INCLO members join the call for universal access to COVID-19 vaccines and support the temporarily TRIPS waiver proposal
The Human Rights Law Centre joined the urgent international call with the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations (INCLO) for universal, equitable and affordable access to COVID-19 vaccines, particularly in the context of the stark inequality in the global distribution of the vaccines already produced and ordered.
The right to health is a fundamental right and states have made a commitment to ensure all have access to the highest attainable level of health, globally. In practice, this means states must prioritize the available resources and mechanisms at their disposal to ensure access to COVID-19 vaccines for all persons, without discrimination. In order to avoid entrenching health isolationism, the production and distribution of vaccines must be organized through international cooperation and assistance, which includes sharing the benefits of scientific progress.
However, these human rights obligations are not being currently honored by some states. The insufficient supply of vaccines and its deeply unequal global distribution necessitates urgent additional measures.
One immediate first step to ensure universal and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines is to adapt intellectual property regulations, governed by the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement, to respond to the exceptional circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. As noted by several UN human rights experts, “The TRIPS Agreement can and should facilitate the protection of public health on a global scale, promote self-sufficiency of all members, and not be a barrier to accessibility of COVID-19-related medicines and vaccines." Therefore, states have a duty to prevent intellectual property and patent legal regimes from undermining the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights.
Universal, equitable and affordable access to COVID-19 vaccines is essentially urgent.
INCLO members join the growing international support in favor of the TRIPS waiver proposal and call on our governments to endorse this proposal. We affirm the call for international solidarity and for immediate, universal and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all.
READ: Universal and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines - statement
ABOUT INCLO
INCLO is a network of 15 independent, national human rights organizations from different countries around the globe that work together to promote fundamental rights and freedoms. We support and mutually reinforce the work of member organizations in their respective countries and collaborate on a bilateral and multilateral basis.
INCLO advocates for the promotion and protection of the right to protest and calls for stricter regulations on the use of less-lethal weapons at the national and international level.3 Learn more at inclo.net