Georgios Altintzis (ITUC) delivers statement to UNCTAD General Debate

Georgios Altintzis, Trade Policy Officer at the ITUC was among the Trade Union delegation to the 14th session of the UN Conference on Trade and Development. On the 21st of July he delivered the ITUC statement to the UNCTAD General Debate.

The ITUC Statement to the 14th UNCTAD Conference, focussed on four key recommendations to UNCTAD, that it:

  1. ensure that trade and private investment create decent work and social development;
  2. ensure that trade, finance and technology are used for sustainable development, and increase governments’ capacity to collect taxes and make public investment.
  3. promote structural transformation;
  4. assist governments to achieve the 2030 Agenda goals.

In the build up to UNCTAD 14, Mr Altintzis had also posted a video statement on behalf of the ITUC outlining Trade Union priorities for UNCTAD. He commended the work of UNCTAD on International Investment Agreements (IIAs), in particular that aimed at promoting transparency and encouraged additional recognition of the fact that Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms are imbalanced by their very nature. While labour clauses within trade agreements are, where they exist, welcomed, Mr. Altintzis highlights the fact that they are even more rarely enforceable.