The issues surrounding vaccine distribution and the search for answers to the health, economic, social, human rights and humanitarian consequences of the pandemic continue to dominate the agenda in Geneva. There is little prospect for agreement in the discussio n about a possible suspension of patent protection for vaccines and drugs in the fight against COVID-19 ("TRIPS waiver") between its supporters and its opponents. Accordingly, effort s are being made in the WHO and WTO to take more pragmatic steps to ensure fairer vaccine supplies.
Despite the hands-on and dynamic approach taken by the new Director General, progress in the WTO will only be able to be achieved after a tough struggle, as the negotiations on the dismantling of fisheries subsidies show. In the UN Human Rights Council, the fight against structural racism and the situation in Tigray were on the agenda. Controversial discussions regarding many texts led to the session being extended by a full day.
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