IIMA and VIDES participate in a Day of National Mourning observed by Italy badly affected by the earthquake in recent days. We are close to families in this moment of grief and we express our solidarity with the Italian people . ...

“Financing of the UN Development System – Current Trends and New Directions”-

On May 30th it took place the NGO Briefing where the Dag Hammarskjold Foundation and the Multi Partner Trust Fund Office presented their second annual Report:   « Financing of the UN Development System – Current Trends and New Directions. », looking at the implications of Agenda 2030 for the financing of the UNDS.   It provides a detailed overview of UNDS resources, amounting to $48,6 billion in 2014 and it identifies a variety of essays -still  under discussion- that will be high on the UN financing agenda over the coming years, such as : the different sources of finance and funding mechanism ;...

“Rethinking Development Strategies after the Financial Crisis”

On May 24th IIMA attended a conference at the Un Library called «  Rethinking Development strategies after the financial crisis », an event organized in collaboration with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. The event, has been an opportunity to launch two books published by Unctad, called ‘Making the case for Policy Space’ and ‘Country Studies and International Comparisons’, which represent a sort of recipe to rethink the development strategies after the economic and financial crisis. During the conference two important facts came out :  the need to find a new type of economic policies that are different in respect...

Reform of the Investment Protection Regime – Views and experiences from Developing Countries

On May 18, 2016 the Book Launch “Investment Treaties” – Views and experiences from developing Countries on the Reform of the Investment Protection Regime - took place at the UN library in Palais des Nations The panelists were Prof. Carlos Correa, Special Advisor on Trade and Intellectual Property, South Centre, H.E. Mr Xavier Carim, Ambassador of South Africa to the World Trade Organization, Elisabeth Tuerk, Chief, International Investment Agreement Section, UNCTAD, and Kinda Mohamadieh, Research Associate, South Centre. The event was introduced by  Martin Khor, Executive Director of South Centre. The debate on the implications of international investment treaties and the investor-state dispute settlement...

UN Library Event “What’s trust got to do with Migration?” – A Human Library

 On May 11th IIMA attended the event entitled “What’s trust got to do with Migration?” at the UN Library, in which the guests shared their personal stories, each focusing on issues related to migration and the importance of trust-building. The initiative was opened by Cornelio Sommaruga, Honorary President of Initiative of Change International (IofC) who stated the importance of consolidating and revaluating human security relating to integration in the global phenomenon of migration. This initiative was animated by the participation of Leonard Doyle, Spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM); Melissa Fleming, Chief Spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for...

Preparing for the 3rd Cycle of the UPR : A Question and Answer Session with the Chief of the UPR Branch(OHCHR)

On April 4th, 2016, the International Catholic Center of Geneva (CCIG) organized a meeting between the UPR platform members with the Chief, Ms. Shahrzad Tadjbakhsh, and other OHCHR representatives from the UPR Branch.   The goal of the meeting was to provide information  in preparation of the 3rd cycle of the UPR, which will start in 2017.    The meeting offered the occasion to improve platform members contribution within the UPR and to discuss difficulties that NGOs encounter while working with this mechanism. The implementation of UPR recommendations on the ground was also directly addressed as a main challenge for the...