On Wednesday 16 March 2016, some 200 experts from all around the globe convened at UNCTAD’s Expert Meeting on “Taking Stock of IIA Reform”. The meeting, opened by Mr. Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD, not only offered the investment and development community an opportunity to identify lessons learned and to develop a joint vision for IIA reform, but it also broke new ground by fostering an inclusive and transparent approach to international investment policy making.
In addition to the 40 plus speakers in the room, eight speakers delivered their statements via webinar (or audio-bridge), seven speakers contributed to the debate through a video message, around 80 stakeholders followed the debate through the webinar, and several experts shared their views on investment policy hub blog.
The meeting – UNCTAD’s first investment webinar re-affirmed UNCTAD’s role as the multilateral platform for engagement in sustainable development oriented investment policymaking.
Focus of the UNCTAD Expert Meeting
IIA reform is being undertaken at all levels of policymaking – national, bilateral, regional and multilateral. The debate focused on how this is happening and what can be done to effectively reform international investment governance in line with today’s sustainable development imperative.
- Engagement with other experts: the discussion involved high-level experts from the investment and development community, including governments, inter-governmental organizations, the private sector, civil society and academia.
- Sharing experiences: experts shared the experience of their country’s or stakeholders’ approach to IIA reform to identify lessons learned, best practices and the way forward.
- Reviewing UNCTAD tools on IIA reform: experts reviewed their use of UNCTAD’s Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development and UNCTAD’s Roadmap for IIA Reform, providing feedback, comments and suggestions for future editions.
- Shaping the IIA Conference at the 5th World Investment Forum (WIF) in Nairobi, Kenya: ideas were shared for possible discussion topics, themes and outcomes of the 19 July 2016 IIA Conference.
Other documents
- UNCITRAL Note on the United Nations Convention on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration
- Side Event Presentation (“What the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights mean for investment treaty reform”) (LSE Investment & Human Rights Project)
Disclaimer: The statements and videos are in the form as they have been received; files with recording challenges were not uploaded. We thank all experts for their submissions.
Speaker(s)
