International Law // Current

Multinational lawmakers to visit Gaza early next month

Tuesday, October 21, 2008 Dr. Marwan Abu Ras, the head of the parliamentary committee to break the siege, stated Monday that a... more

Moopak
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US pressured to remove ships from Black Sea

I haven't seen anything about this on the news or even here on Current. Basically to make a long story short ... Russia... more

Ayahuasca2012
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A University in New Zealand offers a $5000 reward to arrest Condeleeza Rice

If there are any bounty hunters out there, Auckland Unversity Student Union is offering a $5000 reward to anyone who can make a... more

phillyharper
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Beshir dances in Darfur defying war crimes cloud

Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir danced before thousands of supporters in Darfur on Wednesday, defying a possible arrest warrant... more

arcane08
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Sudani president defiant despite accusations of genocide

During a rare visit to Darfur Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir said he is "not worried" by International Criminal... more

mjacob1
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Using a system of objectives and rules formalized into agreements, the World Trade Organization (WTO) regulates international trade among the governments of member countries. In 1994, the WTO introduced the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) Agreement. This agreement established international patent laws and obligated member countries to adopt the United States’ intellectual property policies, which include twenty years of exclusivity for patented medicines.

Because the exclusivity granted by patents creates a monopoly, the application of TRIPs standards to developing and developed countries alike prevents developing countries from providing affordable medicines to patients. For this reason, the TRIPs Agreement has become a growing source of tension in international economic relations between the developed nations of the Global North and the developing nations of the Global South.

A pragmatic defense of international patent laws is that of economic fairness. Indeed the major objection to the Global South’s position comes from the pharmaceutical industry’s trade association, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), saying investments in the research and development of medicines require “incentives.”

At the root of this debate stems a fundamental disagreement—the Global North defends intellectual property as a right to property, while the Global South argues that it is simply a question of economic policy. In August 2000, the UN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights adopted a resolution declaring that apparent conflicts exist between the TRIPs standards and human rights. Since the adoption of the resolution, the differing views of the Global North and Global South have stressed two competing values—property rights and human rights.

In response to the UN resolution, the 2001 Doha Declaration set forth new international patent standards by promising that the TRIPs Agreement does not and should not prevent WTO member countries from protecting public health, and that it can and should be interpreted and implemented in a manner supportive of member countries’ rights to protect public health and to promote universal access to medicines. The declaration has been hailed as a rare chance to raise the standard of living of millions; however, the declaration has yet to be adhered to by developed nations.

Meanwhile, two fundamental problems affecting developing nations remain unresolved —access and innovation. Patents make medicines unaffordable and inaccessible. Furthermore, patents do not stimulate innovation of medicines needed to treat patients with diseases that predominately affect developing countries.

To reconcile this problem, I propose that we demand global trade systems that more accurately represent and address the disease burden of the majority. Rather than applying the same standards to all countries and industries, despite factual differences in intellectual property laws and other areas of development, the WTO and international patent laws should reflect these differences by prioritizing research and development according to the need of the global disease burden and increasing access to affordable medicines where they are needed most.

We have the technology to treat health as a human right and we should. Our global society cannot continue treating health as just another commodity in the world economy. Policies regarding intellectual property, innovation and public health should be evaluated according to their contribution to the protection, fulfillment and realization of a universal right to health.

Can our current global patent system achieve access and innovation for those that need it most?
Using a system of objectives and rules formalized into agreements, the World Trade Organization (WTO) regulates international... more

AmandaDelaine
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2 responses

4 months ago

Sudanese President may be charged with genocide by ICC: "Sudan fury at possible genocide charge"

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir may be charged with genocide by the International Criminal Court. Chief Prosecutor... more

Hawkmang
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2 responses

4 months ago

UN classifies rape a 'war tactic'

"The UN Security Council has voted unanimously in favour of a resolution classifying rape as a weapon of war. The document describes the deliberate use of rape as a tactic in war and a threat to international security. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said violence against women had reached "unspeakable proportions" in some societies recovering from conflict.

The UN is also setting up an inquiry to report next June on how widespread the practice is and how to tackle it. Human-rights group hailed the resolution as historic.

The BBC's Laura Trevelyan said China, Russia, Indonesia and Vietnam had all expressed reservations during the negotiations, asking whether rape was really a matter for the UN security council. But the US-sponsored resolution was adopted unanimously by the 15-member council.

