12th Annual Forum of Developing Country Investment Negotiators
The theme of the Forum was Shifting International Investment Law Toward Sustainable Development: Strategies for Renegotiation, Reform and Defence.
The 12th Annual Forum of Developing Country Investment Negotiators was held in Cartagena, Colombia, from February 27 to March 1, 2019. It was co-hosted by the Government of Colombia, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the South Centre.
The Forum is the only global platform for government officials exclusively from developing and emerging economies to share experiences and lessons learned from investment negotiations. The Forum gives negotiators and experts an opportunity to discuss emerging issues, review recent legal developments in the field and engage in peer learning with fellow negotiators.
The theme of the 2019 Forum was “Shifting International Investment Law Toward Sustainable Development: Strategies for Renegotiation, Reform and Defence.” The three-day meeting featured a series of sessions devoted to substantive and procedural reforms of investment treaties and investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS).
Participants examined trends and developments in ongoing regional and multilateral reform processes, such as the Working Group III process on multilateral ISDS reform at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), as well as the amendment process for the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Convention. Participants also debated bilateral options such as the negotiation of new treaties and the termination and renegotiation of existing ones.
A full report on this year’s Forum is now available in English, French and Spanish. Additional background documents, including an event agenda, can also be found in the list below.
Upcoming events
Building Bridges: The State of Nature-Based Investments
Join us for a panel at the Building Bridges conference in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss the state-of-play of nature-based investments and the potential opportunities they present.
Stakeholder Consultation of the East African Organic Products Standard
This online event will bring together key stakeholders to review new standards, discuss regulatory requirements, and identify updates for relevant policies.
COP 29 | Europe’s Dash for Gas in Africa puts Private Profits Before African Countries’ Interests
Europe’s demand for gas is contributing to a wave of liquid natural gas (LNG) projects in Mozambique, Nigeria, and Senegal. At this COP 29 press conference experts set out the risks of banking on LNG for development and call on European leaders to support a more sustainable model.
IGF 20th Annual General Meeting
Leading international mining policy forum, focusing on balancing the need for minerals with protecting people and the planet