Trying to become owners of life
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- Written by Nika Knight
- Category: Articles
‘Five-Alarm Threat to Our Food Supply’: Monsanto-Bayer Merger Advances
Chemical and GMO giants agree on takeover offer worth $66 billion; mega-merger to be reviewed by antitrust agencies worldwide
Monsanto accepted Bayer’s $66 billion takeover offer—the largest all-cash deal ever—on Wednesday morning.
Can we see signs of positive developments?
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- Written by Francine Mestrum
- Category: Articles
The left sometimes has problems in seeing the positive dimension of the news. True, the overall reality of today certainly does not look rosy. Inequality keeps growing, unemployment keeps rising, neoliberalism certainly is not dead. And right-wing populism continues to rise, while even some left-wing forces now seem to be convinced to follow the road of nationalism and protectionism.
Yet, there are signs something might be changing positively.
UNCTAD 14: A mirage of distorted mirors
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- Written by Yash Tandon / Pambazuka
- Category: Articles
People not versed in the complexities of the diplomatic world of distorted mirror images in Geneva or Accra or Nairobi may wonder in awe at the agreements negotiated in their name by their representatives in multilateral forums like UNCTAD. But, truth be told, UNCTAD is in no position to deliver the mandate that it got in Nairobi.
Transnational corporations and human rights
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- Written by South Center
- Category: Articles
The elaboration of an ‘International Legally Binding Instrument on Transnational Corporations and other Business Enterprises with respect to Human Rights’ (hereinafter ‘the Instrument’), as mandated by the Human Rights Council at its 26th Ordinary Session (June 26, 2014), requires definitions about a multiplicity of issues. Many choices need to be made among possible policy options and properly reflected in treaty language.
This paper addresses one of such issues: the subjective scope of the Instrument, that is, whose conduct will be subject to the disciplines eventually incorporated therein.
Bleeding Syria: Fleeing of Syrian capital
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- Written by Madar al-Youm / The Syrian Observer
- Category: Articles
With the continuing bleeding of various Syrian economic sectors, the movement of Syrian funds abroad in search of safe havens is increasing, stopping the heart of development inside the country while ensuring the sustainable development of “downstream” countries.
The flight of local capital began with the first year of the revolution with a number estimated by the British magazine the Economist at about 20 billion dollars in 2011 alone.
Bring back corruption: a critique of neoliberal anti-corruption rhetoric
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- Written by Moses E. Ochonu / Pambazuka
- Category: Articles
Nigeria is gripped by the familiar anxieties of an economy in distress. This escalating crisis has demystified a president once thought capable of astute, if not magical, economic management. In their desperation for respite, many Nigerians are now paradoxically yearning for the corruption that they and their leaders blame for their economic woes.
But theirs is not nostalgia for corruption per se but for a period in which, despite or because of corruption, the flow of illicit government funds created a sense of economic opportunity and prosperity. During a recent research trip to Nigeria I sampled the opinion of various segments of the Nigerian people to gauge their perspectives on the troubled economy of President Muhammadu Buhari, which just entered recession. One refrain I heard fairly regularly was “bring back corruption.” It is not an entirely new rhetoric. For months, Nigerians have been advancing this idiom on social media as a sarcastic rebuke of what they see as Buhari’s narrow, obsessive focus on corruption.
Read more: Bring back corruption: a critique of neoliberal anti-corruption rhetoric
What Apple teaches us about taxes
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- Written by Elisabeth Warren
- Category: Articles
APPLE got a big surprise last week when the European Commission ordered Ireland to collect more than $14 billion in back taxes from the company. The global giant had been attributing billions of dollars in profits to a phantom head office, allowing it to pay a tax rate of 1 percent or lower.
Both Apple and Ireland are appealing the decision, but the commission’s announcement was the latest sign that multinational corporations are running out of places to hide from paying taxes. The door is now open for Congress to fix our own corporate tax code, which has allowed the biggest multinationals to shirk their obligations for decades.
The power of big pharma and the right of access to medecines
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- Written by Sally Burch / Alai
- Category: Articles
Contradictory as it may seem, the big pharmaceutical companies give little priority to the human right to health, in spite of the fact that they play a strategic role in this context. Their main goal is profit, and as they work in an industry whose final clients are highly vulnerable people – those with illnesses – this gives them a much greater margin than in other industries to fix inflated prices. It is therefore up to States to establish the parametres for operation of these companies, with the public interest in mind and in order to guarantee the right to health.
Read more: The power of big pharma and the right of access to medecines
Africa and the G20's Moment of Truth
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- Written by Olusegun Obasanjo / Project Syndicate
- Category: Articles
This year is turning out to be one of global disruption. We’re seeing not only political upheaval and economic uncertainty, but also transformational innovation and the emergence of fresh thinking.
Global-governance institutions are facing many challenges: slowing economic growth, volatile financial markets, falling commodity prices, emerging-economy risks (especially in China), refugee and migrant waves, geopolitical tensions, rising inequality and social fragmentation, and the threat of violent extremism. That’s why, in an increasingly atomized and uncertain world, political leaders should commit to a new multilateralism at this month’s G20 summit in Hangzhou, China.
Indian government should hear message of general strike
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- Written by ITUC
- Category: Articles
The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi should heed the clear message from a huge general strike in India today, as workers across the country backed calls for a living minimum wage and decent pensions, proper enforcement of labour laws, measures to stimulate creation of formal jobs and universal social security cover.
Tens of millions of workers joined the strike, including in transport, banks, public services, manufacturing and other sectors.
Read more: Indian government should hear message of general strike
Sustainable Development Goals: One year on
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- Written by Felix Dodds
- Category: Articles
It’s been almost one year since heads of state and government adopted ‘Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ - the ambitious agenda which contains 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and 169 targets.
In fact, 2015 was one of the most important years for multilateral agreements. Not only did the governments sign up to SDGs on 25 September 2015, they also reached the Paris Climate Agreement and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda as the framework for funding the two policy agendas.
The SDGs were the culmination of four years of negotiations, starting in July 2011, with the initial proposal by Paula Caballero from the government of Colombia. These negotiations saw the most participatory process in UN history.
