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16 
Experts call for global financial system
International agreements to stabilise the financial system can help prevent the recurrence of crises. A global consensus on reviewing the system was needed because the current crisis has not spared even those countries which were just innocent bystanders.
At another event titled ‘Time for Change: Building a New Global Economic Architecture’ almost similar views were put forth by experts who included Pedro Paez Perez, Ecuador’s economy minister, Jomo Sundarama, UN Assistant Secretary-General, and Yash Tandon, from Geneva-based South Centre. December 1, 2008 
G-20 declaration on financial crisis - Too little, too late
Dr. Yash Tandon, Executive Director, South Centre, Geneva in this review of the G-20 Declaration says there is need for a better response to the Global economic meltdown than a three-hour effort of a group of 20 who were apparently acting out a script. Business Times (Nigeria) November 28, 2008 
PRESS RELEASE : G-20 Declaration on Financial Crisis - Too Little, Too Late, Need for a Better Response, says Dr. Yash Tandon, Executive Director, South Centre, Geneva In barely camouflaged ideological assumptions that are both historically and logically flawed, the Declaration lacks empirical correspondence to the reality on the ground and theoretical depth. The Liberian Times November 26, 2008
Available at: http://theliberiantimes.com/blogs/index.php?blog=2&title=press_release_g_20_declaration_on_financ&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
Africa and India Interrogate World Order Modern Ghana November 26, 2008 Available at: http://www.modernghana.com/news/192255/1/africa-and-india-interrogate-world-order.html 
Africa looks East for aid and trade Accountability requirements “are often harder on developing countries than donors,” notes Mr. Yash Tandon of the South Centre, an intergovernmental think tank for developing countries. Africa Renewal November 18, 2008 available at: http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/newrels/africa-looks-east.html http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=128439 
Western influence erodes as Africa looks to Asia
Africa looks East for aid and trade
And while Western powers are insisting that China and India become more accountable in their aid and investment practices, some in Africa point out that the Northern donors themselves tend to pursue a one-way approach to accountability. Accountability requirements “are often harder on developing countries than donors,” notes Mr. Yash Tandon of the South Centre, an intergovernmental think tank for developing countries. He cites Tanzania, which hosted 541 donor missions in 2005 alone and had to account to donors for 700 projects managed by 56 separate offices. Despite recent commitments by Northern aid agencies to improve their practices, he adds, Tanzania’s donors prepare “performance conditionalities” in consultation with the World Bank, but without Tanzania’s participation.
Afrik.com Legal Committee Recommends Assembly Observer Status for University for Peace, Group Promoting South-South Cooperation; Debate on Law Commission Report Ends Acting without a vote, the Committee recommended the granting of observer status for the South Centre, an international organization promoting South-South cooperation. 7th Space November 6, 2008
Available at: http://7thspace.com/headlines/297090/legal_committee_recommends_assembly_observer_status_for_university_ 
How will the Financial Crisis Affect Africa World markets are collapsing. Can Africa withstand the impact? What can Africa learn from the failed policies of the world's wealthiest economies? Brent Gregston examines the financial clouds with a panel of experts: Colm Foy, editor of African Economic Outlook at the OECD's Development Centre; Yash Tandon, Executive Director of the think tank South Centre, author of Ending Aid Dependence; Aly-Kahn Satchu, commodity trader on the Nairobi Stock Exchange, author of Anyone Can Be Rich. Radio France International November 4, 2008 Available at: http://www.rfi.fr/actuen/articles/107/article_2045.asp
Que disent les pays pauvres de la crise financière ? Les grands pays émergents – comme l’Inde, la Chine ou le Brésil – ne représentent plus les pays les moins avancés, souligne l’Ougandais Yash Tandon , directeur d’une organisation intergouvernementale regroupant 50 des pays les plus pauvres du monde. La Croix (France) November 3, 2008 click here to view the article
