Shaky State of North-South Relations
- Details
- Written by Martin Khor
- Category: Articles
The UN’s leading development organisation just got a renewed mandate for its work, but not without difficulty because the developed countries are tighter with their concessions to the developing countries. The process in attaining it shows the not too healthy state of North-South relations.
The United Nations’ leading organisation for discussions on economic issues has recently concluded its conference, held once in four years, by adopting two declarations.
That is seen as another success in international co-operation, this time on trade, development and related issues. However, agreement was reached only after a lot of difficult wrangling between the developed and developing countries.
1MDB: the inside story of the world's biggest financial scandal
- Details
- Written by Sandeep Ramesh / The Guardian
- Category: Articles
From Malaysia to London:
PanamaPapers aftershocks: G20 to prepare tax havens blacklist by July 2017
- Details
- Written by GFI
- Category: Articles
The Panama papers scandal prompted G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to prepare a blacklist of countries not participating in the fiscal information exchange by the next meeting in July 2017, according to a Russian official.
Read more: PanamaPapers aftershocks: G20 to prepare tax havens blacklist by July 2017
Does Uber signal the end of social security?
- Details
- Written by H.H. Konkolevsky / ISSA
- Category: Articles
Few would deny the revolution that the digital economy has brought to our lives. People and companies are using the power of the internet, and the networks and leverage that it brings, to transform the way they shop, sell, socialize, seek medical advice – and work. The benefits of the new economy are multiple, but the impact on social security as we know it is significant, and will require innovative responses.
UNCTAD 14: Nairobi “Maafikiano” barely saves minimal finance and development mandates
- Details
- Written by Aldo Caliari
- Category: Articles
Due to UNCTAD's decidedly pro-South and uncompromising development-focused mission, its quadrennial conferences have traditionally been North –South showdowns. Coming a few months after the adoption of the ambitious and universal 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 associated goals, the theme of the XIV Quadrennial Conference of UNCTAD (the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) was “From Decisions to Actions.” There was, therefore, reason to expect that this time members would bridge their differences for the sake of reinforcing mandates of the organization critical to the Agenda’s implementation. But that was not the case, and the dynamics were a lot more akin to the difficult ones witnessed in the inaugural Financing for Development (FFD) Forum last April.
Read more: UNCTAD 14: Nairobi “Maafikiano” barely saves minimal finance and development mandates
UN Member States start to work on Global Development Goals
- Details
- Written by South Center
- Category: Articles
UN member states “are going beyond rhetoric and earnestly working to achieve real progress” towards the Sustainable Goals, the members of the Group of 77 and China said in a ministerial statement delivered at the UN on 18 July.
The statement was delivered by Ambassador Virachai Plasai, Chair of the Group of 77 (G77) and China during the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) which took place at the UN Headquarters in New York from 18 to 20 July.
During the forum, the 134 members of the G77 and China reaffirmed the importance of not only achieving the Sustainable Development Goals but also the driving principle of leaving no one behind.
Read more: UN Member States start to work on Global Development Goals
Poverty chains and global capitalism
- Details
- Written by Banjamin Selwyn
- Category: Articles
Global inequality has never been greater. For example, the wealth of the world's richest 62 people, who between them have more wealth than half of the world's population, rose by 44 per cent between 2010 and 2015. Over the same period the wealth of the bottom 50 per cent of humanity fell by approximately 38 per cent.
Very large numbers, perhaps the majority, of the world's labour force is poor. In 2010 there were approximately 942 million working poor (almost 1 in 3 workers globally living on under $2 [U.S.] a day). However, these figures are a significant underestimate.
Secret Deals deprive Africa of billions
- Details
- Written by ICIJ
- Category: Articles
New papers published today by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, in collaboration with more than a dozen news organizations in Africa, expose fresh details about the misuse of corporate secrecy and hidden wealth in Africa, the world’s poorest continent.
Today's publications also include an interactive quiz game, designed to test and expand your knowledge of Africa, and discover how the use of offshore companies impacts the continentThe investigations include new details about the middleman at the center of a probe into hundreds of millions of dollars in suspected bribes paid for oil and gas contracts awarded in Algeria, and also reveal the offshore assets, including a luxury yacht and jet, of a Nigerian aviation and oil magnate linked to a $1.8 billion oil scandal.
UNCTAD-14: ODA shortfall of $2 trillion since 2002
- Details
- Written by UNCTAD
- Category: Articles
The gap or shortfall between pledged and delivered official development assistance (ODA) since 2002 equates to just over US$2 trillion and the ODA gap for 2014 alone came to more than US$192 million, according to a new report released by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) at the UNCTAD-14 conference here.
UNCTAD said the developing countries would be better able to finance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) if the developed countries were to meet their 2002 target to put 0.7 percent of their gross national income (GNI) into overseas aid.
Read more: UNCTAD-14: ODA shortfall of $2 trillion since 2002
South loses 67% of commodity exports due to misinvoicing
- Details
- Written by UNCTAD
- Category: Articles
Developing countries are losing up to 67% of their commodity export earnings due to misinvoicing of the true value of their exports. The losses come up to hundreds of billions of dollars. This was revealed in a new study by UNCTAD, which is holding its 14th Session in Nairobi. Below is a press release by the UNCTAD Secretariat summarising the study.
Some commodity dependent developing countries are losing as much as 67% of their exports worth billions of dollars to trade misinvoicing, according to a fresh study by UNCTAD, which for the first time analyses this issue for specific commodities and countries.
Read more: South loses 67% of commodity exports due to misinvoicing
Brexit: a U-turn in tackling global tax avoidance?
- Details
- Written by Daniel Neale
- Category: Articles
With just days remaining until Britain decides on its EU membership, the UK is at a crossroads. It has a historical choice to make, with various consequences attached to the decision on the 23rd of June on whether it becomes the first ever country to leave the EU. Those consequences could include undermining the leading role that Britain has taken in the global fight against corruption and transforming Britain into an even greater tax haven for multinationals.
According to a recent report by the British Treasury, £36 billion would be sucked out of the UK’s financial sector by 2030 due to the economic costs of pulling out from the EU. Taxpayers will be forced to pay 8p more in income tax on every pound earned, and the economy risks shrinking between 3.4 percent and 9.5 percent by 2030 depending on the exit strategy it chooses.
With these numbers in mind, how might a potential Brexit affect the global financial transparency agenda, particularly in terms of tackling tax avoidance?
Read more: Brexit: a U-turn in tackling global tax avoidance?
