Tuerk Elisabeth

Elisabeth Tuerk is a Legal Expert in UNCTAD's Section on International Investment Agreements (IIA) in UNCTAD's Division on Investment and Enterprise.

UNCTAD's IA Section is implementing a programme on international investment agreements (IIAs), which seeks to help developing countries to participate as effectively as possible in international investment rule making. Ms Tuerk manages the Section's research work, which includes the preparation of two Series of issues papers (e.g. Series on International Investment Policies for Development; Series on Issues in International Investment Agreements) and other ad hoc or regular publications (e.g., the recurring web-based IIA Monitors), as well as inputs into other UNCTAD products (e.g. the annual World Investment Report or the quarterly Investment Policy Monitor). Ms Tuerk also contributes to the Section's technical assistance and capacity building work and to the management and organisation of UNCTAD's intergovernmental meetings and events.

In her previous UNCTAD assignment, Ms Tuerk worked as an Economic Affairs Officer at UNCTAD's Trade Negotiations and Commercial Diplomacy Branch (TNCDB) in UNCTAD's Division on International Trade in Goods and Services, and Commodities. In this function, she was engaged in economic, legal and policy analysis on WTO negotiations, regional trade agreements (RTAs) and domestic trade regulations, with a focus on trade in services. Ms Tuerk regularly advised developing country and LDC trade negotiators and policy makers on issues in the Doha Work Program, WTO accessions and RTA negotiations (e.g., SADC and COMESA), with particular attention given to assessing the implications of negotiating proposals in terms of legal, policy,
negotiating strategy and developmental impacts.

Prior to joining UNCTAD, Ms Tuerk worked a staff attorney for the Trade and Investment Program of the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL, Geneva). She holds a Magistra Degree in Law and a Magistra Degree in International Management from the Karl-Franzens University, Graz, Austria as well as a Masters Degree (MILE, Master of International Law and Economics) from the World Trade Institute (WTI) in Bern, Switzerland.

Ms Tuerk is author or co-author of numerous articles on trade in services, investment and development. She has participated as a speaker in numerous academic and policy events on issues related to the interface between trade liberalisation, investment and development, and has extensive experience in university lecturing and training programmes for policy makers. Ms. Tuerk is a national of Austria.