TRADE: Campaign Against WTO Ministerial Conference Kicks Off

Protests against the upcoming WTO ministerial conference in Hong Kong, by civil society groups from around the world, began Saturday in this Swiss city with a demonstration that lambasted the trade liberalisation process led by the global body.

TRADE: Illusion of Progress in the WTO

In the state of immobility that has been holding up the Doha Round of multilateral trade talks for nearly four years, any tiny vibration like the one felt in this week's negotiations in the WTO is interpreted as a sign of movement, said a Latin American delegate.

TRADE: G20 Jumps into Agricultural Reform Debate

The WTO multilateral trade talks have moved into a decisive new phase now that all three international trade heavyweights have entered the ring: the European Union, the United States, and the Group of 20 (G20) developing countries.

TRADE: Anti-WTO Protesters Back on the Streets

Civil society groups will be taking to the streets beginning this week, staging demonstrations around the world in the run-up to the December WTO ministerial conference in Hong Kong.

TRADE: Anti-WTO Protesters Back on the Streets

Civil society groups will be taking to the streets beginning this week, staging demonstrations around the world in the run-up to the December WTO ministerial conference in Hong Kong.

COMMUNICATIONS: Road to Tunis Paved With Questions

With just six weeks to go before the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis, a number of key issues remain unresolved, including the highly debated questions of Internet governance and civil society participation.

COMMUNICATIONS: Activists Denounce “Erosion” of NGO Participation in Summit

The unprecedented cooperation among governments, civil society and the private sector that has characterised the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process for the last three years was undermined this week by a decision adopted by government representatives.

COMMUNICATIONS: NGOs Complain of Summit Host Tunisia’s Rights Record

One of the biggest clouds looming over the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is the human rights record of Tunisia, which will host the second phase of the Summit, scheduled for Nov. 16-18.

RIGHTS: UN Draft Treaty on Forced Disappearance Completed in Record Time

A new legal guarantee for all of the world's citizens, the right to not be subjected to forced disappearance, was established in a draft international convention adopted this week by a United Nations working group.

COMMUNICATIONS: Human Rights at the Information Society Summit

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) managed to avoid a scandal over the exclusion of a group of Chinese activists, but controversy will be difficult to defuse when discussion turns to human rights violations in Tunisia, the host country of the Summit's second phase.

COMMUNICATIONS: Future of Civil Society Participation in Doubt

By the end of the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society this November in Tunis, the role to be played by civil society in bridging the digital gap and democratising communications will be clearly defined. But many activists are less than optimistic about the eventual outcome.

COMMUNICATIONS: No Agreement on Internet Governance

The script for the final act of the World Summit for the Information Society (WSIS) will begin to be written on Sep. 19 in this Swiss city, with the participation of a cast that will be made up - for the first time on the international stage - of a wide range of actors: governments, business and civil society.

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS: Moving Backwards

A new World Health Organisation report shows that less than encouraging results have been obtained so far in the international community's efforts to fulfil the MDGs.

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS: Moving Backwards

A new World Health Organisation (WHO) report shows that less than encouraging results have been obtained so far in the international community's efforts to fulfil the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

HEALTH: WHO Reinstates Generic HIV Drugs from India

The reinstatement of seven generic antiretroviral drugs produced by Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd in India on WHO's list of prequalified medicines will reinforce efforts to ensure access to affordable quality AIDS drugs in poor countries, the global health agency stated Friday.

TRADE: A Bitter Pill for the WTO and Activists to Swallow

WTO authorities played down the significance of the new stalemate in the Doha Round of talks and the threat hanging over the sixth ministerial conference in Hong Kong. But civil society organisations see the multilateral trade system's latest fiasco in a much more serious light.

TRADE: A Bitter Pill for the WTO and Activists to Swallow

WTO authorities played down the significance of the new stalemate in the Doha Round of talks and the threat hanging over the sixth ministerial conference in Hong Kong. But civil society organisations see the multilateral trade system's latest fiasco in a much more serious light.

TRADE: Toning Down Frustration Over Latest WTO Failure

This week's failure by the WTO to reach a key agreement to keep trade liberalisation talks on schedule did not have the same impact as the fiascos in Seattle (1999) and Cancún (2003) because the prestige of ministerial conferences is not at stake as it was back then - and because clear efforts have been made to tone down the reactions.

TRADE: Toning Down Frustration Over Latest WTO Failure in Talks

This week's failure by the WTO to reach a key agreement to keep trade liberalisation talks on schedule did not have the same impact as the fiascos in Seattle (1999) and Cancún (2003) because the prestige of ministerial conferences is not at stake as it was back then, and because clear efforts have been made to tone down the reactions.

TRADE: CAFTA Could Kick Start Stalled WTO Talks

The approval of the Central American Trade Agreement (CAFTA) by the U.S. House of Representatives early Thursday could breathe new life into the Doha Round of WTO negotiations, say some observers.

RIGHTS: UN Experts Cite Credible Reports of Torture at Guantanamo

Four U.N. human rights experts said Thursday that they will investigate all aspects of detention at the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, where some 500 prisoners are being held without charges, despite the U.S. government's failure to respond to repeated requests to allow a visit there.