A/HRC/29/44 their personnel worked in unacceptable conditions. Health workers became both victims and perpetrators of human rights abuses. Consequently, they would continue to deliver inferior health services until they and their patients were empowered. Dr. Schiavon concluded that inequity in access to contraceptives and some other medicines was global, and often an ideological issue. Dr. Zhang called for change in mindsets on access to medicines and stressed the importance of an effective health policy. E. Intellectual property rights and access to medicines 26. Lisa Forman, Assistant Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, described access to medicines as one of the most explicit examples of how economics and trade rules conflicted with human rights, including the rights to life, health and development. She focused on how intellectual property rights had an impact on drugs, illustrated by the increase in drug prices in Malaysia of 28 per cent per year between 1996 and 2005 following the implementation of TRIPS. Over 2 billion people still lacked access to essential medicines, with drug pricing remaining a key obstacle to access. She called on the United Nations to support the use of compulsory licensing as a proven means of reducing prices and realizing State duties under the right to health. States should be held to account in the universal periodic review process for imposing TRIPS-plus provisions in free trade agreements as a violation of the right to health. Ms. Forman suggested that TRIPS flexibilities were an insufficient solution to pricing concerns, referring to the Global Commission on HIV and the Law’s recommendation that the Secretary-General create a new body to recommend a new intellectual property rights regime for drugs. 27. Thamara Romero, Legal Officer, Intellectual Property Unit, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) discussed UNCTAD work on access to medicines. The UNCTAD mandate in that area was based on the 2012 Doha Mandate (TD/500/Add.1, para. 65 (j)), and its assurance of the supply of essential medicines. UNCTAD had observed an increased need to diversify and expand pharmaceutical production. In the future India might no longer be considered the “pharmacy of the world”. Expanding local production could result in improved access. She referred to a high court case in Peru in which an individual’s right to health had been upheld, regardless of whether the Government had assigned adequate financial resources to the health sector. She called for increased use of TRIPS flexibilities. She argued that, if properly implemented, human rights and intellectual property were not necessarily contradictory. However, it was necessary to create awareness among policymakers and judges on the application of TRIPs flexibilities to enhance access to medicines. 28. Antony Taubman, Director, Intellectual Property Division, World Trade Organization (WTO), highlighted the intersection of health, trade and intellectual property rights. The Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health was a major milestone in understanding those intersections, recognizing the importance of intellectual property in the development of new medicines while acknowledging possible effects on pricing — a basis for international policy discussions seeking to implement practically an appropriate balance between promoting access and innovation. He recommended greater international cooperation to fulfil the right to health, required for sustainable development. He outlined three broad areas for future work: (a) elucidation of rules, data and industry developments; (b) coordination of operations and system-wide coherence; (c) implementation and action. Drawing on the study by WTO, the World Intellectual Property Organization and WHO, Promoting Access to Medical Technologies and Innovation, he noted widespread recognition of the need to strengthen national health systems and to develop innovative procurement solutions within existing legal and policy frameworks. 9