Countries Take a Stab At Difficult Provisions in Bureau's Text This Week: Pandemic Accord Discussions

Newsletter Edition #30 [Treaty Talks]

Hi,

A different dynamic is beginning to brew in the Pandemic Accord discussions at WHO, as countries present and defend their proposals in a bid to to move forward in these negotiations.

While there has, justifiably been a fair amount of lament over the death of international cooperation and the widening fault-lines in multilateralism, the negotiations at WHO on global health legal reforms might just prove to be an illustrative example of how countries may just be able to come together to an agreed baseline (perhaps a lowest common denominator outcome) on approaches they must adopt to govern future emergencies.

Whether they will reach the finish line in time for May 2024 is impossible to predict at this point, but after months of discussing provisions, there are indications that the negotiations are slowly but surely entering a decisive phase.

To be sure, wide divergences between member states on key issues persist, but the process itself has been revealing. That there is disagreement is an indicator that the system is working.

In this edition, we bring you an update on the drafting group meeting of the intergovernmental negotiating body that met this week in Geneva. (Do note that this story was updated on June 17 to capture the proceedings from the final session.)

Also, find below, a short update from the WTO on the extension of the TRIPS decision to COVID-19 tests and treatments.

If you find our work valuable, support us! Tracking closed-door negotiations is tough and expensive. Help us in raising important questions, and keep an ear to the ground. Readers paying for our work helps us meet our costs.

Until next week!

Best,

Priti

Feel free to write to us: patnaik.reporting@gmail.com or genevahealthfiles@protonmail.com; Follow us on Twitter: @filesgeneva

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STORY OF THE WEEK

I. Countries Take a Stab At Difficult Provisions in Bureau's Text This Week: Pandemic Accord Discussions

Priti Patnaik with Tessa Jager & Shoa Moosavi

The negotiations on the pandemic accord took a decisive turn this week when the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body met to discuss the Bureau’s Text, where the thorniest of issues including on research and development, liability, access and benefit sharing, among others, were considered in detail.

Countries essentially accepted the Bureau’s Text, as the basis for negotiations, even as they are expected to bring their proposals to this version to improve it at every level, diplomatic sources indicated. Recall that the Bureau’s Text is built on the extensive compilation text which reflects all proposals made so far by WHO member states. But the Bureau’s Text does not include many of the provisions submitted by countries.

(See our earlier story from last week Countries to Decide Next Week Whether to Talk Tough Now or Pick "Low-Hanging Fruits" First? that shows the journey of the text through these various stages.)

Countries discussed some of the most contentious proposals in the draft accord including provisions dealing with equity. This is significant in and of itself, given that some developed countries, among others, had suggested last week that the more contentious proposals could be discussed later. This also shows greater willingness and appetite to address these difficult issues sooner in the process, with less than 10 months ahead of the May 2024 deadline that countries have set upon themselves.

For the first time, since these discussions began more than a year ago, the Group For Equity, comprising Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand made a statement during the meeting.

This week saw member states offering their initial comments on the Bureau’s Text, the meeting also discussed equity-related provisions including on R&D, and Access and Benefits Sharing provisions, among others. Some of the more difficult provisions, including on ABS, will continue to be discussed during intersessional consultations, countries decided.

In general, countries were appreciative of the Bureau’s efforts and many countries stated that they were willing to discuss the Bureau’s Text as the starting point for negotiations. To be sure, there were also some criticisms notably by the Africa Group, that asserted that the Bureau’s Text had in fact diluted certain equity-related provisions. Some developed countries including Germany for example, also pointed to key proposals such as on pricing caps that were not a part of the Bureau’s Text. 

This story looks at the progress in this week’s meeting and focuses on some of the key issues and the dynamics in the discussions. Parts of the meeting this week were webcast. Our reporting also reflects interviews with several diplomats this week on the sidelines of the meeting at WHO.  

Image Credit: Photo by Cojanu Alexandru, Pexels