A/HRC/12/50 Recalling also its resolution 6/29 of 14 December 2007, in which the Council extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Recalling further Council resolution S-10/1 of 23 February 2009, and reiterating its concern that financial and economic crises are having a negative impact on the ability of States to provide social services, such as health, Regretting the high number of people still without access to medicines, and underscoring that improving access to medicine could save millions of lives every year, 1. Recognizes that access to medicine is one of the fundamental elements in achieving progressively the full realization of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; 2. Stresses the responsibility of States to ensure access to all, without discrimination, of medicines, in particular essential medicines, that are affordable, safe, effective and of good quality; 3. Calls upon States, at the international level, to take steps, individually and/or through international cooperation, in accordance with applicable international law, including international agreements, to ensure that their actions as members of international organizations take into due account the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, and that the application of international agreements is supportive of public health policies that promote broad access to safe, effective and affordable medicines; 4. Recognizes that the Doha Ministerial Declaration on the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and Public Health confirms that the Agreement does not and should not prevent States Members of the World Trade Organization from taking measures to protect public health and that the Declaration, while reiterating the commitment to the Agreement, affirms that it can and should be interpreted and implemented in a manner supportive of the rights of States Members of the World Trade Organization to protect public health and, in particular, to promote access to medicines for all; and further recognizes, in this connection, the right of States Members of the World Trade Organization to use, to the full, the provisions of the above-mentioned Agreement, which provide flexibility for this purpose; 5. Also recognizes that intellectual property protection is important for the development of new medicines, as well as the concerns about its effects on prices; 6. Encourages all States to apply measures and procedures for enforcing intellectual property rights in such a manner as to avoid creating barriers to the legitimate trade of medicines, and to provide for safeguards against the abuse of such measures and procedures; 7. Invites the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to convene an expert consultation, within existing resources, open to the participation of Governments, regional and international organizations, relevant United Nations bodies and civil society organizations, for an exchange of views on human rights considerations relating to the realization of access to medicines as one of the fundamental elements in achieving progressively the full realization of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, and invites the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health to present a summary of the discussions held during the expert consultation to the Council; 47