Dear all,
379 CSOs from around the world have already signed onto the letter supporting the proposal to waive WTO intellectual property rules on patents, trade secrets, industrial designs and copyright for COVID-19 technology (such as medicines, vaccines, masks, ventilators etc). Thanks so much to those who have signed on!
The letter with the signatories is in English at https://twn.my/announcement/signonletter/CSOLetter_SupportingWaiverFinal.pdf, French at https://twn.my/announcement/signonletter/LETTRE%20DE%20LA%20SOCIETE%20CIVILE.pdf and Spanish at https://twn.my/announcement/signonletter/CARTA%20DE%20LA%20SOCIEDAD%20CIVIL.pdf.
In addition to the CSO letter above:
— Unitaid welcomes the proposal, https://unitaid.org/news-blog/unitaid-supports-call-for-intellectual-property-waivers-and-action-for-access-to-covid-19-products/#en
— Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) calls on all governments to support this proposal: https://msfaccess.org/landmark-move-india-and-south-africa-propose-no-patents-covid-19-medicines-tools-during-pandemic. (MSF briefing document on the proposal: https://msfaccess.org/sites/default/files/2020-10/COVID_Brief_ProposalWTOWaiver_ENG_2020.pdf )
— Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi): strongly supports the proposal and urges other countries to support it without delay, https://dndi.org/statements/2020/dndi-statement-india-south-africa-request-wto-waive-ip-rules-covid-19-health-tools/.
— South African academics strongly supporting the proposal, https://clms.ukzn.ac.za/letter-to-president-ramaphosa-on-the-proposed-covid-19-waiver-by-south-africa-and-india-at-the-world-trade-organisation/
Please do send the letter signed by 379 CSOs above to any media contacts you have. If you see any media coverage of the letter (including in other languages such as French and Spanish), please send a link to it to ymiller@twngeneva.ch if possible so we can compile it to alert governments etc.
We realise we didn’t give you long to go through your organisational processes to be able to sign onto the letter, so additional organisations can still sign onto the letter at https://forms.gle/LzQExsrVSKJKerg3A and we will send an updated list of signatories to governments before the next discussion of this proposal at the WTO.
Thanks so much,
Sanya,
Sanya Reid SMITH,
Third World Network,
Malaysian mobile phone: +6017 221 6818 (WhatsApp only),
Swiss mobile phone: +41 786 637 321 (also Viber, Signal),
Office phone: +41 22 908 35 50,
Office fax: +41 22 908 35 51,
New web address: http://www.twn.my/
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