News
Bigotry makes politicians ‘complicit in the violence that follows’ : UN independent experts
Responding to the crowd shootings in Texas and Ohio on Saturday, a group of independent UN experts has called out the “increased use of divisive language”, as well as attempts to marginalize racial, ethnic and religious minorities”, by some politicians and leaders.
In wake of ‘collapsed’ concurrence, new wave of violence threatens millions in Syria’s Idlib
Following the fall down of the latest truce in Idlib at the start of this week, the Senior Humanitarian Adviser to the UN’s Syria Envoy urged Member States on Thursday to increase their support for “critical humanitarian needs” in the country’s last opposition-held enclave.
Steps taken to end Saudi ‘guardianship’ arrangement for women, ‘encouraging’ start
Allowing Saudi women to apply for passports and travel without their guardians’ authorization is “an encouraging move” towards the “complete abolition of the ‘guardianship’ system,” independent United Nations rights experts said on Thursday, but more action is needed to fully dismantle these restrictions.
UN rights chief bemoans unilateral sanctions on Venezuela, fearing ‘far-reaching implications’
A new set of unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States on Venezuela this week prompted the concern of the United Nations’ top rights official on Thursday, who said in a declaration that she feared they would have a “potentially severe impact” on the human rights of the South American nation’s “long-suffering” people.
Guterres appeals for ‘maximum restraint’ over Jammu and Kashmir, as tensions rise
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres appealed for ‘maximum restraint’ over the province of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, which has been disputed by India and Pakistan, since the end of British rule in the late 1940s.
World food security increasingly at risk due to 'unprecedented' climate change blow, new UN report warns
More than 500 million people today live in areas affected by erosion linked to climate change, the UN warned on Thursday, before urging all countries to entrust to sustainable land use to help limit greenhouse gas emissions before it is too late.
UN food aid to Yemen will fully recommence after two-month break, as Houthis ‘guarantee’ delivery
Life-saving food aid allocation is set to resume to 850,000 people in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, following guarantees by Houthi opposition forces that the supplies will reach those who need them most, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
More than half a million Rohingya in Bangladesh get ID cards for first time: UN refugee group
More than 500,000 Rohingya refugees who fled a brutal crackdown in Myanmar two years ago, have acknowledged identification cards that the UN insisted on Friday were critical to safeguarding their right to return home.
‘Preserve, revitalize and promote’ indigenous languages, or lose a ‘prosperity of conventional knowledge’, UN chief says
Secretary-General António Guterres underscored the urgency to “preserve, revitalize and endorse indigenous languages” in his message for the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, celebrated on Friday.
WTO meetings & DG agenda 15 – 19 July
Consumer groups communicate support for multilateral trade, pressure priorities for e-commerce
Senior legislature of consumer organizations meeting today (6 May 2019) at the WTO headquarters sent a well-built message of support for the WTO and the multilateral trading system. They stressed the importance of ensuring consumers’ concerns are taken into account in trade negotiations and policy-making and offered their priorities for e-commerce along with recommendations on how these priorities should be addressed at the WTO.
Agriculture Chair extends working group practices, urges move towards concession approach
Most WTO members established at a meeting of the Committee on Agriculture in special session on 30 April to 1 May their positive reaction to the working group process initiated in January, and supported the intention of Ambassador John Deep Ford, the committee chair, to extend the process until end-July while taking on board the concerns expressed by some delegations. He also called on WTO members to steer towards more negotiation-focused deliberations, with a view to achieving concrete outcomes by the next Ministerial Conference in June 2020.
Applications release for WTO workshop on public health, global trade and intellectual property
The WTO, in close collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), will hold its 6th annual Workshop on Trade and Public Health in Geneva from 11 to 15 November 2019. The deadline to submit applications is 14 June 2019.
WTO opens online registration for 2019 Public opportunity
Online registration for the 2019 Public Forum is now release. The main theme of this year’s event, to be held at the WTO’s headquarters from 8 to 11 October, is “Trading Forward: Adapting to a Changing World”. Registration closes on 16 September 2019.
10 years of WTO monitoring — attracting trade policy intelligibility and preventability
Subsequently the occurrence of the 2008 global financial crisis, WTO members tasked the WTO Secretariat with the mission to prepare regular updates on the latest trends in the implementation of new trade and trade-related measures and on significant developments in trade policy-making. Launched in early 2009, the trade monitoring exercise successfully continues to this day, having delivered 23 WTO-wide and 20 G20 trade monitoring reports over the past decade.
Members approve nationwide safety measures ruling on Russian Federation’s transport restrictions
The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) on 26 April formally adopted a panel ruling clarifying the use of national safety measures exceptions to WTO rules as invoked in the trade dispute between the Russian Federation and Ukraine over transport restrictions. The DSB also heard a number of members’ views on proposed reforms to the dispute resolution process in light of recent dispute cases and continued differences over the appointment of Appellate Body members.
Azevêdo: E-commerce suspension has long been a aspect of the mutual trading arrangement
Addressing a workshop on the suspension on customs duties on electronic transmissions on 29 April, Director-General Roberto Azevêdo said the digital economy and the e-commerce suspension have been an imperative hub of conversations for many WTO members, particularly since the Buenos Aires Ministerial Conference in 2017. He noted that the suspension has long been an aspect of the bilateral trading method. He stated that technological advances are revolutionizing the way we do business and the way we trade today, and welcomed the workshop as a way to inform members’ deliberations, by bringing together representatives from academia, business, statistical offices and international organizations.