A/HRC/36/19 Such an approach led, for instance, to the neglect of many tropical diseases. Moreover, the monopoly afforded by patents and licensing led to prices that prevented many people from benefiting from progress in science. That resulted in health systems being forced to introduce restrictions and rationing. 11. Intellectual property rights were not the same as the legitimate rights of inventors. The purpose of trade rules and intellectual property rights was to promote economic growth and stimulate innovation, but those could be an impediment to public health. In that regard, while the Panel welcomed the Doha Declaration affirming the right of States to have recourse to the flexibilities available under the TRIPS Agreement in order to take measures to protect public health, it criticized the continuing incoherence of policies, particularly those resulting from the pressure intended to dissuade countries from invoking those flexibilities. 12. Mr. Kirby emphasized that the issue under discussion was not just a matter of ethics but also of international law, which had also been prioritized in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The realization of the right to health was greatly hindered by policy incoherence and the weaknesses of the market mechanisms in stimulating invention and in promoting just distribution in accordance with international human rights law. 13. He highlighted the consultative process in drafting the Panel report, particularly the voices of those who had participated in the Panel’s public hearings who had been left behind, including women and girls forced to beg for access to life-saving drugs and those from Asia or Africa with drug-resistant tuberculosis who could not afford new therapies. He also noted the challenges faced by the health systems in wealthier countries in acquiring increasingly expensive medicines. Unless the Human Rights Council — and, more generally, the United Nations — acted immediately, Sustainable Development Goal 3 would not be achieved, and millions would be left behind or die. 14. While some of the Panel members might have gone further in the report, they all agreed on the core conclusions and recommendations: WTO members should respect the flexibilities in the TRIPS Agreement and respect the human rights protection embedded in the Doha Declaration; there should be no more pressuring of countries to surrender their rights to contest “evergreening”4 and other misuse of market powers; and the SecretaryGeneral should initiate an independent review body on innovation in health technologies with a high-level meeting by 2018 to address weaknesses in the global markets. 15. Ms. Kieny drew attention to the long tradition of WHO in supporting access to medicines as a fundamental element of the right to health. She particularly underscored recent initiatives, such as a WHO report on access to hepatitis C treatment, 5 which mapped global access to medicines to treat hepatitis. The report contained detailed information on the patents and regulatory status of new hepatitis C treatments, the pricing of all drugs and ways to access those treatments at affordable prices. Other initiatives included the WHO global price reporting mechanism, which provided: pricing and procurement data for HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and hepatitis C treatments; a comprehensive web platform offering information on vaccine products, prices and procurement data; and the new initiative on fair pricing that assessed the production costs of essential medicines. All of those initiatives fitted well with the Panel’s call for more transparency on prices. 16. With regard to technical support for its Member States, WHO had worked closely with the Government of Egypt in 2016 to ensure early and affordable access to hepatitis C treatment. Also in 2016, WHO had advised Colombia on using TRIPS flexibilities to make cancer treatment more affordable, and helped the Government of Ethiopia to develop and implement its national strategy and plan of action to expand pharmaceutical manufacturing. At the regional level, in 2016, WHO, WTO, WIPO and others had jointly advised on the 4 5 4 The practice of extending patents without always making substantial changes to the product in question. “Global report on access to hepatitis C treatment: focus on overcoming barriers” (Geneva, WHO, 2016).