Scope of Compulsory License and Government Use of Patented Medicines
To meet public health needs governments can use compulsory licenses and government use as a tool for procurement and import of patented medicines. These mechanisms are provided for in most laws worldwide. The WTO TRIPS Agreement, as reaffirmed by the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health, recognises the right of WTO members to grant compulsory licenses and their freedom to determine the grounds upon which such licenses may be granted.
This table provides information of instances of their use.
South Centre Statement to the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on IP, Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore 51st Session
May 2025
Read our statement on the future of the work by the WIPO Committee on IP, Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore, following the conclusion of the WIPO GRATK Treaty. Viable options for an international legal instrument or instrument(s) on TK/TCEs are emerging with greater clarity. A final timeline for conclusion would support the negotiation process, with a date set for a Diplomatic Conference in the next biennium.
Impact of Global Trade Tensions on Developing Countries: How to respond to a reset of the global economic system
By Yuefen Li
The recent unilateral, significant and broad-ranging tariff hikes by the new United States administration have triggered unprecedented trade tension in the world and led to significant downward revisions of the world’s economic and trade growth projections for 2025 and beyond.The main aims of the U.S.’ trade policies are complex and strategic, not only about reducing thetrade and fiscal deficits, but also addressing the dollar overvaluation problem, “reconfigur(ing) the global trading and financial systems to America’s benefit”, promoting economic “fairness” and “making America great again”.As what has frequently happened before, the poor countries are disproportionally affected by the negative repercussions of thesepolicies, owing to their financial and capacity constraints and weaknesses to absorb the impact. This short paper analyses through which channels and to what degree trade tension would introduce economic, financial and political stability risks for developing countries, particularly in financially distressed developing countries. A few policy recommendations are also briefly mentioned.
INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME – STRENGTHENING THE RIGHT TO HEALTH
The South Centre is seeking to fill internship positions to support its activities in the area of strengthening the right to health from a perspective of countries of the Global South.
Specific intern responsibilities include, but are not limited to, supporting the Strengthening the Right to Health project.
Statement by the South Centre to the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly
Agenda Item 15: Antimicrobial Resistance
27 May 2025
The South Centre strongly encourages member States and the Director General to maintain antimicrobial resistance as a WHO priority, with adequate resources in headquarters and regional offices, and increased coherence as a cross cutting issue across various WHO programmes …
Statement by the South Centre to the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly
Agenda Item 13.9: Global strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health
26 May 2025
We support the implementation of the Global Strategy 2016 – 2030, with increased and sustained financing, towards meeting the health needs and realizing the rights of all women, children and adolescents.
Key interventions include expanding immunization coverage, promoting breastfeeding, improving nutrition, advancing gender equality, and advancing sexual and reproductive health information and services for women and adolescents.
We strongly support the resolution regulating the digital marketing of breast-milk substitutes.
Education & Learning and the Global Digital Compact
by Kishore Singh
The Global Digital Compact, annexed to the Pact for the Future, adopted by the international community at the United Nations Summit of the Future in September 2024, is an ambitious move by the international community to leverage digital technologies for attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It embodies a series of decisions with political commitments for action, with a cautious approach, which relate ipso facto to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, with a focus on skills development.
Salient features of the Global Digital Compact, notably, a human-centric approach to the life cycle of digital and emerging technologies, along with human oversight of technology, treating digital as a common good, the importance accorded to “equitable digital environment for all” and the need for common frameworks and standards for digital public infrastructure and services, etc., have far reaching implications for education and learning.
As a follow up to the Global Digital Compact, it is incumbent upon governments to recalibrate education and learning. This can stimulate policy measures for National Skills Development Strategies. In tune with the principles and policy directions in the Global Digital Compact, this can go a long way in tackling some key issues and challenges with which the education system is beset today. The creation of an equitable learning environment, envisaged by the Global Digital Compact, can be pivotal for bridging a deeply entrenched digital divide. The principle of making the digital subservient to a public good can be a bulwark against forces of privatisation and reverse the trend of flourishing ‘edu-business’, reinforced by ‘edu-tech’. This is invaluable for preserving education and learning as a public good. Similarly, it would be salutary if pursuant to the human-centric approach to technologies embraced by the Global Digital Compact, the risks that digital technologies carry, their pitfalls and perils and their dehumanizing consequences in education are fully addressed. While fostering a humanistic mission of education and learning, such action measures necessitate setting limits to digital technologies which are supplanting the education system.
