Issue No. 639, 16-30 April 2017
WTO investment facilitation debate throws up several concerns

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Investment facilitation and links to China’s BRI
Chakravarthi Raghavan considers whether China’s push for WTO talks on investment facilitation (IF) has to do with its much-touted Belt and Road Initiative, and questions the role of the WTO secretariat in appearing to promote the controversial IF agenda.

WHO DG-elect faces herculean task on “health as rights issue”
For the incoming head of the World Health Organization, realizing his stated goal of universal health coverage will be fraught with challenges, not least of which is that posed by the dominance of neoliberal economic policies.
by D. Ravi Kanth

Slow growth stalls progress on SDGs
Weak economic growth is impeding efforts to achieve the internationally agreed Sustainable Development Goals, according to a UN progress report.
by Tharanga Yakupitiyage

Ecuador focuses on new UN tax body to fight illicit financial flows
Ecuadoran Foreign Minister Guillaume Long speaks with Inter Press Service’s Tharanga Yakupitiyage about the need to curb international tax dodging and about his country’s initiatives on this front as chair of the developing-country Group of 77.

Opinion: International financial governance undemocratic
Global governance and coordination on financial matters leaves a lot to be desired, writes Jomo Kwame Sundaram.

Opinion: Land and the right to food in Zambia
A UN rights expert’s report on Zambia underlines the link between the right to food and access to land.
by Timothy Wise

Analysis: “Break up the banks to stop the next global financial meltdown”
In his latest book, financial writer David Shirreff lays out an alternative agenda for financial sector restructuring in response to perceived flaws in official reform efforts.
by Andrew Cornford