South Centre Calls for Revamping the Global Financial Architecture The global economic system is at a turning point, and the need to rethink the Financing for Development concepts proposed by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund is becoming increasingly apparent. It is unlikely that leaders from the North and South will rise to this challenge when they meet for the UN conference on development finance in Doha, says Yash Tandon, executive director of the South Centre, an intergovernmental policy think-tank of the developing countries based in Geneva. Global Perspectives (Germany) November, 2008 available at: http://www.global-perspectives.info/download/2008/pdf/ausgabe_edition_1108.pdf 
Collapse of an ideology The global economic system is at a turning point, and the need to rethink the Financing for Development (FfD) concepts proposed by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) is becoming increasingly apparent. It is unlikely that leaders from the North and South will rise to this challenge when they meet for the UN conference on development finance in Doha later this month. D+C (Germany) November 2008 Available at: http://www.inwent.org/ez/articles/082661/index.en.shtml Available also in Germany at: http://www.inwent.org/ez/articles/082661/index.en.shtml 
Global financial meltdown: The West and the rest Yash Tandon, executive director, South Centre, a Geneva-based inter-governmental organisation with representatives from over 50 developing countries, has succinctly summarised six important lessons that need to be learnt from the "meltdown of the Western capitalist system". This correspondent endorses much of what he has stated and is, hence, explaining his contentions in detail. The Asian Age (India) October 26, 2008 Available at: http://www.asianage.com/presentation/leftnavigation/opinion/op-ed/world-financial-crisis-the-west-and-the-rest.aspx
Green issues to top agenda at finance meeting The right to develop and improve the well-being of populations in the South cannot be denied, and, while everything should be done that their development is "clean", there is no question that their contribution to pollution would increase over time, the South Centre Input into the reparatory process leading to the Doha meeting said. The Peninsula (Qatar) October 26, 2008 
Financial Crisis and Impact on Africa
Dr. Yash Tandon, Executive Director, South Centre appeared on Al Jazeera TV as a panelist on Riz Khan's show on Financial Crisis and Impact on Africa on 23rd October 2008. He commented that he did not believe that the African continent will be severely affected by the global credit crunch as its economy remained decoupled from global economy. He also pointed to the need for Africa to graduate out of aid dependence. Al Jazeera October 23, 2008 Available at: http://southcentre.blip.tv/#1403282 
Africa and global finance: potential resistance? As South Centre director (and Ugandan political economist) Yash Tandon put it: ‘The first lesson, surely, is that contrary to mainstream thinking, the market does not have a self-corrective mechanism.‘ Such disequilibration means that Africa receives sometimes too much and often too little in the way of financial flows, and the inexorable result during periods of turbulence is intensely amplified uneven development. Pambazuka News October 23, 2008 Available at: http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/51402 
Aide au développement et investissements : L’Afrique se tourne vers l’Orient
Yash Tandon du South Center, un groupe de réflexion intergouvernemental pour les pays en développement, estime que très souvent les pays en développement sont soumis à des règles “plus strictes que les pays bailleurs de fonds”. Il donne l’exemple de la Tanzanie, qui a reçu 541 missions de bailleurs de fonds rien qu’en 2005, au cours desquelles elle a dû s’expliquer sur quelque 700 projets administrés par 56 bureaux d’exécution. Walf Fadjri (Senegal) October 22, 2008 Available at: http://www.walf.sn/economique/suite.php?rub=3&id_art=50343 (in French) Translation available at: http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.walf.sn%2Feconomique%2Fsuite.php%3Frub%3D3%26id_art%3D50343&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=fr&tl=en (Google Translation in English) 
Etter finanskrisen
Samfunnsøkonom Yash Tandon er opprinnelig fra Uganda, og direktør for tenketanken South Centre, som har hovedkontor i Genève og representerer landene i Sør. Han kommer til Globaliseringskonferansen på Folkets Hus i Oslo 8. november for å snakke om finanskrisen. Og han tror den stikker dypere enn mange aner.
Ny Tid (Norway)
October 17, 2008 Available at: http://www.nytid.no/perspektiver/artikler/20081017/etter_finanskrisen/ (in Norwegian)
Translation available at: http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytid.no%2Fperspektiver%2Fartikler%2F20081017%2Fetter_finanskrisen%2F&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=no&tl=en (Google Translation in English)
Bistandssystemet har utgått på dato
Direktøren for South Centre i Geneve, Yash Tandon fra Uganda, mener hele tankesettet er feil. Han mener bistand bygger på tre feilaktige forutsetninger.
