Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 9 • Number 18 • 25th May 2005
EVENTS For a more comprehensive list of events in trade and sustainable development, please refer to ICTSD’s web calendar. If you would like to submit an event, please email us.
Coming Up: 26 May - 1 June
27-28 May, Edinburgh, United Kingdom: REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS AND THE WTO LEGAL SYSTEM. ILA British Branch 2005 Spring Conference. This conference aims to analyse and compare different regional trade agreements (RTAs), and investigating the areas of potential legal conflict between RTAs and the WTO system. For further information contact Lorand Bartels; e-mail: lorand.bartels@ed.ac.uk; Internet: http://www.hss.ed.ac.uk/ila/index.htm.
30 May - 3 June, Montreal, Canada: SECOND MEETING OF THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES SERVING AS THE MEETING OF THE PARTIES TO THE CARTAGENA PROTOCOL ON BIOSAFETY (COP/MOP-2). Organised by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). For further information contact the CBD Secretariat, tel: (+1-514) 288-2220; fax: 288-6588; email: secretariat@biodiv.org.
31 May - 16 June, Geneva, Switzerland: 93RD SESSION OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CONFERENCE. This is the general conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO). For further information, contact the Official Relations Branch, tel: (+41 22) 799-7732; fax: 799-8944; email: RELOFF@ilo.org; Internet: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/ilc/ilc93/index.htm.
1 June, Geneva, Switzerland. SEEKING SOLUTIONS: DEVELOPING NEW TREATMENTS AND IMPROVING ACCESS FOR POOR PEOPLE. This conference is organised by the Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health (CIPIH) of the World Health Organization (WHO). It is an ‘open forum’ for interested parties to share their views before the Commission drafts its report. Attendance is by invitation only, for further information please write as soon as possible to cipihopenforum@who.int. Internet: http://www.who.int/intellectualproperty/events/openforum/en/.
WTO Events
An updated list of forthcoming WTO meetings is posted at: http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/meets.pdf. Please bear in mind that dates and times of WTO meetings are often changed, and that the WTO does not always announce the important informal meetings of the different bodies. Unless otherwise indicated, all WTO meetings are held at the WTO, Centre William Rappard, rue de Lausanne 154, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, and are open to WTO Members and accredited observers only.
26-27 May: GENERAL COUNCIL
30 May: NEGOTIATING GROUP ON RULES
1 June: DISPUTE SETTLEMENT BODY
Other Upcoming Events
16-17 June, London, UK: EMERGING CARBON MARKETS: CAN THEY DELIVER? This conference will provide a forum for policy debate on what is working and what is not; how the EU and other emerging emissions markets may develop in future; the politics and policies that will shape their evolution; and the roles of the public and private sectors. For further information contact the Chatham House, tel: (+44-20) 7957 5700; fax: 7957 5710; email: contact@chathamhouse.org.uk; Internet: http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/index.php?id=5&cid=72.
27 June - 1 July, Geneva, Switzerland: THIRD PART OF THE UN CONFERENCE ON THE NEGOTIATION OF A SUCCESSOR AGREEMENT TO THE INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBER AGREEMENT, 1994. Parties to the ITTA will continue negotiations towards the creation of a successor agreement regarding tropical timber. For further information contact the UNCTAD Secretariat, tel: (+41-22) 917-5809; fax: 917-0056; email: correspondence@unctad.org; Internet: http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Meeting.asp?intItemID=3323&lang=1%20.