For a more comprehensive list of events in trade and sustainable development, please refer to ICTSD’s web calendar at: http://www.ictsd.org/cal/index.htm.
Coming Up This Week
10-13 December, New York, US: UNITAR/WTO WORKSHOP ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS. Jointly organised by the UN Institute for Training and Research and the WTO as part of their International Trade Series, the workshop will focus on a debriefing of the Fourth Ministerial Conference held in Doha from 9-14 November. Intended for Permanent Mission Representatives in NYC. For further information contact: Cecelia Coleman, New York; tel: (1-212) 963-9196/9196.
10-14 December, Geneva, Switzerland: WIPO SECOND SESSION OF THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND GENETIC RESOURCES, TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND FOLKLORE. The following are on the agenda for this meeting: "Accreditation of certain Non-Governmental Organisations," "Operational Principles for Contractual Agreements Concerning Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit- Sharing," "Traditional Knowledge" which includes a review of current IPR protection, Folklore, and Future Work. For further information contact: WIPO Secretariat, tel: (41-22) 338-9428; email:francis.gurry@wipo.int; Internet: http://www.wipo.int/eng/meetings/2001/igc/index_2.htm.
12 December, Brussels, Belgium: EU ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL. The Council will address inter alia: the outcomes and follow-up of the November– December UNFCCC COP7 held in Marrakesh; the adoption of the conclusions on the implementation of the first phase of the European Climate Change Programme and the further elaboration of common co-ordinated policies and measures to combat climate change; the Commission’s proposed directive from October 2001 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community; the state-of-play of the work regarding the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by the EC. For further information visit: http:/ /ue.eu.int/en/summ.htm.
13-14 December, Jaipur, India: LAUNCH MEETING OF THE ‘INVESTMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT’ PROJECT’. The event is being organised by CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics & Environment, India. The project is on awareness and capacity building on investment regimes and international investment issues in selected developing and transition economies. The Project is implemented with the support from the Department for International Development, UK. For further information contact: Olivia Jensen/Sanjay Varma; tel: 91-14120-7482; fax: 7486; email: cuts@cuts.org.
14 December, 15:15-16:30, Brussels, Belgium: EC TRADE COMMISSIONER - CIVIL SOCIETY CONSULTATION. EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy will speak with representatives from civil society and business on: "After the launch of the Doha Development Agenda: What next? Update of the European Community’s next steps"; and "How will the dialogue between the Commission and civil society organisations evolve in the light of a new round of negotiations?". For further information contact: Haitze Siemers, EC, Brussels; tel: +32-2-299.01.85; fax: 296.93.09; email: haitze.siemers@cec.eu.int; Internet: http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/csc/dcs00.htm.
14 December 2001, London, UK: TRADE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AT DOHA. Organised by the Energy and Environment Programme of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, this meeting is designed to examine what was agreed at Doha, what will be its implications for policies for environmentally sustainable development, and what is likely to - and what should - happen now. A panel of speakers from a variety of backgrounds will give their perspectives, followed by questions and discussion. For registration, please email Ruth Tatton-Kelly at ruth@riia.org or telephone (44-20) 7957-5711 to register. For further information please contact: Duncan Brack, UK; tel: (44-20) 7957-5751; email: Dbrack@riia.org.
WTO
An updated list of forthcoming WTO meetings is posted at: http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/ meets.doc. Please bear in mind that dates and times of WTO meetings are often changed, and that the WTO does not always announce the important informal meetings of the different bodies. Unless otherwise indicated, all WTO meetings are held at the WTO, Centre William Rappard, rue de Lausanne 154, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland. For further information on WTO events contact: WTO Information and Media Relations Division, Geneva; tel: (41-22) 739- 5007; fax: 739-5458; email: enquiries@wto.org.
10-12 December, Geneva, Switzerland: WTO TEXTILES MONITORING BODY.
12 December, Geneva, Switzerland: WTO COMMITTEE ON BALANCE OF PAYMENTS – BANGLADESH.
18 December, Geneva, Switzerland: WTO DISPUTE SETTLEMENT BODY.
19-20 December, Geneva, Switzerland: WTO GENERAL COUNCIL. Inter alia, Members will discuss the report of the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration (including on technical assistance for 2002); Document de-restriction; and a communication from Mexico on venue of the Fifth Session of the Ministerial Conference.
