E-drug: Dutch NGOs about South African court case
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Today, on initiative of Wemos Foundation and the Netherlands
Institute for Southern Africa (NIZA), 22 Dutch NGOs have cosigned a
letter to the European Commissioner Pascal Lamy requesting for a
rapid and explicit European support to South Africa in the court case
the hearings of which start at 5 March.
Text and signatories of the NGO letter, see below.
Parallel to this letter, the NGOs sent a letter of support to the
South African President Thabo Mbeki.
In addition, Wemos and NIZA urged the Dutch Minister for Development
Cooperation Mrs. Herfkens to undertake action to mobilise other
European governments for expressing support to South Africa. In a
recent radio interview Mrs. Herfkens declared to be in favour of such
European support. She confirmed that South Africa's revised Medicine
Act is legal and in confirmity with the TRIPS agreement.
Finally, both organisations have also noticed Prime Minister Wim Kok
- who will visit South Africa next week, 26 - 28 February 2001 -
about the court case and the need for European support.
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Nicole Metz
Project officer Wemos Pharmaceuticals programme
please reply to: nicole.metz@wemos.nl