Covid-19

Symposium on Reconceptualizing IEL for Migration: Sustainable Humanitarianism? Refugee Finance and the Financialization of International Protection

Much has been written about how international law generally, and international economic law more specifically, have enabled, facilitated and contributed to the continued racial ordering, discrimination, exploitation, and treatment of people on the move as ‘surplus’ population. The current COVID-19 pandemic, if anything, has laid bare how current economic structures entrench precarity and inequality, in a world in which borders may be seamless for goods and services, yet fortress-like and unwelcoming for those fleeing persecution, climate breakdown, armed conflict or abject poverty.

Thirty Ninth Sovereign Debt News Update: Kenya, Chad and Congo in Context

The African Sovereign Debt Justice Network brings to you an update of African sovereign debt news and updates on events and happenings on and about Africa that reveal how sovereign debt issues are engaged by the various stakeholders.

Webinar: “Prepare the Future”: Unblocking Global Finance for Post-COVID-19 Recovery in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Africa Task Force of the Vatican Covid-19 Commission hosted by the Jesuit Justice and Ecology Network-Africa (JENA) brings together eminent experts: Professor Jeffrey Sachs from Columbia University, Professor James Gathii from Loyola University Chicago (LUC), Marta Pedrajas, Economy Task Force - Vatican COVID-19 Commission and Professor Horman Chitonge from the University of Cape Town (UCT) to offer suggestions in regard to what the international community can do to establish a more just international financial order that can unblock the flow of global funds to Sub-Saharan African and other developing countries that need it.

The Role of Climate Finance in Facilitating Low Carbon Electrification in SSA: Opportunities and Challenges

The incremental change in the level of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the atmosphere has led to climate change characterised by rising global temperatures. This has resulted in extreme and often devastating weather across the globe with subsequent negative impact on the world’s economies and societies. The International Energy Agency (IEA) and the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) in July and October 2021 respectively issued projections to the effect that there is no peak in sight for carbon emissions and fossil fuels consumption. According to their data, the projections indicate that by 2050: - a) based on the current policy positions, there will likely be a 50% increase in energy consumption, b) carbon emissions will hit record high levels in the coming years as global economies recover from the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, c) even though renewables will continue to be the fastest-growing new source of energy, hydrocarbon-based fuels will still meet the bulk of the projected demand and finally, d) that despite increased climate ambitions, the levels of funding that governments are allocating to sustainable climate-friendly recoveries is inadequate.

Inaugural World Arbitration Update: Africa and MENA Reasserting A Protagonist Role in the Arbitration Scene

These recent procedural and substantive trends encompassed in the WAU conference demonstrate a renewed and welcomed interest for arbitration of mega disputes in the African continent and the MENA region, both international arbitration hubs that are gaining prominence. Whilst challenges remain, biases against arbitrating disputes in these regions are being debunked by the experience of Africa and MENA with dispute resolution, the advent of institutions and “arbitration friendly” jurisprudence.