Bistandsaktuelt (Norway) October 14, 2008 Available at: http://www.bistandsaktuelt.com/Default.asp?ID=5341&t=a (in Norwegian)
Translation available at: http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bistandsaktuelt.com%2FDefault.asp%3FID%3D5341%26t%3Da&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=no&tl=en (Google Translation in English)
Global financial meltdown: The West and the rest The debt-financed US-led global economy is crumbling. What lessons can the leaders of the South learn from the present meltdown of the Western capitalist system? There are six lessons that can be offered. Business Times (Nigeria) October 8-12, 2008 
Utvikling og solidaritet henger sammen Yash Tandon og Dagsavisen har tatt et nytt tak i bistandsdebatten og ristet den kraftig. Tandon hevder i sin kronikk 3. oktober at bistand fratar folk i sør makt, undergraver demokratisk utvikling og bidrar til å opprettholde det rike nords maktgrep. Man skulle tro norske bistandsorganisasjoner ville bli skuffet over en slik kritikk. Det er vi ikke. Vi som har jobbet tett med Yash Tandon i mange år, støtter mange av hans påstander. Men han roter det til i artikkelen i Dagsavisen og i flere avisintervjuer. Dagsavisen (Norway) October 10, 2008 Available at: http://www.dagsavisen.no/meninger/article373386.ece (in Norwegian) Translation available at: http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dagsavisen.no%2Fmeninger%2Farticle373386.ece&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=no&tl=en (Google Translation in English)
Arroganse og verdighet I en kronikk i Dagsavisen den 3. oktober hevder leder for tankesmien South Centre, Yash Tandon, at bistand fratar folk i sør makt og opprettholder det rike Nords maktgrep. Tandon fremmer viktige tanker, men skyter til side for mål i sin noe arrogante forenkling av verden. Dagsavisen (Norway) October 10, 2008 Available at: http://www.dagsavisen.no/meninger/article373678.ece (in Norwegian ) Translation available at: http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dagsavisen.no%2Fmeninger%2Farticle373678.ece&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=no&tl=en (Google Translation in English) 
Pour relever le défi climatique, des millions d'emplois verts seront créés dans le monde
Pour Yash Tandon, directeur de l'organisation intergouvernementale Centre Sud à Genève, qui œuvre en faveur de la coopération Sud-Sud, cet avertissement est loin d'être suffisant. Pour lui, le concept du rapport est trop étroit. «Le rapport se base surtout sur une agriculture à grande échelle. Or, dans la plupart des zones rurales du Sud, le travail agricole repose sur des petits exploitants. On parle de deux modes de production différents. Le rapport se concentre trop sur l'aspect commercial. Des emplois verts seront créés, certes. Mais pour l'agriculture à grande échelle. Pour le Sud, toute l'approche est fausse.» Le Temps (Switzerland) October 10, 2008 Available at: http://www.letemps.ch/emploi/affichearticle.asp?artid=241459 (in French) Translation available at: http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.letemps.ch%2Femploi%2Faffichearticle.asp%3Fartid%3D241459&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=fr&tl=en (Google Translation in English)
Snørr og barter i bistandsdebatten Tandon er opptatt av at givere har for mange betingelser knyttet til bistand, både i når det gjelder økonomisk politikk, demokrati og menneskerettigheter. Han mener altså at bistanden virker for godt i forhold til å påvirke politikken som føres i for eksempel afrikanske land. Dagsavisen (Norway) October 8, 2008 Available at: http://www.dagsavisen.no/innenriks/article371713.ece (in Norwegian ) Translation available at: http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dagsavisen.no%2Fmeninger%2Farticle372793.ece&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=no&tl=en (Google Translation in English)
Global Financial Meltdown: the West and the Rest The debt-financed US-led global economy is crumbling. What lessons can the leaders of the South learn from the present meltdown of thyash-mike.jpge Western capitalist system? The Liberian Times October 6, 2008 Available at: http://theliberiantimes.com/blogs/index.php?blog=2 
Aid: Rethinking old concepts The primary and long-term objective of this monograph is to initiate a debate on development aid, and to lay out a doable strategy for ending aid dependence. An exit strategy from aid dependence requires a radical shift both in the mindset and in the development strategy of countries dependent on aid, and a deeper and direct involvement of people in their own development. It also requires a radical and fundamental restructuring of the institutional aid architecture at the global level. The New Times (Rwanda) October 6, 2008 Available at: http://newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=13645&article=9283
Bistandskritikken vokser i takt med bistandsbudsjettet. Yash Tandon, hvis innlegg Dagsavisen trykker et utdrag av på kronikkplass i morgen, hevder like godt at bistand bør avskaffes. Den ugandiske økonomen, som jobber for Sør-senteret i Genève, mener målet om en viss prosentandel bistand har fått en mytisk status som fordekker et lands egentlige forpliktelse til utvikling. Å gi mye penger er ikke det samme som å bidra til utvikling. Tvert om, Tandon mener bistand har skapt en uhellig allianse mellom godhetsregimer i nord og korrupte regimer i sør. For ham holder det ikke å gjøre bistanden mer effektiv. En bør se etter en måte å komme ut av bistandsavhengigheten på. Dagsavisen (Norway) October 4, 2008 Available at: http://www.dagsavisen.no/innenriks/article371713.ece (in Norwegian) Translation available at: http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dagsavisen.no%2Finnenriks%2Farticle371713.ece&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=no&tl=en (Google Translation in English) 
Talks reveal the inefficiency of aid in development The OECD-inspired and promoted Accra Action Agenda (AAA) on “aid effectiveness” was concluded on September 4 2008 as a “consensus” document by almost 1,200 delegates from about 100-odd countries and intergovernmental organisations (IGOs).
