International relations
After Johannesburg: U.S.-EU Disputes Remain to be Resolved
IPN Opinion article
When the World Summit on Sustainable Development opened in Johannesburg in August, not much was expected to emerge from it. President George W. Bush\'s decision not to attend the meeting was seen by many as undermining its importance, and participants were despondent that few new agreements were under discussion.
Yet the summit was far from a failure: for the first time aspiring nations asserted their concerns at an international meeting and the summit was marked by the emergence of a new group of pro-trade non-governmental organizations (NGOs) - most NGOs that attend such gatherings tend to be anti-capitalist and anti-trade.
The developing world needs trade, not aid, to help the poor
IPN Opinion article
Guilt and goodwill have blinded many to the damage that aid can do. Trade, not aid, is the solution for the poor. At this week\'s informal WTO ministerial meeting in Sydney, trade ministers should make good on their promise at Doha to create a world trading system that benefits all participants. That means reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers on all goods, as well as reducing agricultural subsidies.
Trade, not aid, will eliminate the welfare trap
IPN Opinion article
If foreign aid is the answer, the question has to be, how do you make a corrupt clique rich? By James Shikwati
World\'s poor at the mercy of Europe
IPN Opinion article
LATER this week in Sydney, trade ministers from 25 member nations of the World Trade Organisation and its new director-general Supachai Panitchpakdi will be hunkered down behind police barriers at Homebush to discuss the progress of the Doha round of world trade liberalisation. They are probably wasting their time.
The threat to Doha will not be the howling anti-globalisation mob outside, although they show a completely immoral lack of concern for the world\'s poor. The real enemy is within. It is the European Union, represented this week by trade commissioner Pascal Lamy.
EU poses a threat to WTO
IPN Opinion article
The main threat to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) comes from the European Union (EU) which is trying to turn the multilateral trade organisation into a regulatory authority on the lines of the EU.
Delivering a lecture on globalisation, WTO and the new round here on Thursday, Dr Razeen Sally, senior lecturer in international political economy at the London School of Economics and Political Science said that the new issues which the EU tried to thrust upon World Trade Organisation during the Doha ministerial meet, including environment, were on the lines of the regulatory mechanism followed by the EU.
Summary of "Fuelling Progress, Not Poverty" briefing for COP-8
IPN Opinion article
The summary of presentations at a seminar for policy makers and media, on the occasion of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Eighth Conference of Parties in New Delhi from Oct 23 to 30, 2002
Developing countries in the WTO
IPN Opinion article
Developing countries comprise of three quarters of the World Trade Organization membership and will play a major role in the success in the next round of talks.' Our strength so far is in numbers,' observed Margaret Chemengich head of the Kenyan delegation in Sydney. The world trade body sets rules and promotes market access and operates on the principle of non-discrimination. The world economy is fragile and its believed that by bringing issues that concern the poor countries on board it can help make the next round of talks succeed.
Africa\'s shady politicians are at the root of the continent\'s destruction
IPN Opinion article
Africa\'s potential is enormous, yet it is inexorably mired in steaming squalor, misery, deprivation, and chaos. Four out of 10 Africans live in absolute poverty and recent evidence suggests that poverty is on the increase. Most Africans today are worse off than they were at independence.
Why is Africa in this state? \"Externalists\" ascribe Africa\'s woes to factors beyond its control: Western colonialism and imperialism, the slave trade, racist plots, avaricious multinationals, an unjust international economic system, inadequate flows of foreign aid and deteriorating terms of trade.
\"Internalists\" blame local systems of governance: excessive state intervention and corruption at all levels, from the police and judiciary to the highest branches of government.
What\'s on the table at the Earth Summit
IPN Opinion article
For the past 15 years \"sustainable development\" has been a key phrase for the environmental movement. It is most commonly defined as: \"development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.\" Few can argue with the notion of meeting current and future needs, but there is widespread dispute about how to achieve this aim.
