Trade : PR disaster for MC11, as host denies accreditation to many NGOs   (Chakravarthi Raghavan, Geneva) (PRIV)
(, )
With just 10 days for the WTO Ministerial Conference to convene in Buenos Aires, the Argentine hosts have created a public relations disaster for the WTO, by taking the unprecedented step of denying accreditation (and entry into Argentina) for about 63 persons from some 20-30 civil society organisations.

Finance : Beware public-private partnerships   (IPS, Kuala Lumpur) (PRIV)
(, )
Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are essentially long- term contracts, underwritten by government guarantees, with which the private sector builds (and sometimes runs) major infrastructure projects or services traditionally provided by the state, such as hospitals, schools, roads, railways, water, sanitation and energy.

United Nations : Should environmental refugees be granted asylum status?   (IPS, New York) (PRIV)
(, )
The 1951 UN convention on political refugees - which never foresaw the phenomenon of climate change - permits refugee status only if one "has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion."

United Nations : We have never lived in a world without migration   (IPS, Geneva) (PRIV)
(, )
I want to thank Director-General Lacy Swing for inviting me to address you today. My thanks also go to Ambassador Mauras, as Chair of the International Organization for Migration Council, along with Ambassador Quinn, as outgoing-Chair, for their work and commitment.