The AAA is a worse option than the present chaotic situation. This is because if the AAA does get implemented, it might reduce the 15,000 missions to 5,000 and Tanzania’s 2,400 quarterly reports to 400, but the process, monitoring, evaluation, and sanctions would now be centralised and controlled by western aid industry bureaucrats located in the World Bank and the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD, and development or foreign (even defense) ministries of donor countries.
Business Daily Africa (Kenya) October 3, 2008
Hvorfor bistand motvirker utvikling Fattigdom er ikke et naturskapt, men et menneskeskapt fenomen. Rikdom og fattigdom er skapt av den samme prosessen av overopphopning av kapital på den ene siden og underforbruk blant de store massene av mennesker på den andre siden. På nasjonalt nivå finnes det i enkelte land, som i Skandinavia, mekanismer for å redusere gapet mellom rike og fattige. Ingen slike mekanismer finnes på globalt nivå. Dagsavisen (Norway) October 3, 2008 Available at: http://www.dagsavisen.no/meninger/article371821.ece (in Norwegian) Translation available at: http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dagsavisen.no%2Fmeninger%2Farticle371821.ece&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=no&tl=en (Google Translation in English) 
EU's EPAs Can Spread Conditions for Finance Crisis to South Countries According to the South Centre, this provision "actually grants national treatment to EU nationals in Caribbean domestic markets. Hence, the scope of this measure is much larger than that of WTO rules (WTO-plus), and ensures, in practice, much larger market penetration for EU companies or service providers. SUNS Bulletin (Third World Network) October 3, 2008 Available at: http://www.twnside.org.sg/title2/intellectual_property/info.service/2008/twn.ipr.info.081006.htm
Afrikas egne løsninger Hvordan kan utviklingsland frigjøre seg fra bistand som ikke hjelper? Det er spørsmålet Yash Tandon forsøker å svare på i boka Ending Aid Dependence fra 2008. Tandon er direktør for Sør-senteret som er en utviklingspolitisk samarbeidsorganisasjon med mer enn 50 medlemsland. Han peker blant annet på at landene må budsjettere for fattige og ikke for givere og skape institusjoner for å investere nasjonal sparing. Tandon er en av foredragsholderne på Fritt Ords bistandsseminar og deltar også på Globaliseringskonferansen i Oslo i november. Han kom også med innspill til det regjeringsoppnevnte utviklingsutvalget som i september la fram sin rapport om samsvaret mellom norsk utviklingspolitikk og andre politikkområder. Ny Tid (Norway) October 3, 2008 Available at: http://www.nytid.no/perspektiver/artikler/20081003/afrikas_egne_losninger/ (in Norwegian) Translation available at: http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytid.no%2Fperspektiver%2Fartikler%2F20081003%2Fafrikas_egne_losninger%2F&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=no&tl=en (Google Translation in English) 
Europe-Africa Trade: Unequal Relations Aggravate Deficit The Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) being negotiated between the European Union and African countries are likely to exacerbate the food import surges from Europe. Unlike the World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations, where countries are talking about reducing tariff rates from bound tariff levels, in the EPAs negotiations, tariffs for EU products entering Africa will mostly be brought down to zero, writes Aileen Kwa, coordinator of the Trade for Development Programme, South Centre, Geneva. Inter Press Service News October, 2008 Available at: http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=44485
Donor funds should be strategically deployed
Understandably, many in civil society are sceptical of words on international aid. Some argue, such as the Executive Director, of the South Centre, Yash Tandon, that the aid system constitutes a new form of colonisation.
