LABOUR: Anti-WTO Sentiment Unites Workers’ Confederations

Protests against the upcoming ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) may smooth over most of the differences that have divided the principal international labour unions, say leaders of the workers' movement.

LABOUR: Women Unionists Still Struggle to Be Heard

Gender equality within trade unions is a goal that has yet to be achieved, despite the fact that the increasing presence of women in the workforce has been the most significant change in the world's labour markets in recent times.

LABOUR: Unions Worldwide Suffering from Loss of Power

The world's trade unions, blaming the effects of the globalisation process, are in a period of crisis marked by reduced power in the political arena and dwindling membership rolls. Nevertheless, the movement's leaders are confident that a way out of current troubles can be found.

LABOUR: Rural African Women Suffer Multiple Discrimination

The work of the rural African woman is misunderstood, underestimated and shunned, despite its important contribution to the food security of the general population, charge women unionists.

RIGHTS: UN Committee Reviews British Record at Home and Abroad

The United Nations Human Rights Committee is concerned about the great number of racism claims filed against the British police and rights problems in the British territories in general, but expressed hope that attitudes and practices could be changed through training and education in human rights law.

TRADE: Consumer Activists Object to WTO Accords

Civil society groups are demanding that any new round of multilateral negotiations launched by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) must benefit consumer interests and sustainable development.

TRADE: Qatar May Lose Role of Host for WTO Conference

Security concerns have the World Trade Organisation (WTO) eyeing ways to relocate its Fourth Ministerial Conference to Singapore without offending Qatar, which has everything ready to host the meeting next month.

RIGHTS-AFGHANISTAN: UN Warns of Risk of Civilian Massacres

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, has warned the Northern Alliance, the opposition to the Taliban regime that controls 90 percent of Afghanistan, that there will be no impunity for them if civilians are massacred in the context of the current armed conflict.

TRADE: Civil Society Has Harsh Words for WTO

A group of prominent non-governmental organisations (NGOs) based in industrialised countries sent a sharply-worded letter to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) charging that it "is facing a fundamental crisis of legitimacy" which requires comprehensive institutional reforms.

HEALTH: Profit Alone Motivates Drug Companies, Say Health Activists

A report released Tuesday by the humanitarian group Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF - Doctors Without Borders) says almost no new drugs are being developed for diseases that primarily affect the world's poor populations.

HEALTH: Profit Alone Motivates Drug Companies, Say Health Activists

A report released Tuesday by the humanitarian group Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF - Doctors Without Borders) says almost no new drugs are being developed for diseases that primarily affect the world's poor populations.

TRADE: New WTO Text, New Chance for Agricultural Talks

The agriculture proposal that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) presented Thursday for the upcoming ministerial conference in Qatar has left many parties unsatisfied, but has created a chance for unblocking the contentious agricultural negotiations.

ECONOMY: Signs of Recovery Seen in Aftermath of Terrorist Attacks

The United Nations Commission on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has praised the measures adopted by the nations of the industrialised North aimed at curbing the global economic impacts of the Sep 11 terrorist attacks, and is now asking that developing countries take similar steps.

LABOUR: WTO Shuns World’s Workers Once Again, Say Unionists

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is once again ignoring labour unions' endeavours to make sure that international trade accords include rules guaranteeing respect for the fundamental rights of workers, complain activists.

TRADE: Dissent and Security Matters Conspire against WTO

The real threat to the success of the fourth ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), to be held in Qatar this November, is the discrepancies between rich and poor countries, not the security risks implied by the current international situation, say trade negotiators.

ENVIRONMENT: Activists Decry ‘Libertarian’ Stance of Rich Nations

Environmental activists criticised the governments from the world's wealthy regions Wednesday, charging that they are short-sighted in setting their objectives for global sustainable development and are primarily concerned with maintaining the status quo in international trade.

RIGHTS: War on Terrorism Threatens Liberties, Warns UN

A look at the terror attacks against New York and Washington in light of human rights elicited unanimous expressions of condemnation by United Nations experts Tuesday, but also of concern about the fate of the Afghan population and about the effectiveness of civil rights laws around the world.

RIGHTS: War on Terrorism Threatens Liberties, Warns UN

A look at the terror attacks against New York and Washington in light of human rights elicited unanimous expressions of condemnation by United Nations experts Tuesday, but also of concern about the fate of the Afghan population and about the effectiveness of civil rights laws around the world.

ENVIRONMENT: Hole in Ozone Layer Does not Reach Inhabited Areas

The effects of the hole in the ozone layer on the people living in the southernmost parts of South America have not been as serious this year as in the past, according to a bulletin released by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) Friday.

TRADE: Pharmaceuticals Controversy Shakes Up WTO

The argument that drug patents represent an obstacle for poor countries in delivering health services to their populations has returned this week to stir up debate at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and threatens to be a thorn for its ministerial conference in November.

DEVELOPMENT: Biggest Drop in Foreign Investment in 30 Years

Foreign investment is expected to fall 40 percent this year due to the slowdown in global economic growth, although flows to developing countries will be just six percent down from last year's record high, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reported Tuesday.