Trade : DG Azevedo rebuked by India over "value-loaded" statements (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
India sharply rebuked on Monday (6 February) the World Trade Organization director-general Roberto Azevedo over his assessment that there were "wide divergences" on special safeguard mechanism (SSM) in the run-up to the Nairobi ministerial meeting in December 2015, trade envoys told SUNS.

Development : LDC graduation the 'first milestone', not the 'winning post' (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
The Trade and Development Board of UNCTAD on Monday held a discussion on the Least Developed Countries Report 2016 which amongst others had argued that graduation of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) is "not the winning post of a race to cease being an LDC, but rather the first milestone in the marathon of development."

United Nations : IFAD 2017 - it's women's turn in rural development (PRIV)
(IPS, Brasilia)
Josefina Stubbs, from the Dominican Republic, may become the first woman to preside over the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which is dedicated to eradicating rural poverty.

Rights : FGM is a gruesome impediment to the empowerment of women (PRIV)
(IPS, Nairobi)
On 06 February 2017, the world marks the 14th International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

Pakistan : Moves to end impunity for rapists (PRIV)
(IPS, Lahore)
Amid a wave of reforms to tighten the country's laws on honour killings and sexual assault, on Feb. 2, the Sindh Assembly passed a law making DNA testing in rape cases mandatory in the province.