Business Daily Africa (Kenya)
September 23, 2008
The South Strikes Back Against Overreaching IP Enforcement
Viviana Muñoz Tellez of the South Centre said concerns about the heightened enforcement initiative include a lack of agreement on definitions, lack of robust and reliable data, and a lack of understanding of the problem before rushing to solutions. Her comments were echoed by numerous speakers throughout the day-long event on 16 September sponsored by the South Centre. Intellectual Property Watch (Geneva) September 17, 2008
Available in English at: http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=1229
Available in Spanish at: http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=1236
Africa’s Export Performance Still Dismal, Says UNCTAD Despite the liberalisation of trade over more than two decades, the level and composition of Africa’s exports have not substantially changed, according to the 2008 report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on economic development in Africa. Inter Press Service News September 16, 2008 Available at: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43882 
Unravelling the Knots of Tied Aid IPS: The executive director of the South Centre, Yash Tandon, has described the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness agreed in 2005 as the rich nations' "collective colonialism." The main plank of his argument is that the donors do not favour any inherent change in the governance structure of the international aid system which continues to be donor-driven and reflects donors' economic and policy agendas. Would you like to comment on that? AG: The international community is finally aware of the need for developing countries to lead the implementation of the Paris Declaration. This is why, as I mentioned earlier, the negotiation process that led to the AAA was guided by developing countries, in partnership with donors and CSOs. The AAA places emphasis on strengthening country ownership of development. This includes broadening the definition of ownership to include parliaments, local authorities, and civil society. The AAA calls for increased leadership from partner countries in making assistance demand rather than supply driven: it calls on developing countries to identify where capacity needs to be developed. It establishes that technical cooperation should be provided by local and regional resources, including through South-South cooperation. The AAA's call for donors to use national country systems as the first option for aid programmes will ensure that national priorities are not bypassed. At the same time, donors are committing to delivering results rather than pushing for visibility and attribution. This means changing organisational and staff incentives to promote behaviour that is in line with aid effectiveness principles. Inter Press Service (Berlin) September 15, 2008 Available at : http://ipsterraviva.net/UN/currentNew.aspx?new=4872 http://allafrica.com/stories/200809160192.html?viewall=1 
Africa Must End Aid Dependence Launching his book on "Ending Aid Dependence" in Accra at the International Conference Centre, a day after the opening of the Aid Effectiveness Conference, Dr Tandon stated that though developing countries had long ago gained political independence, they were in most cases, still trapped in their asymmetrical relationship with donor countries The Statesman (Ghana) September 4, 2008 Available at: http://www.thestatesmanonline.com/pages/news_detail.php?newsid=7174§ion=1
DEVELOPMENT: Nice, Fuzzy, Positive Language on Aid There were also some important objections to the entire process leading up to the Accra Action Agenda with Prof Yash Tandon of the Geneva-based South Centre pointing out it was outside the United Nations system and therefore lacking in legal legitimacy. Inter Press Service News September 3, 2008 Available at: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43778 
Keeping Developing Countries Hooked on the Aid Drug The South Centre proposes a fresh approach that starts from a new definition of what constitutes aid. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and its member states currently decide for themselves what is meant by the term. Aid therefore now encompasses any money from official sources given on a concessional or even slightly less than market basis to developing nations. The Island Mid Week Review (Sri Lanka) September 2, 2008 Available at: http://www.island.lk/2008/09/03/midweek1.html http://www.news.lk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6870&Itemid=52
Leaders Strive to Translate Aid-free World into Reality But there are miles to go before that happens. Judging by a comment in the ‘Business Daily’ from Nairobi, Yash Tandon, the executive director of the South Centre, has serious doubts whether an aid-free world will ever be ushered in. The South Centre is an intergovernmental policy think-tank of developing countries based in Geneva. Business Daily Africa (Kenya) Spetember 2, 2008 Available at: http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9723&Itemid=5821 
It’s time to Wean Ourselves away from Donor Aid A leading voice is Mr Benjamin Mkapa, former president of Tanzania, who in a foreword in the just released book, Ending Aid Dependence, by Yash Tandon, urges developing countries to formulate strategies to exit from the aid dependence bandwagon. Mr Mkapa argues that aid subjects recipient countries to “a discipline of collective control by donors right down to the village level”, and that some of the most successful emerging economies, such as China, India, Brazil and Malaysia, developed, not through aid, but through strong nationally-oriented investment and trade policies. Daily Nation (Kenya) August 31, 2008 Available at: http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/-/440808/466194/-/3la41r/-/index.html
Available at: http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/-/440808/466194/-/3la41r/-/index.html 
