WTO: China's $1.2 trillion trade surplus "unsustainable", warns DG (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Ms. Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala, delivered a pointed message to Beijing at the Munich Security Conference on 13 February, stating that China's $1.2 trillion trade surplus is unsustainable "because the rest of the world cannot absorb it," while simultaneously downplaying the threat of unilateral tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

Trade: ILO tribunal rules against WTO in ex-DDGs contract dispute (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
A tribunal at the International Labour Organization (ILO) has ordered the World Trade Organization to pay compensation to two former deputy directors-general (DDGs) whose contracts were terminated by WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala shortly after she assumed office in March 2021 - a ruling that sources say has posed a significant embarrassment to the DG at a time of seemingly deepening unrest within the WTO Secretariat.

Sudan: RSF atrocities in El Fasher constitute war crimes, warns UN (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
The brutal 18-month siege and final offensive by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on El Fasher, Sudan last October caused severe and widespread harm to civilians, including large numbers of deaths, injuries, disappearances, and long-term psychological trauma, according to a report published by the UN Human Rights Office.