Other Forthcoming
24-25 December 2001, Jaipur, India: SEMINAR ON COMPETITION REGULATION AND INVESTMENT: ROLE IN ECONOMIC GROWTH. The event is organised by the CUTS Centre for International, Trade, Economics & Environment. Representatives of all the stakeholders, viz. policy makers, sectoral regulators (focusing on energy and telecoms sectors), experts on investment and competition issues, media and civil society will deliberate on the interface between investment policy, competition policy and regulatory design. For further information contact: Anjali Bansal/ Sanjay Varma; tel: 91-14120-7482; fax: 7486; email: cuts@cuts.org.
14-22 January, New York, USA: FINAL PREPARATORY SESSION ON FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT. The FfD Conference is scheduled for 18-22 March 2002. For further information contact: Financing for Development Coordinating Secretariat, 2 UN Plaza (DC2-2386), New York, N.Y. 10017; tel: (1-212) 963-2587; fax: 963-0443; email: ffd@un.org; Internet: www.un.org/esa/ffd/ 0501PC-bcpapers.htm.
28-29 January, Nairobi, Kenya: REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN AFRICA. For further information contact Anna Ogalo or Harrison Maganga, African Centre for Technology Studies, Nairobi, Kenya; tel: (254-2) 524-700/6; fax: 524701; email: acts@cgiar.org or a.ogalo@cgiar.org; Internet: http://www.acts.or.ke. From IISD Linkages, http:// www.iisd.ca.
28-29 January 2002, Midrand, South Africa: UNEP FINANCE INITIATIVE REGIONAL OUTREACH EVENT FOR AFRICA. The conference will seek to address the role of the African financial sector in sustainable development. For more information contact: Niamh O’Sullivan; tel: (41-22) 917-8178; email: niamh.o.Sullivan@unep.ch. From IISD Linkages, http://www.iisd.ca.
4-8 February, Geneva, Switzerland: 6TH SESSION OF THE UNCTAD COMMISSION ON TRADE IN GOODS AND SERICES, AND COMMODITIES. The main agenda items are: Item 3. "The sustainable use of biological resources: Ways to enhance the production and export capacities of developing countries of agriculture and food products, including niche products, such as environmentally preferable products (EPPs)"; Item 4. "Analysis of ways to enhance the contribution of specific services sectors to the development perspectives of developing countries: Energy services in international trade: development implications"; Item 5. "Analysis of market access issues facing developing countries: Consumer interests, competitiveness, competition and development". For further information contact: UNCTAD, Geneva; tel: (41-22) 917-5637; Internet: http://www.unctad.org.
21-22 February 2002, London, UK: CONFERENCE: HOW INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS COULD WORK BETTER FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND POOR PEOPLE. Organised by the Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, the Conference is designed to discuss how intellectual property rights could work better to promote development in developing countries and reduce poverty. In particular, the Commission will be seeking the views of participants on the progress of its work to date and on whether they have properly identified the right issues in the intellectual property field relevant to poor people and developing countries. For registration contact: Carol Oliver, Secretariat; email: c.oliver@iprcommission.org. For further information on the Commission visit: http:// www.iprcommission.org.
21-23 February 2002, Lyon, France: EARTH DIALOGUES - GLOBALISATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT - IS ETHICS THE MISSING LINK? Organised by Green Cross International, Earth Dialogues will provide a forum for constructive debate on the world’s most acute problems. Participants will share their views on how to forge the essential links between globalisation, sustainable development and ethics. For further information contact: Earth Dialogues Secretariat; tel: (41-22) 789- 1662; email: secretariat@gci.ch; Internet: http://www.greencrossinternational.net/pdf/ Earth_Dialogue.pdf. From IISD Linkages, http://www.iisd.ca.
14-15 March 2002, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil: UNEP FINANCE INITIATIVES ANNUAL GLOBAL ROUNDTABLE MEETING ON FINANCE AND SUSTAINABILITY. Hosted by Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social (BNDES) with assistance from Corporacion Andina de Fomento (CAF), this outreach event will build new partnerships for sustainability within the finance and insurance industries in Latin America and globally. For further information visit: http://unepfi.net/ rio.