South Centre on Air @ "Radio Cité", Geneva Celina Inones, Head of the Translation Unit appeared on air on the Radio Cité FM Station, Geneva. She spoke about South Centre and its various activities in French in their morning programme on current affairs on 29 August 2008. Radio Cité (Geneva) August 29, 2008 Available at: http://www.radiocite.ch/ 
Rare Victory for South at WTO Yash Tandon, executive director of the Geneva-based South Centre noted that these negotiations have been flawed in both process and substance, and the undemocratic nature of WTO negotiations, where a privileged few countries are invited to hammer out a deal has not ceased. Daily News (Sri Lanka) August 26, 2008 Available at: http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/08/26/fea04.asp 
Africa forced to clean up after a party it didn’t go to The sums involved are potentially vast. The founder of eco-feminism, Vandana Shiva, and the South Centre's Yash Tandon estimate that seed bio-piracy "contributes some [US]$66 billion annually to the US economy". Green Left Weekly (Australia) August 23, 2008 Available at: http://www.greenleft.org.au/2008/764/39444
The G8 is of no use and should dissolve itself The G8, on the other hand, has no legitimacy whatsoever. It has the power of the mighty; but it does not have the voice of the people. That shrewd combination of Power + Voice that the founders of the UN correctly forged in the world body is lacking in the G8. Business Daily Africa (Kenya) August 15, 2008 Available at : http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9376&Itemid=5821
El G8 Carece de Legitimidad El G8, por el contrario, adolece de toda legitimidad. Si bien goza del poderío de los poderosos, no cuenta con la voz del pueblo. El G8 es un club autoproclamado de ocho países ricos y poderosos. Nadie le impartió el mandato de decidir sobre cuestiones relacionadas con la economía, la seguridad o el cambio climático ni para imponer sanciones a Estados que no se plieguen a su voluntad. San Antonio Newspaper August 12, 2008
Available at : http://www.sanewspaper.com/news/story/?id=1414 
Collapse of Trade Talks Opportunity for Course Correction The recent collapse of the trade talks provides breathing space for reflection on the original intent of the Doha negotiations launched in 2001 and an opportunity for getting back on course towards a development round. MaximsNews Network (New York) August 9, 2008 Available at : http://www.maximsnews.com/news20080809tradetalksnegotiationsWTOhamdani10808090401.htm
TRADE-AFRICA: Safeguards for Small Farmers Straw That Broke Doha Safeguards to protect small farmers’ livelihoods in African and other developing states, as opposed to subsidies for commercial agricultural interests in rich countries, remained an insurmountable obstacle in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks, leading the Doha Round to collapse last week. Inter Press Service News August 5, 2008 Available at: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43441
Mkapa to chair South meeting Former president Benjamin Mkapa leaves today for Geneva, Switzerland, to chair the 21st meeting of the board of the South Centre. A statement issued by Mr Mkapa’s office yesterday said that the former president of Tanzania is attending and chairing the meeting in his capacity as the Chairman of the Board of the South Centre. According to the statement, the former president will return home next Saturday. The South Centre is a permanent intergovernmental organization of developing countries established by an intergovernmental treaty in 1995 with headquarters in Geneva. The centre has grown out of the work and experience of the South Commission established in 1987 by, among others, the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere. It is intended to meet the need for analysis of development problems and experience as well as to provide intellectual and policy support action required by developing countries both collectively and individually, particularly on the international arena. Daily News (Tanzania) August 1, 2008 Available at: http://dailynews.habarileo.co.tz/home/?id=6258
Paris Declaration on aid a form of collective colonialism by donors At first glance, the Paris Declaration (PD) looks benign. It recognises faults of the present system, and sets out sensible principles. Why, then, are the developing countries not all that excited? Many have signed on to the PD, but apparently without fully analysing the implications of its proposals. Business Daily Africa (Kenya) August 1, 2008
Available at : http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9072&Itemid=5821
The G8 Has No Legitimacy The last G8 summit (Hokkaido, Japan, July 7-9) sat in judgment over the democratic credentials of the government of Zimbabwe, but it had itself no legitimacy. The Group of Eight had no choice but to bring the matter to the United Nations Security Council. And there the West lost: China and Russia vetoed, writes Yash Tandon, executive director of the South Centre, Geneva. Inter Press Service News July 2008 Available at: http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=43372
Crise oferece oportunidades de desenvolvimento Jornal De Angola July 30, 2008 Available at : http://www.jornaldeangola.com/artigo.php?ID=87148&Seccao=economia
Verschärfung der Zollkontrollen zum Schutz geistigen Eigentums in der Kritik
Heise Online (Germany) July 29, 2008 Available at : http://www.heise.de/newsticker/Verschaerfung-der-Zollkontrollen-zum-Schutz-geistigen-Eigentums-in-der-Kritik--/meldung/110167
