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Decolonising Human Rights Law in Global Health - the Impacts of Intellectual Property Law on Access to Essential Medicines : A Perspective from COVID-19 Pandemic
Zaman, Khorsed
Zaman, Khorsed
Author
Abstract
The global impacts of COVID-19 have been calamitous, unleashing widespread human suffering and exacerbating health crises, all while worsening pre-existing inequalities and transgressing fundamental human rights. Despite earnest pleas from the United Nations and developing nations for an equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, these appeals were largely unheeded. Instead, major pharmaceutical manufacturers and high-income countries (HICs) had maintained a stranglehold on vaccine technology through the safeguarding of intellectual property rights (IPRs), leading to exorbitant pricing and preferential distribution to affluent regions. This vaccine hoarding has left low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with delayed and insufficient supplies, endangering the lives of the most vulnerable. The stringent enforcement of IPRs mechanisms, rather than aligning with international human rights obligations, has further marginalised the right to life, health, and access to vaccines and medicines, particularly in LMICs. This study ardently advocates for a policy shift that promotes the decolonisation of human rights in the context of IPRs and global health law.
Keywords
Human rights, access to medicines, global health, neo-colonialism, decolonization, COVID-19, intellectual property rights, TRIPS
Date
2024
Type
Journal article
Journal
Book
Volume
Issue
Page Range
1-18
Article Number
ACU Department
Thomas More Law School
Faculty of Law and Business
Faculty of Law and Business
Collections
Relation URI
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
License
CC BY 4.0
File Access
Open
Notes
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Asian Society of International Law.
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence ( http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/ ), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence ( http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/ ), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.