Gustavo Capdevila

TRADE: Deadlock on Talks Holds Firm a Month Before Seattle

The upcoming World Trade Organisation (WTO) conference in Seattle and the future of multilateral trade talks remain unclear, despite attempts by cabinet ministers from 25 countries, who met through Tuesday in Switzerland, to get things moving.

TRADE: Unions Demand ‘Social Clause’ in Word Trade Accords

By Gustavo Capdevila

The world's largest labour union is launching an offensive to demand that basic workers' rights be included in all multilateral trade agreements, just one month before the Third Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

LABOUR: Millions of Informal Workers, But No Unions Yet

By Gustavo Capdevila

The world's unions are beginning to accept that informal employment is here to stay and, as a result, are designing strategies to organise the growing army of marginalised workers worldwide.

//REPEAT//LABOUR: Millions of Informal Workers, But No Unions Yet

By Gustavo Capdevila

The world's unions are beginning to accept that informal employment is here to stay and, as a result, are designing strategies to organise the growing army of marginalised workers worldwide.

TRADE: Agricultural Protectionism Enlivens WTO Debate

By Gustavo Capdevila

Agriculture emerged as the bone of contention as soon as discussion opened at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) about a potential new round of multilateral talks for further trade liberalisation.

COMMUNICATIONS: North-South Gap in Mobile Phone Use Persists

By Gustavo Capdevila

The global telecommunications panorama reveals that the age-old disparity between North and South continues, despite the increasing use of mobile telephones in developing countries, says the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

TRADE: Traditional Knowledge Seeks Int’l Legal Protection

By Gustavo Capdevila

Latin American and Asian countries are pushing the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to establish regulations for protecting the intellectual property rights of local and indigenous communities.

RIGHTS: Africa Complains of Double Standards in Refugee Treatment /REPEATING TO SOME POINTS/

By Gustavo Capdevila

African nations accuse the international community of biased treatment of refugees, citing the attention granted to the displaced in Kosovo and East Timor, and pointing out that expenditure per refugee is much lower in Africa than in other regions.

HEALTH-IRAQ: Vaccination Campaign to Stop Polio Outbreak

By Gustavo Capdevila

The World Health Organisation (WHO) embarked this week on a massive vaccination campaign for Iraq's infant population with sights set on eradicating poliomyelitis and preventing the epidemic here from spreading to neighbouring countries.

TRADE: World Agriculture Negotiations Take Shape

By Gustavo Capdevila

The cards seem to be irretrievably on the table for future multilateral talks on liberalising agricultural trade, the fate of which depends on the power and determination of the players.

RIGHTS-EAST TIMOR: UN Commission Approves Inquiry into Abuses

By Gustavo Capdevila

The United Nations Human Rights Commission condemned Monday the massive, systematic and grave human rights violations in East Timor, and called for the creation of an international commission to investigate abuses committed there this year.

HUMAN RIGHTS: Asia Seeks to Block Inquiry in East Timor

By Gustavo Capdevila

The countries of Asia formed a solid front in the United Nations to block the creation of an international commission, suggested by the European Union, to investigate human rights violations committed in East Timor since January.

RIGHTS-EAST TIMOR: Indonesia to Take Part in Inquiry of Abuses

By Gustavo Capdevila

The United Nations (UN) commission that will investigate human rights violations in East Timor will work in co-operation with Indonesia - the nation occupying the island territory - according to an agreement beginning to take shape between European and Asian countries.

HUMAN RIGHTS: Asia Seeks to Block Inquiry in East Timor

By Gustavo Capdevila

The countries of Asia formed a solid front in the United Nations to block the creation of an international commission, suggested by the European Union, to investigate human rights violations committed in East Timor since January.

RIGHTS: Conditions for Women Declining in Former Socialist Bloc

By Gustavo Capdevila

The situation is deteriorating today for women in the countries of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, where they previously enjoyed a wide range of benefits - especially in health and education - even though full gender equality was never achieved.