IP Rights In Standards Impede Competition, Disadvantage Developing Countries The inclusion of intellectual property rights in standards also is creating an anti-competitive effect, said panellists at the 30 June seminar in Geneva, hosted by the South Centre. While standards are established to ensure compatibility in technology to the advantage of all users at national, regional or international levels, intellectual property rights are meant to provide an exclusive use, reward innovation, and are territorial in nature, according to speakers. Intellectual Property Watch (Geneva) July 17, 2008 Available at : http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=1155
Member Nations Balk At World Customs Organization IP Enforcement Push Viviana Muñoz Tellez of the intergovernmental South Centre said in the South Centre Bulletin (16 April 2008 issue [pdf]) that the SECURE working group seems to be “setting new standards of intellectual property enforcement through the back door,” and that this “may extend beyond the WCO mandate.” Separately, she told Intellectual Property Watch that standards presented as voluntary could become mandatory down the line. “Soft law,” she said in the article, “is often the basis on which ‘hard law’ is later established.” Intellectual Property Watch (Geneva) June 27, 2008 Available at: http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=1117
Africa: U.S. Farm Subsidies May Survive WTO Doha Round According to an analysis by the non-governmental research and advocacy organisation South Centre, the NAMA 11 developing countries will have to reduce their tariffs by between 54 and 60 percent while the developed countries reduce their tariffs by only 30 percent. Inter Press Service News June 24, 2008 Available at: http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=42939
d Southern discomfort While the governments of rich nations want to streamline their global-development efforts in the OECD context, those of many developing countries are less enthusiastic. Some experts even view the Paris Declaration of Aid Effectiveness as a document of new colonialist aspirations, and doubt the OECD High Level Forum in Accra in September will achieve much good. D+C (Germany) July/August 2008 In English: http://www.inwent.org/ez/articles/074408/index.en.shtml In French: http://www.southcentre.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=653&Itemid=1&lang=fr In Spanish: http://www.southcentre.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=653&Itemid=1&lang=es
Food Crisis - From Challenge to Opportunity
“We want to be able to understand the real causes of the food crisis,” executive director of the South Centre Yash Tandon said. “There are multiple causes, Iran Daily News June 19, 2008 Available at: http://www.iran-daily.com/1387/3153/pdf/i14.pdf
"Food Crisis an Opportunity to Rethink Policy" GENEVA, Jun 18 (IPS) - Southern governments have stressed the need for developing countries to use the food crisis as an opportunity to rethink development strategies and to put in place policies that support agricultural development. The new push came at a high-level dialogue on food and energy security that was organised jointly Tuesday by the government of Indonesia and the South Centre, an intergovernmental body of Southern governments. "We want to be able to understand the real causes of the food crisis," executive director of the South Centre Yash Tandon said. "There are multiple causes, but some are more fundamental and structural than others, and we need to identify these." He went on to note that with every crisis, there is an opportunity. "In the 1980s and 1990s, we had a similar food crisis. We had food riots in Eastern and Western Africa. We used to call them IMF (International Monetary Fund) food riots. But we lost the opportunity to address the causes of the food crisis at the structural level. We handed the solutions to the very structures that in my view caused those crises. We have to understand this crisis properly and take this challenge in our own hands." These ideas were supported by the acting deputy secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Lakshmi Puri. Inter Press Service News June 18, 2008 Available at: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42850
The Paris Declaration and aid effectiveness The Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness will be held this September in Accra. But is aid effectiveness a mirage? Yash Tandon dissects the Paris Declaration in relation to aid effectiveness and reaches the conclusion that "under the pretext of making aid more effective, the aid effectiveness project is a form of collective colonialism by Northern donors of those Southern countries that, through weakness, vulnerability or psychological dependency, allow themselves to be subjected to it at the Accra conference in September." But all is not lost and he also offers a way out. Pambazuka News June 8, 2008 Available at: http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/48634
Africa: The Committed Intellectual - Reviving and Restoring the National Project
It is the combination of heart and mind that produces the balanced person who uses their mind to pursue their passion. Let us speak truth to power, but let us also speak the existential truth of our people's world to the negotiated truth of the diplomatic world. Our collective efforts, he continues, will lead to a new vision of a better world, one that is fair, just, peaceful and bountiful to all the peoples of the world.
May 29, 2008
Kenya: Regional Trade Helps Fight Hunger
Regional trade agreements could not only serve to protect farmers in developing countries but could also be used for the swift distribution of food aid from neighbouring countries in times of famine. AllAfrica.com
May 27, 2008
Build Regional Markets to Prevent Hunger
CAPE TOWN, May 26 (IPS) - Regional trade agreements could not only serve to protect farmers in developing countries but could also be used for the swift distribution of food aid from neighbouring countries in times of famine. Inter Press Service News May 26, 2008 Available at: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42506
Bilaterale investeringsavtaler (BITs) - for hvem?
