With one week to go before the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, members have still not come to an agreement over lifting patents on Covid-19 vaccines.
At a General Council meeting that was held on 22 November at the WTO, the organisation’s Director General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, reiterated the urgent need to ensure an agreement is reached. In her view, it would be really difficult to achieve an outcome on the WTO response to Covid-19 that does not include a pragmatic element in relation to intellectual property.
The divisions are over whether or not it would be effective to waive intellectual property rights and allow for a more equitable and wider distribution of vaccines.
According to WTO spokesperson Keith Rockwell, “the language and tone seen at the General Council is a significant improvement” in relation to the state of negotiations. However, he does not want to “be overly optimistic” about reaching an agreement.
In terms of the other major issues at stake in this MC12, namely fisheries subsidies and agriculture, the delegations have also not yet reached an agreement. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)