PHM-Exch> The 74th UN General Assembly Adopts New Resolutions on COVID-19 Response

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: South Centre <south at southcentre.int>

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SOUTHNEWS
No. 344,  9 October 2020

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*The 74th UN General Assembly Adopts New Resolutions on COVID-19 Response*
On 11th September the United Nations (UN) General Assembly (GA) adopted an
omnibus resolution titled "Comprehensive and coordinated response to the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic" (document A/RES/74/306), and
another resolution titled "United response against global health threats:
combating COVID-19" (document A/RES/74/307). These resolutions follow the
adoption of two previous resolutions by the General Assembly on "Global
solidarity to fight the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)" and the
resolution on "International cooperation to ensure global access to
medicines, vaccines and medical equipment to face COVID-19." [1]
<#m_-2297151603833473863__ftn1>

*The Omnibus Resolution*

The omnibus resolution provides an overview of the different areas that
need to be considered as countries continue to address the ongoing pandemic
but also as they design strategies to recover. Some of the critical aspects
highlighted by the resolution include the need to address "the COVID-19
pandemic through a global response based on unity, solidarity and renewed
multilateral cooperation." It recognizes the critical aspect of
international cooperation and multilateralism and calls for solidarity in
response to COVID-19. It also stresses the vital role of the World Health
Organization (WHO) and the UN system in coordinating the response.

The resolution also makes a call upon the Member States to strengthen their
health systems as well as social care systems and to strengthen their
preparedness capacities. It also asks countries to continue addressing
infectious diseases, in particular, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and
hepatitis, and non-communicable diseases.

In terms of issues related to access to health technologies to address the
COVID-19 pandemic, the resolution urges Member States to have "timely
access to quality, safe, efficacious and affordable diagnosis,
therapeutics, medicines and vaccines, and essential health technologies,
and their components, as well as equipment, for the COVID-19 response" and
"[r]ecognizes the role of extensive immunization against COVID-19 as a
global public good." However, the recognition of immunization as a global
public good is silent on health technologies like vaccines that are
necessary to achieve this goal.  The resolution does reaffirm the
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement and
the Doha Declaration on Public Health that is supportive of the right of
Member States to protect public health and promote access to medicines for
all. This is an important acknowledgment that could encourage countries to
fully utilize the flexibilities contained in TRIPS to ensure that needed
health technologies are accessible to everyone who needs them.

The Resolution also acknowledges other very critical aspects of the
response, including the need to ensure food and agricultural supply chains,
the commitments to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and
the need to build and strengthen health systems, including the vital role
of primary health. It also acknowledges the need to have a "One Health
approach" that enhances cooperation between human, animal and plant health
including the environmental aspect.

*Resolution on Combating COVID-19 *

The second resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly calls for "an
open, transparent, robust, coordinated, large-scale, science-based and
inclusive global response in the spirit of solidarity" and emphasizes the
need to focus on preventing emerging pandemic threats through building a
global defense. This would include the sharing of information,
epidemiological, clinical data and materials for research and development.
The resolution also stresses the need to increase research and development
funding for vaccines and medicines and expanding the manufacturing capacity
of medical technologies and the need to make them available at an
affordable price and on an equitable basis. The resolution also calls for
engaging with international institutions and banks for sustainable pandemic
preparedness, response and planning, including the need to strengthen the
capacity of the health sectors in developing countries. This last point is
particularly a welcome recognition of the challenges that developing
countries face concerning strengthening their health capacity.

*Means of implementation?*

These two UN resolutions, in a way, complement the efforts made at the
World Health Assembly in May, which had adopted a resolution on COVID-19
(WHA 73.1) stressing the need to strengthen multilateral cooperation and
global solidarity and the need to ensure universal, equitable and timely
access to medical products, devices, vaccines and equipment, and the need
to remove any obstacle to such access.[2] <#m_-2297151603833473863__ftn2>

The UN Secretary-General has also, in several interventions in responding
to the pandemic, remarked on the need to ensure that vaccines, therapeutics
and diagnostics for COVID-19 are universally affordable and available as
global public goods. [3] <#m_-2297151603833473863__ftn3>

However, this strong call by the UN Secretary-General has not necessarily
been reflected in the calls made by the resolutions adopted by Member
States of the UN.  The UN General Assembly resolutions are an important
global guiding instrument for action by the Member States and other
relevant international organizations and provide the highest international
commitments even though they are not binding in nature. However, for the
General Assembly resolutions to provide effective guidance, it is essential
that they also outline the necessary means of implementation. This would
include the critical issue of transfer of technology, particularly in the
context of vaccines and medicines, as one of the ways in which it will be
possible for countries to increase capacity, particularly when it comes to
manufacturing and ensuring wide availability of products. The efforts to
increase capacity for pandemic preparedness would also need to be
accompanied with the financial means so that international cooperation is
directed to help developing countries to strengthen their health systems
and their ability to respond to current epidemics and possible new threats.

Even though there have been multiple calls at the WHO and now at the UN for
global solidarity based response measures to ensure timely, equitable and
affordable access to health technologies for addressing COVID-19, many
countries are pursuing bilateral deals with companies that would hinder the
ability of other countries to have timely access to vaccines. The Financial
Times recently reported that several wealthy countries representing about
13% of the population of the world have already bought more than half of
the doses of the leading vaccine candidates, which would make it even
harder for other countries to access a vaccine.[4]
<#m_-2297151603833473863__ftn4>

The UN General Assembly is currently discussing convening a special session
on the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) later in the year. This would be an
opportunity for Member States to design a response to the crisis that
provides a roadmap that truly commits to the principles laid down in the
resolutions and, for example, could include to make a call for firms
to immediately license vaccine technology and intellectual property rights
to the WHO COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) and note that countries
should use TRIPS flexibilities as necessary. Furthermore, this special
session could provide concrete measures for recovery from the pandemic, for
the continued implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
and strengthening the means of implementation.

------------------------------
[1] <#m_-2297151603833473863__ftnref1> See more detail on the previous UN
resolutions here:
https://www.southcentre.int/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/PB-81.pdf
<https://southcentre.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fa9cf38799136b5660f367ba6&id=9c4e1bcecf&e=4fac633f11>
[2] <#m_-2297151603833473863__ftnref2> See information on the World Health
Assembly resolution on COVID-19 here:
https://www.southcentre.int/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/PB-78.pdf
<https://southcentre.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fa9cf38799136b5660f367ba6&id=b86f6e507b&e=4fac633f11>
[3] <#m_-2297151603833473863__ftnref3> Nirmalya Syam, "UN General Assembly
Resolutions on COVID-19: Solemn Assurances for Access to Health
Technologies without an Action Plan”*,* South Centre Policy Brief 81 (July
2020). Available from
https://www.southcentre.int/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/PB-81.pdf
<https://southcentre.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fa9cf38799136b5660f367ba6&id=f94b6360cf&e=4fac633f11>
.
[4] <#m_-2297151603833473863__ftnref4> See Financial Times report
https://www.ft.com/content/e5012891-58da-4a4f-8a05-182adf3ba0e2
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*Authors: Mirza Alas is Programme Officer and Nirmalya Syam is Senior
Programme Officer of the Health, Intellectual Property and Biodiversity
(HIPB) Programme of the South Centre. *
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