E-drug: Europ Parl resolutions on AIDS and WTO
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The ACP-EU joint parliamentary assembly took place last week in
Brussels. A resolution on AIDS, stating "nothing in the TRIPS
agreement must be used to prevent WTO members from taking
measures to protect public health" and a resolution on WTO
negotiations have been voted.
See EP press release bellow. Resolution's text should be available on the
website asap.
Seco
Access Campaign EU Liaison Officer
MSF, International Office - Brussels
32.(0)2.2364.62.52
32.(0)479.514.900
Email: Seco_GERARD@msf.org
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HIV-AIDS
Doc.: ACP-EU3305/01/comp./corr.
Procedure: Compromise resolution
Vote: 01.11.2001
The Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) has adopted a
compromise motion for resolution by the EEP-ED, PES, ELDR,
Greens/EFA, GUE/NGL, UEN groups and the ACP countries, on
AIDS. The JPA demanded that effective and coherent action to
combat AIDS and the communicable diseases by which the
developing countries in particular are afflicted, must involve:
Prevention - which must take the form of information and education
campaigns (stressing the crucial importance of involving women, in
view of their preponderant role in health education) ;
Immunisation programmes and the promotion of better living
conditions;
Treatment, which implies access to medicines - including
anti-retroviral medicines - and the availability of health structures
and staff ;
Research on effective vaccines and medicines appropriate to the
Needs of developing countries.
The Assembly called on the Commission to ensure that African
governments urgently plan and allocate resources for
comprehensive national AIDS programmes, co-ordinated within
their geographic region, to have the maximum impact on migrating
populations requiring access to basic health and education services.
It also urged the Commission and EU Member States to help
developing nations to strengthen their legislation to protect AIDS
victims from social and employment related discrimination.
Furthermore, Assembly called on the Member States of the EU and
the European Commission to express their clear and unambiguous
support for the position of the developing countries on the
interpretation of the TRIPS agreement, by incorporating into the
Ministerial Declaration to be adopted by the WTO Doha, a specific
acknowledgement that recourse is permitted to the safeguard
clauses contained in the TRIPS agreement.
The JPA confirmed, in particular, that nothing in the TRIPS
Agreement must be used to prevent WTO members from taking
measures to protect public health, and that no proceedings may be
brought before the WTO against countries having recourse to these
safeguard clauses.
WTO negotiations
Doc.: ACP-EU3315/01/comp./corr.
Procedure: Compromise resolution
Vote: 01.11.2001
The Joint Parliamentary Assembly adopted the resolution on WTO
negotiations. It notes that the world trade system currently suffers
from unequal participation and the uneven distribution of the
benefits of world trade.
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