AfCFTA

Join the African International Economic Law Network (AfIELN) for the first in a series of webinars focused on the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). In this session, Dr. Regis Simo from Queen's University Belfast will discuss the Protocol on Trade in Services, providing insights into its role and impact within the AfCFTA framework.

Gender equality is the cornerstone of sustainable development. It is an important aspect of all social and economic undertakings at a personal, national, and international level. Sustainable development can only be achieved if the unique needs of men and women are addressed systematically. Trade is essential in the development of families, communities, and countries. However, we cannot view development only as an increase in gross domestic product (GDP); it is also measured as an increase in human well-being. This means that trade at all levels affects, and is affected by, human well-being. One of the debates around gender mainstreaming and trade has been whether international trade law can accommodate gender empowerment. Amrita Bahri in her work Women at the Frontline of COVID-19: Can Gender Mainstreaming in Free Trade Agreements Help? notes that FTAs can play an important role in reducing gender inequality; through them, countries can encourage their trade partners to create laws and procedures that can eliminate or reduce the barriers that impede women’s participation in trade. Men and women experience trade differently, mostly due to gender roles determining how both genders access resources, use their time and earn income. Trade liberalization, despite its best intentions, has often perpetuated gender inequalities, with women being on the losing end.

The News and Events category publishes the latest News and Events relating to International Economic Law relating to Africa and the Global South. Every week, Afronomicslaw.org receive the News and Events in their e-mail accounts. The News and Events published every week include conferences, major developments in the field of International Economic Law in Africa at the national, sub-regional and regional levels as well as relevant case law. News and Events with a Global South focus are also often included.

The book is a contribution to the debate and literature on reforming SDT in the WTO, particularly, how to define and delimit access to SDT in the WTO. The book interrogates the problem of access to SDT resulting from the lack of a concrete criteria to identify a developing country at the WTO or more aptly, a country with a justifiable need for SDT. It answers the question of how to accommodate different levels of development among WTO members, while ensuring that the costs of multilateralism are shared equitably.

Join Schulich Law Associate Professor Olabisi D. Akinkugbe, Purdy Crawford Chair in Business Law, along with nearly 50 other leading scholars, graduate students, and legal practitioners for the Purdy Crawford Workshop on International Business Law: Rethinking the Dimensions of International Economic Law.

March 11, 2024

BII Sells Stake in I&M Group to East Africa Growth Holding for $65 Million