Dear Colleagues,
It is my pleasure to share with you the most
recent UNCTAD
IIA Issues Note, which reviews
developments in international investment policymaking.
Highlights:
- Investment treaty making has reached a turning
point. The number of new international investment agreements (IIAs) concluded
in 2017 was the lowest since 1983. Moreover, for the first time, the number
of effective treaty terminations outpaced the number of new IIAs.
- IIA reform is well under way across all regions.
Since 2012, over 150 countries have taken steps to formulate a new generation
of sustainable development-oriented IIAs. They have reviewed their treaty
networks and revised their treaty models in line with UNCTAD’s Reform
Package for the International Investment Regime.
- Countries are also beginning to modernize
the existing stock of old-generation treaties. An increasing number are
issuing interpretations, replacing and consolidating their older agreements.
Many have also been engaging in multilateral reform discussions, including
with regard to ISDS.
After improving
the approach to new treaties and modernizing existing treaties, the last
step in the reform process (Phase 3) is to ensure coherence with national
investment policies and with other bodies of international law.
UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2018, to be launched on 6 June 2018,
and UNCTAD’s next High-level IIA Conference, part of the 22-26 October
2018 World
Investment Forum (WIF) will both
be milestones for Phase 3 of IIA Reform.
Best regards,
James X. Zhan
Director, Investment
and Enterprise
Lead, World Investment Report
United Nations Conference on Trade & Development
Palais des Nations, Geneva
http://www.unctad.org/wir
http://www.worldinvestmentforum.org
http://investmentpolicyhub.unctad.org
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