Thrilling 89-Page PDFs and You
For posterity’s sake [certainly not out of expectation that anyone has a burning desire to read an 89-page pdf], I link now to the study for which I did my tiny part to help out by putting together appendix tables…
The oh-so-sexy summary of the report is as follows:
This study was commissioned to:
(1) examine the extent to which the flexibilities contained in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) have been incorporated into the legislation of developing countries and the extent of the actual use for public health purposes;
(2) review the stated trade policies of major industrialized countries, particularly the United States (U.S.) and the European Union (E.U), vis-à-vis developing countries to determine whether these take adequate account of the public health priorities of developing countries; and
(3) examine the practical effect and implications of recently concluded bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs) for public health protection in developing countries.
The study finds that TRIPS public health-related flexibilities have not been widely adopted by developing countries, and sets out various recommendations for improving the situation (such as advising revision of free trade agreements to honor the needs of developing countries to take measures necessary to protect public health).
At this stage the study is now being taken into consideration along with twenty other reports (on different aspects of the impact of intellectual property rights on public health issues) by an official body, which as I understand it aims to put out its own big official report to an even officialer body, which will, after having a nice discussion amongst itself, pass its resolutions along to the most officialest body yet. Then that body, having nowhere higher in the institutional food chain to refer things, will disseminate the collected information to the world at large.
Admittedly, that’s a pretty cheap shot, and I do think there’s reason to be hopeful the results of this process will lend some official muscle to movements in developing countries that are struggling with pressures from developed countries and industry interests– though from my short time in Geneva, I do have some impressions about the inadequacy of connections between the various big organizations of global governance that are often literally just next door to each other. [Another post, perhaps…]