High expectations placed by governments on international cooperation and multistate partnerships, especially for financial and technical support to developing countries, call for a prudent stance, bearing in mind a rather discouraging experience in this respect.
The challenges in operationalizing the Global Digital Compact are formidable. They require resolute action by governments for living up to their commitments, supported by necessary resources and robust public policies based upon the norms and principles established by the Compact.
South Centre Statement at the Expert Conversation on Human Rights in the Life Cycle of Renewable Energy and Critical Minerals
21 May 2025
This expert conversation organized by the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change in collaboration with the Geneva Environment Network will build on a call for inputs which was issued in December 2024 in order to inform the thematic report of the UN Special Rapporteur to the United Nations General Assembly 80th session. This conversation will gather all interested experts including from Member States, UN agencies, civil society organizations, Indigenous Peoples, peasants, academia and the private sector to participate in this conversation.
South-South Cooperation to Address Health Challenges in the Caribbean. The Role of Medical Cooperation
Side Event organized by the South Centre and the Republic of Cuba during the World Health Assembly 2025
Date and Time: 20th May 2025, 6:00 – 7:30pm
Venue: South Centre (IEV II Conference Centre, Ground Floor, room Rhin, Chemin de Balexert 7/9, 1219 Geneva)
Within the framework of the World Health Assembly 2025, this side event, organized by Cuba, will bring together distinguished Ministers of Health from the Caribbean and Latin America to exchange experiences on the current challenges facing their health systems and the solutions implemented through South-South cooperation.
The panel will focus on how to strengthen South-South collaboration in the health sector, with the aim of building more resilient, equitable, and sustainable health systems in the Caribbean region.
This session will explore how collaboration between Caribbean and Latin American countries has contributed to strengthening regional health systems. Successful initiatives in medical training, professional exchange, and technical assistance will be highlighted. Additionally, innovative medical cooperation strategies that have improved access to and quality of health services for the most vulnerable populations will be discussed, consolidating an exemplary model of solidarity and mutual support.
The event will be conducted in Spanish with simultaneous interpretation into English.
Cross-Border Enforcement of Copyright: A Special Emphasis on Court Decisions and Arbitral Awards
By Hany Salem
In today’s digitally interconnected world, copyright infringement frequently crosses national borders, presenting complex legal challenges for effective enforcement of intellectual property rights in general, and copyright in particular. This paper examines the challenges associated with cross-border copyright enforcement, particularly the critical role of Private International Law (PIL) in the recognition and enforcement of foreign court decisions and arbitral awards. Although foundational treaties such as the Berne Convention, the TRIPS Agreement, and the WIPO Copyright Treaty establish essential principles of international copyright protection, they offer very limited guidance on resolving procedural and jurisdictional issues that arise in cross-border Copyright disputes.
The analysis contends that the territorial nature of copyright law, compounded by fragmented and insufficiently developed PIL frameworks, creates legal uncertainty and inefficiency for rightsholders to secure effective remedies. To address these shortcomings, the study underscores the need for a more coherent and harmonized international PIL approach. It further explores the potential of soft law instruments – particularly the 2020 Kyoto Guidelines – as a constructive step toward resolving PIL issues related to international copyright disputes. By narrowing the gap between domestic legal systems and international enforcement mechanisms, these developments could significantly enhance legal predictability and access to justice in the global digital environment.
Scaling Up the Health Response to Climate Change: Highlights from the World Health Organization Executive Board’s 156th Meeting on the Global Action Plan on Climate Change and Health
By Bianca Carvalho
The Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO), during its 156th meeting held from 3-11 February 2025, discussed a draft Global Action Plan on Climate Change and Health (2025 – 2028) (EB156/40). This policy brief explains the content of the draft Global Action Plan and summarises the feedback provided by Member States during the Executive Board meeting.
Member States at the 156th WHO Executive Board meeting made recommendations for the Global Action Plan, including to ensure that equity remains central, to foster collaboration across sectors, and to enhance support mechanisms—both technical and financial—for developing countries addressing the intersection of climate change and health challenges. Member States also called for more consultations before the draft Global Action Plan is considered for adoption at the 78th World Health Assembly in May 2025.
