A/HRC/29/44 I. Introduction 1. The Human Rights Council, in its resolution 6/13, preserved the Social Forum as a unique space for interactive dialogue between the United Nations human rights machinery and a variety of relevant stakeholders, underlining the importance of coordinated efforts at the national, regional and international levels for the promotion of social cohesion based on the principles of social justice, equity and solidarity; to address the social dimension and challenges of globalization; and issues linked with the national and international environment required for the promotion of the enjoyment of all human rights by all.1 2. In accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 26/28, the Social Forum was held in Geneva from 18 to 20 February 2015 and considered access to medicines in the context of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, including best practices in that regard. The President of the Council appointed Faisal bin Abdulla al-Henzab, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations Office at Geneva, as the ChairpersonRapporteur of the Forum. 3. The programme of work2 was prepared under the guidance of the Chairperson, with inputs from relevant stakeholders. Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 26/28, paragraph 8, background reports made available by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) informed the discussions (A/HRC/23/42, A/HRC/17/43 and A/HRC/11/12). The present report contains a summary of the proceedings as well as conclusions and recommendations. II. Opening of the Social Forum 4. In his opening remarks, the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Social Forum called on participants to identify and promote concrete, progressive and action-oriented approaches to improve access to medicines. Noting the particular significance of that issue to the State and people of Qatar, he advocated greater international cooperation to guarantee access to medicines, which was critical for health, well-being and development for all and a matter of social justice. Therefore inequities, including high costs borne by patients in many low and middle-income countries, must be eliminated. To that end, the international community should support innovation and local production, use of flexibilities under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), policy coherence among human rights obligations and international trade and investment regimes, and active engagement of all stakeholders, including the private sector, to save the lives of millions who do not have access to medicines. 5. Jane Connors, Director of the Research and Right to Development Division, OHCHR, described access to medicines as a critical and timely issue, particularly in the light of the emerging post-2015 development agenda. OHCHR had consistently advocated that the agenda be underpinned by human rights law, which obliged States to respect, protect and fulfil the right to health. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights required States to take steps, to the maximum of their available resources, towards realization of the right to health, prohibited retrogressive measures, and required immediate fulfilment of minimum core obligations. According to the Committee on 1 2 For further details on the Social Forum, see www.ohchr.org/EN/issues/poverty/sforum/pages/sforumindex.aspx. Available from www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/SForum/SForum2015/PoW.pdf. 3