Rancor Over Disagreement On Prevention Obligations in Pandemic Agreement Talks, Withholds Progress in Key Areas

Newsletter Edition #116 [Treaty Talks]

Hi,

There are interpretations, and there are interpretations. Trying to decipher closed door negotiations, brings to mind Akira Kurosawa's 1950 classic “Rashomon”. Anyone who has watched this Japanese masterpiece, will be familiar with the Rashomon Effect: how different perspectives emerge from a single event given the subjective interpretation depending on what where one stands, and what one seeks.

Piecing together deliberations on the Pandemic Agreement, is a bit like this. “What transpired inside” - elicits a range of narratives. But of course, the writing on the wall eventually emerges.

From our limited perspective, we are observing that different actors are influenced by what they want to see, as opposed to what is in front of them. I find this fascinating. So in effect, some stakeholders feel, that countries are entering these negotiations with a lot of miscalculations on what the other side wants.

In today’s edition, as before, we focus on the quid pro quo between prevention obligations, in relation to other parts of the treaty - a prevailing dynamic throughout this week. And we also discuss indications for these negotiations in 2025.

Thank you for reading.

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Until later!

Priti

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Illustration Credit: Amy Clarke, Chembe Collaborative

I. GHF ANALYSIS

Rancor Over Disagreement On Prevention Obligations in Pandemic Agreement Talks, Withholds Progress in Key Areas

WHO member states were unable to narrow down the road to consensus this week in the latest round of negotiations towards a new Pandemic Agreement, as the most contentious provisions continue to divide them, indicating a lack of political will to compromise on entrenched positions. The resumed 12^th meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body concludes later today on December 6, 2024, with modest progress in some areas, while showing deep divergences in others.

This week, countries spent substantial amounts of time in informal sessions, alongside formal negotiating sessions in a drafting group (which occurs in a plenary format). Much of the discussions dwelt on attracting consensus for an annex or a separate subsequent instrument for prevention. These efforts have largely failed so far on the back of fairly complex calculations that takes into consideration progress on other fronts in the negotiations including on Pathogen Access Benefits Sharing, Technology Transfer, Unhindered Access, Financing.

Countries did manage to edge towards greater consensus on Article 9 on research and development, pending agreement on language on technology transfer.

In this story, we examine the latest considerations in key articles that have dominated discussions this past week. We will update this story subsequently as needed, after the conclusion of the meeting.

Image Credit: Photo by Steve Johnson, Pexels