Joint Statement Delivered by H.E. Ambassador Chen Xu on behalf of Like-minded Countries on the Panel Discussion on Deepening Inequalities Exacerbated by the COVID-19 Pandemic at the 48th Session of the Human Rights Council
2021-09-29 16:50

(28 September, 2021)

Madam President,

I have the honor to speak on behalf of a group of countries. The COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of different variants has inflicted severe negative impacts on economic and social development in all countries, especially in developing countries and threatened the health of the people, particularly those in more vulnerable situations.

Vaccination is a powerful tool to combat the pandemic, and should become a global public good. However, inequitable distribution and unbalanced vaccination remain prominent challenges and the gap in immunization urgently needs to be addressed.

We support the call of the United Nations for fair and equitable distribution of and access to COVID-19 vaccines globally, and urge all countries to put the rights to life and health first instead of other considerations such as economic, political or other interests. All countries must uphold the primary attribute of vaccination as a global public good and reject vaccine nationalism. The international community should, in the spirit of solidarity and cooperation, uphold morality and justice,practice multilateralism and make greater efforts to improve the accessibility, affordability and production of vaccines and other health products in developing countries, especially least developed countries. We call upon all member states and other parties concerned to expand vaccine production and upgrade production capabilities of developing countries by export, donation, joint research and development, franchised production and transfer of know-how. We support the waiver of intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines. We also call upon competent countries to take an active part in international cooperation to help developing countries realize the Sustainable Development Goals and mitigate the economic and social impact of the pandemic.

Thank you, Madam President.