It described sexual violence as "a tactic of war to humiliate, dominate, instil fear in, disperse and/or forcibly relocate civilian members of a community or ethnic group". The document said that the violence "can significantly exacerbate situations of armed conflict and may impede the restoration of international peace and security".

During the debate in the council, Mr Ban said: "Responding to this silent war against women and girls requires leadership at the national level. National authorities need to take the initiative to build comprehensive strategies while the UN needs to help build capacity and support national authorities and civil societies," he added.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the world now recognised that sexual violence profoundly affected not only the health and safety of women, but the economic and social stability of their nations. Other speakers identified the former Yugoslavia, Sudan's Darfur region, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Liberia as regions where deliberate sexual violence had occurred on a mass scale.

The former commander of the UN peacekeeping force in eastern Congo, Maj-Gen Patrick Cammaert, told the BBC he personally witnessed its impact.

"It's a very effective weapon, because the communities are totally destroyed," he said. "You destroy communities. You punish the men, and you punish the women, doing it in front of the men."

In the Democratic Republic of Congo alone, some 40 women are raped every day, our correspondent says. Sometimes women are even raped by peacekeepers who are supposed to be protecting them, she adds.

The question is whether those in conflict zones who use rape in war will be at all deterred by the new measures, she says." "The UN Security Council has voted unanimously in favour of a resolution classifying rape as a weapon of war. The document... more

Moopak
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54 responses

5 months ago

The next U.S. president must sign the treaty on cluster bombs

The United States is the largest producer, stockpiler, and user of cluster bombs in the history of the world. These horrific... more

JanforGore
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3 responses

5 months ago

Impeach Bush before it's too late

2 responses

5 months ago

House votes on likely doomed bid to impeach Bush

Call Nancy Pelosi! This is bullshit. The American People have the right to DECIDE. There is a media blackout...that's why you... more

gnorimo
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33 responses

5 months ago

Israel stands in violation of more UN resolutions than ANY OTHER NATION ON EARTH

Resolution 237: " . . . 'urges' Israel to allow return of new 1967 Palestinian refugees". Resolution 252:... more

aleeka
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18 responses

5 months ago

Zimbabwe attackers hold British and US diplomats

"British and American diplomats were attacked today as they tried to investigate political violence in Zimbabwe. US embassy... more

mischabarrett
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20 responses

6 months ago

Iran says its right to enrichment is non-negotiable

"Suspending enrichment is not negotiable ... Depriving Iran of its right cannot be on offer," were the words of... more

phillyharper
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31 responses

6 months ago

100 nations agree to ban cluster bombs

International diplomats from more than 100 nations have agreed to ban cluster bombs. The treaty will outlaw all current designs and and require the destruction of stockpiles within eight years. The breakthrough capped more than a year of negotiations begun in Norway and pressed home over the past 10 days in Dublin. Nations are expected to sign the document in December in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.
The draft treaty - obtained by The Associated Press as talks wound down with no major issues outstanding - declares that a signatory nation "undertakes never under any circumstances to use cluster munitions" nor "develop, produce, otherwise acquire, stockpile, retain or transfer to anyone, directly or indirectly, cluster munitions."
Ireland and other lead sponsors plan to unveil the treaty Friday after its translation into several languages. The draft treaty contains two key concessions sought by the United States - a nation that shunned the talks but nonetheless cast the biggest shadow over deliberations. The pact would allow countries that sign the treaty to keep cooperating militarily with those that do not. Earlier drafts of the treaty sought to prohibit such cooperation, an idea fought by the United States and its NATO allies on the grounds that it would complicate joint peacekeeping work.
The treaty's detailed definition of what a cluster bomb is - and isn't - also leaves the door open for signatories to develop a future generation of smaller cluster bombs that pick targets more precisely and contain self-destruct technology. The document specifies that future designs will be permitted if each bomb, shell or rocket contains fewer than 10 "bomblets" inside. In addition, each bomblet must weigh more than 4 kilograms (8.8 pounds); contain targeting technology designed to single out a target; and have inbuilt security measures that defuse any duds. The latter measure is designed to ensure that future cluster bombs do not kill or maim as many civilians, tens of thousands of whom have stumbled across unexploded bomblets and accidentally triggered them. International diplomats from more than 100 nations have agreed to ban cluster bombs. The treaty will outlaw all current designs... more