Trade and Investment Agreements—Barriers to National Public Health and Tobacco Control Measures.
An arbitral tribunal is expected to issue soon a decision on jurisdictional matters in a case brought by Philip Morris against the government of Uruguay. The claim, based on a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) between that country and Switzerland, challenges packaging and labeling requirements for cigarettes adopted by Uruguay to reduce tobacco’s consumption. (more…)
Food Issues in the Rio+20 Spotlight
By Martin Khor
Among the issues that caught the public imagination at the recent Rio+20 summit was the right of all people to good, nutritious food, and the need to support small farmers and promote ecologically sound agricultural methods. Martin Khor reports on the Sustainable Development Dialogue on Food Security.
Rethinking The R&D Model for Pharmaceutical Products: A Binding Global Convention.
The current incentive-based model of pharmaceutical R&D has failed to make needed medicines available to a large number of people, especially those living in developing countries. This Policy Brief recognizes the urgent need of shifting from the incentive-based model of R&D to a model that effectively promotes not only innovation but more importantly access to medicines, particularly for diseases that disproportionately affect developing countries. (more…)
Rethinking Global Health: A Binding Convention for R&D for Pharmaceutical Products.
This Research Paper is a contribution to the debate and reform process of the WHO to enable it to respond to the health and health policy challenges of the twenty-first century. More specifically, this paper addresses the issue of the pharmaceutical innovation system within the perspective of access to medicines, exploring possible structural changes in the current system. (more…)
The Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health Ten Years Later: The State of Implementation.
The Declaration on the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and Public Health was adopted on 14 November 2001 by the 4th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Meeting at Doha, Qatar. (more…)
Pharmaceutical Innovation, Incremental Patenting and Compulsory Licensing.
Despite the decline in the discovery of new chemical entities for pharmaceutical use, there is a significant proliferation of patents on products and processes that cover minor, incremental innovations. A study conducted in five developing countries – Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, India and South Africa – evidenced a significant proliferation of ‘evergreening’ pharmaceutical patents that can block generic competition and thereby limit access to medicines. (more…)
Global Commission on HIV and the Law: Specialised Submissions (South Centre Part).
The South Centre is pleased to respond to the call for specialist submissions by the Commission on how can the law be used to scale up effective HIV responses and how can the law be a ‘game-changer’. In this submission we explain how intellectual property law and its implementation in national legislation may affect public health and access to medicines, including effective HIV responses. (more…)
Risks and Uses of the Green Economy Concept in the Context of Sustainable Development, Poverty and Equity.
There are many challenges and obstacles facing developing countries in moving their economies to more environmentally friendly paths. On one hand this should not prevent the attempt to urgently incorporate environmental elements into economic development. (more…)
EU’s Increasing Use Of Decoupled Domestic Supports In Agriculture: Implications For Developing Countries.
The EU has been undertaking reform in its Common Agricultural Policy. Nevertheless, subsidies to EU agricultural producers are continuing. The major change is that 93% of these supports are now provided in the form of direct aid payments to producers. (more…)
The Right to Health and Medicines: The Case of Recent Negotiations on the Global Strategy on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property.
The purpose of this research paper is to describe, above all, a negotiating process which many have described as historical. More than an analysis on the subject of public health and intellectual property, this is an analysis of a negotiating process which could change the course and the nature of an organization such as the WHO. (more…)
Addressing Climate Change through Sustainable Development and the Promotion of Human Rights.
This Research Paper sets out the relevance of international human rights obligations in light of the multiple constraints climate change poses to the sustainable development of developing countries. (more…)
Legal Analysis of Services and Investment in the Cariforum-EC EPA: Lessons for other Developing Countries.
This Research Paper is a legal analysis of the EC-Cariforum Services and Investment Chapter. It demystifies the many complex technical details in the EPA text and illustrates where this services and investment template goes beyond the WTO’s GATS. The paper highlights implications for other developing countries embarking on similar negotiations with the EU. (more…)
