SESSION 29: PLURILATERALISM AGAINST MULTILATERALISM?: A MULTI-STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVE*

Tuesday, 25 September 2012, 18:15 — 20:15, Room S3

This session aimed to discuss the concepts of multilateralism and plurilateralism and to assess the potential impact of plurilateral agreements within the WTO multilateral trading system. Plurilateral agreements can be concluded by three or more WTO members and cover trade issues labelled WTO plus, extra or minus. They can be adopted both within and outside the WTO framework. They can be "preferential" agreements or agreements based on the most-favoured-nation (MFN) principles. Future plurilateral trade agreements negotiated within the WTO could bring more transparency, and third parties' rights would be better protected under the WTO dispute settlement procedure.

If a plurilateral agreement is adopted outside the WTO framework, other WTO members need not be included, and negotiations would not include other WTO members not party to the agreement. It would then lead to the creation of a "soft law", since a plurilateral agreement outside the WTO would not have the same legal and political weight and could not aspire to an "international standard". A plurilateral trade agreement within the WTO that extends MFN benefits to non-treaty WTO members would avoid trade distortions. Conversely, if a WTO-based plurilateral trade agreement is kept as a preferential agreement (non-MFN), it would avoid free-riding by non-members and provide an incentive for others to join.

Raymond Saner & Lichia Yiu

The five legacy papers, Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future (2022), The People’s Environ-ment Narrative. pp 647-685, Utrecht, the Netherlands

This chapter provides an assessment of the current relation, interaction and importance of Science for the UN Environment Programme, UNEP, as a key enabler of its mandate to catalyze environmental policies, strategies and actions for the benefit of world citizens and the planet.

This review is based on semi-structured qualitative interviews with renowned international experts about their views on UNEP’s role and contributions to the international multilateral environmental system and on the emerging challenges and needs of knowledge production through science. Highlights will be given to exemplify the impact of proposed policy choices, the monitoring mechanisms created to track scientific knowledge - how it got translated and popularized - since UNEP’s inception in 1972. Observations made by these experts on UNEP’s challenges and shortfalls will also be reported. The authors conclude with recommendations on how UNEP could strengthen its science-policy-society interface and strengthen its role as key international advocate and custodian of sustained environmental development through effective science-policy-society dialogue and mutual learning.

Raymond Saner, Lichia Yiu and Nathan Eyasu, CSEND, 28th May 2024

The objective of this paper is to understand the poverty of Single-Mother households around the world and the factors contributing to their existence and struggles.

Using the sustainable livelihood framework, the paper analyzes the benefits cooperatives can bring to Single Mothers in addressing their poverty in developing countries in general and in Ethiopia in particular.

In Conclusion, the paper proposes additional data collection and studies to determine the impact that cooperatives can have on poverty alleviation for women and Single Mothers in Ethiopia.

Saner, R., Saner Yiu, L., Eyasu, N., & Rowland, K. (2024).
Applied Psychology Around the World, APAW, Vol. 6, Issue 2. (ISSN: 2639-6521). pp 200-212.

A humanitarian delegate works for humanitarian organizations, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Médecins du Monde (Doctors of the World) or the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Their humanitarian delegates are deployed to conflict zones, disaster areas, or regions facing severe humanitarian crises. Their roles involve a wide range of activities aimed at alleviating human suffering and protecting the rights and dignity of affected populations. As the demand for humanitarian aid workers continues to increase, the international community must understand the effects that the increasing complexity of their job has on the humanitarian delegate’s performance and state of mind. This article describes the many factors that can contribute to the work stress of the humanitarian delegate and how humanitarian organizations can mitigate the work stress of their delegates.