Development and Cooperation


	Contributions from the Column Facts and trends No agreement on generic exports Worldwide privatisation of education Widespread protest against impending war with Iraq Zimbabwe: "Against Mugabe but for the people" IMF waters down insolvency law proposal EU Commission proposes seemingly generous reduction of agricultural subsidies Malaria 02/2003		No agreement on generic exports The director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Supachai Panitchpakdi, expressed disappointment at the failure of the WTO negotiations on trade in generic versions of patent-protected drugs. By the end of 2002, the WTO committee on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPs) was supposed to work out an arrangement whereby poor countries would be allowed to import generic drugs which they cannot manufacture themselves. The talks broke down shortly before Christmas because of an unbridgeable gap between the positions of the developing countries and the United States (see D+C 2003:1,9). Panitchpakdi said he hoped a solution would be found in the early part of 2003. Commenting on the failure of the talks for the German development ministry, Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul criticised "individual states" for their stubborn resistance to a compromise paper presented by the Mexican member chairing the negotiations. "Human lives need to be put before doctrinaire argument", she said. (uke)