Norske interesser synes å være på klar kollisjonskurs med utviklingslandenes interesser når Nærings- og handelsdepartementet (NHD) nå behandler et forslag til modell for bilaterale investeringsavtaler (BITs) etter en omfattende høringsrunde med bl.a. næringslivsaktører og utviklingsorganisasjoner. - En arv fra kolonitida, hevder Yash Tandon ved Sør-senteret i Geneve. The RORG-network (Norway) May 20, 2008 Available at: http://www.rorg.no/Artikler/1786.html 
Statement on "Digital Divide" and "Access to Knowledge"
May 16, 2008
The digital stream of the programme is available from:
Africa: UN Conference on Trade and Development AllAfrica.com May 11, 2008
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Equitable Development- The Risks of Inaction Inter Press Service News May 2008
Available at: UNCTAD To Address Challenges Of Change In Africa UNCTADXII/Accra. The Executive Director of the South Centre, an Intergovernmental Organization of the Developing Countries based in Geneva, Dr Yash Tandon, has urged the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to direct its energies and future efforts towards addressing the obstacles to change in Africa.
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Speaking existential truth to negotiated truth Trinidad Express May 2008 Available at: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_archive?id=161308525 
Aid and charity is wrong for Africa April 26, 2008
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UNCTAD to Address Challenges of Change in Africa
April 25, 2008
Clash Over World Customs Organization Efforts On IP Enforcement A new report by the South Centre, which undertakes research and analysis for 50 developing countries, describes the work being carried out by the WCO on IP standards as “alarming.” According to the report, standards developed by the WCO may be wider than the provisions in the TRIPS agreement, without there being any “prior assessment of their potential impact.” It suggests that customs authorities in developing countries should not be hurried into having to take greater responsibility for IP enforcement, given that the resources at their disposal are limited. Viviana Munoz Tellez, the report’s author, said it would be “especially dangerous” for developing countries to have to assume new responsibilities for enforcing IP rights, considering that a “highly complex and technical process” is often required to prove that a patent has been infringed. Giving customs a role greater than its core responsibility of revenue collection would “far extend its competence and abilities,” the report adds. Intellectual Property Watch (Geneva) April 25, 2008 Available at : http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=1017
UNCTAD Hears gender Inequality Becoming Worse – and Better
April 24, 2008
Africa: EU and U.S. Failing Poor Farmers, Says ActionAid
April 23, 2008
Africa: Commodity dependence and development - New study
April 18, 2008
Political Scholars Charged to Report the Real, Non-Diplomatic Truth to Governments Dr. Yash Tandon, Executive Director of the South Centre in Geneva, Switzerland held a speech at Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Studies' (SALISES) ninth annual conference at the University of the West Indies, Mona. “Academics and especially political economy scholars must not be afraid to tell governments real, non-diplomatic truths but they should also offer an alternative vision, taking into account the difficult decisions leaders must take” Tandon said. The Jamaica Observer March 29, 2008 Click here for full article.
South Centre Analytical Notes Are Posted The South Centre has released a series of four analytical notes on the state of play in the WTO agricultural negotiations which set out the various country positions with respect to critical issues under the market-access, domestic-support and export-competition pillars, and with regard to the cotton issue. Agritrade March 2008 Click here for full article.
Global Energy Crisis Worries South Centre Governing board of the South Centre, the think-tank of developing countries, G-77 and China, on global strategy and development issues, completed its meeting in Geneva at the weekend, noting lack of progress in the Doha Development Round and the increasing shift from the multilateral to the bilateral trading system. The board welcomed the fact that at the ninth meeting of the Council of Representatives, members of the council highly commended the Secretariat for its work and activities. Daily Independent February 17, 2008 Click here for full article.
EU Sugar Reform a Bitter Pill for Poorer Producers An article by David Kleimann appears in the IP Watch Columnist Service. The author is a German expert on international law and international relations who was part of the South Centre team. “The EU has the moral and legal obligation to provide the small and vulnerable ACP economies with market access for sugar that is worth no less than the previous trade arrangement and that continues to contribute to the realisation of ACP countries economic development and poverty reduction.” Intellectual Property Watch (Geneva) February 2008 Click here for full article.
Panel: More Balance Needed in IP and Trade; Disclosure May not Be Enough A more balanced international regime for intellectual property rights and trade is needed to rectify the current system, which too strongly favours developed countries, developing country panellists said at a recent event. The current patent system has been seen as the primary enabling mechanism for biopiracy, the misappropriation of genetic resources, said panellist Xuan Li, coordinator of the innovation and access to knowledge programme at the intergovernmental South Centre. The World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) also has allowed the misappropriation of genetic resources, she said. Intellectual Property Watch (Geneva) January 29. 2008 Click here for full article.
Implications of the Economic Partnership Agreement A reference to the South Centre appears in an article authored by Guest Commentator, Professor Norman Girvan. He cites a report prepared by experts from the Centre on the EPA chapter on innovation and intellectual property. The Jamaica Gleaner January 25, 2008 Click here for full article.
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