A/HRC/17/43 I. Introduction 1. The expert consultation on access to medicines as a fundamental component of the right to health was held on 11 October 2010, in Geneva, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 12/24 on access to medicines in the context of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. In the resolution, the Council invited the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to convene an expert consultation 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 requested 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. 2. The expert consultation featured a variety of participants, including representatives of Member States, international organizations, independent experts and a number of nongovernmental and civil society organizations. Regrettably, neither patients’ organizations nor pharmaceutical companies attended the consultation. However, Novartis, a pharmaceutical company, submitted a letter in which it regretted not being available to participate in the consultation, and reported on its work on a statement of intent under the auspices of the Gates CEO Roundtable, to be launched on 8 and 9 November 2011 in Washington, D.C..1 II. Organization of the expert consultation 3. The expert consultation was organized in close cooperation with Member States and other relevant stakeholders, and focused on the elements identified in Council resolution 12/24, namely, access to medicines as a fundamental element of the right to health, and emerging issues, existing obstacles to providing access to medicines and ways forward. 4. The consultation aimed at gathering and discussing expert opinions on the interpretation of the above-mentioned human rights obligations. It also sought to encourage a greater policy coherence between human rights obligations and other areas of government policymaking, as well as to strengthen the global partnership for development, institutional coordination and collective action towards enhancing access to medicines. III. Summary of proceedings A. Panel 1: Access to medicine as a fundamental component of the full realization of the right to health 5. In his opening remarks, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Anand Grover, reminded participants of the current world situation with regard to access to medicines. Despite recent progress, massive inequalities remained in access to medicines around the world, as nearly 1 GE.11-11842 The Gates CEO Roundtable consists of 10 chief executive officers of the largest pharmaceutical companies, and aims, among other things, to improve access to medicines. 3