Trade: China sets out WTO reform agenda, defends rules-based trade (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
China on 18 February called for preserving an "open, inclusive, transparent and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system" at the World Trade Organization, while "safeguarding and strengthening the rules-based multilateral trading system through WTO reform and concrete actions," amid seemingly growing opposition to the ongoing WTO reform process based on three issues led by the Norwegian facilitator, said people familiar with the development.

Rights: UN marks 45 years of CEDAW, renews push for women's equality (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women is hosting an informal commemoration in Geneva on 19 February to celebrate the forty-fifth anniversary of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

UN: UNHCR launches $1.6 billion appeal to support Sudan's refugees (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, together with 123 partner organizations, are urgently appealing for $1.6 billion to support 5.9 million people in seven countries bordering Sudan by the end of this year, as the conflict continues to drive mass displacement and overwhelm humanitarian capacity.