SC Annual Report 2023 Front Cover

The South Centre made a statement and participated in several side events to the 54th session of the Human Rights Council in September 2023, and was part of the panels to speak on reforming the international development cooperation architecture, on the proposed international covenant on the Right to Development and on implementing the Right to Development for real izing human rights and the 2030 A. [...] In November, the South Centre participated in the f irst meeting of the Platform for Taxation in Latin America and the Caribbean where it informed the participating countries about the need to vote in favour of the resolution. [...] The South Centre has held numerous briefings and assisted in drafting proposals, as well as held preparatory meetings prior to the Executive Board of the WHO in January 2023 and for the World Health Assembly (WHA) in May 2023, and participated in the meetings of the INB[14] and the WGIHR. [...] However, the apparent lack of consensus on this matter in the run-up to the December session of the General Council suggested that i f consensus remained elusive in the General Council , the extension of the MC12 Decision could impact the discussions at the upcoming 13th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi in February 2024. [...] In part, these are due to the dismantl ing by the US of the WTO Appellate Body, the pronounced efforts by the WTO Secretariat and some Members to mainstream the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and make environmental sustainabil ity the axis of al l work in the WTO, the proliferation of small group discussions or negotiations on ‘new’ issues, and a paltry commitment by the large.