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Andrew Stroehlein Profile picture
@astroehlein
May 27, 2021 • 19 tweets • 13 min read • Read on X
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Quick review of who stands where on COVID patent waivers and just how isolated certain people in the EU are...
The EU is split. Despite much top-down message enforcement, many leaders have openly supported COVID patent waivers:

Italy's foreign minister: facebook.com/52239102779744…

Dutch trade minister: irishtimes.com/business/healt…

Ireland foreign & health ministers: irishtimes.com/news/health/go…
Other key voices in the EU supporting COVID patent waivers:

Spain's government: reuters.com/world/europe/s…

Poland's government: tvp.info/53686577/premi…
In France, Macron has in the past few weeks expressed support for COVID patent waivers: france24.com/en/france/2021…

Then opposed them: theguardian.com/world/2021/may…

Then supported them again: amp.france24.com/en/france/2021…

Now he wants to wait till October to decide: mediapart.fr/journal/intern…
Last month, EU foreign policy chief Borrell tweeted support for waiving some intellectual property rules to scale up vaccine production globally...

Then he deleted his tweet...
The European Parliament has voted in favour of a temporary waiver on some intellectual property rules to deal with the pandemic, although a more decisive vote on a COVID-specific resolution will come on 8 June...

Hundreds of European lawmakers from around the bloc support the #TRIPSwaiver: hrw.org/news/2021/04/2…

See also, these 84 MEPs:
Also supporting the #TRIPSwaiver & #PeoplesVaccine:

Medical experts: thelancet.com/journals/lance…

Human rights experts: hrw.org/news/2021/03/0…

Global public health NGOs: msfaccess.org/compulsory-lic…

So many international NGOs: peoplesvaccine.org
Over 100 governments around the world back COVID patent waivers: reliefweb.int/report/world/o…

Including the US: reuters.com/business/healt…

The head of the World Health Organization is also in favour: theguardian.com/world/2021/mar…
Nobel laureates and former heads of state & government have also weighed in to support COVID patent waivers: project-syndicate.org/commentary/pre…

The medical journal, The Lancet, has, too: thelancet.com/journals/lance…

As has the science journal Nature: nature.com/articles/d4158…
And just hours ago, this official European Citizens' Initiative calling on the European Commission to treat anti-pandemic vaccines and treatments as a global public good, passed 200,000 signatures!

noprofitonpandemic.eu
So, Merkel & von der Leyen are actually even more isolated than this chart would suggest. Most governments & the vast majority of experts globally support COVID patent waivers, and so do many leaders even in EU member states.
Merkel and von der Leyen are apparently trying to keep everyone in the EU "on message" with a pitiful pile of talking points.

Their arguments are so easily debunked, I almost feel sorry for them.

Addressed point-by-point here: irishexaminer.com/opinion/commen…
And for those who want more technical details on issues like how the proposed #TRIPSwaiver would supplement compulsory licensing, this latest document from @MSF_access is for you:
msfaccess.org/compulsory-lic…
It seems that Mexico has shifted its position from undecided to pro, thus further isolating the EU, UK & a handful of others...
bit.ly/2SBbQWw
This from @benphillips76 to the European Parliament is another great rebuke to the stale arguments of the European Commission & its pharma friends.

Love that first point especially on how pharma arguments inherently contradict themselves... 🔥

The European Commission will hardly even listen to anyone with a different opinion...

They sadly seemed determined only to hear & obey the voices of pharma companies seeking to use the pandemic to maximise their profits...
corporateeurope.org/en/2021/05/com…
EU policy is to block wider vaccine production globally to help pharma maximise profits.

Great for pharma. Terrible for humanity, because it means a longer pandemic, so:

⬛️ more death;

⬛️ more economic disruption;

⬛️ more chances for vaccine-resistant variants to emerge.
Germany has received more doses than 92 developing countries combined...

#PeoplesVaccine

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More from @astroehlein

Andrew Stroehlein Profile picture
Nov 16, 2023
Belgium is showing the way on the #Gaza crisis.

✅ Condemned 7/10 killings by Palestinian armed groups;

✅ Questioned legality of some Israeli airstrikes;

✅ Condemned Israel's collective punishment of Palestinians & called for targeted sanctions on those responsible;

1/n
Belgium has also:

✅ Expressed support for the International Criminal Court’s role and its ongoing investigation on the situation in Palestine, which includes jurisdiction over the current hostilities between the Israeli government and Palestinian armed groups.

2/n
In addition, the Belgian federal parliament has introduced a bill to ban trade with settlements in occupied territories.

3/n
Read 10 tweets
Andrew Stroehlein Profile picture
Aug 2, 2023
Convincing people that they have fundamental rights takes no effort at all.

Convincing them that others have fundamental rights is the hard part.
I want to write about these things in ways that might encourage new people to warm to the idea of universal human rights.

I don’t feel you can do that by using language and tropes that immediately spark “culture war” reactions - those cliché phrases that close minds instantly.
That’s been the purpose of my newsletter over the past year: to find language that brings people closer to understanding the fundamental rights that bind us together.

hrw.org/daily-brief-ar…
Read 4 tweets
Andrew Stroehlein Profile picture
Jun 19, 2023
Dans l'après-midi du 2 octobre 2018, l'éminent journaliste #saoudien et chroniqueur du Washington Post Jamal Khashoggi s'est rendu au consulat saoudien d'Istanbul pour obtenir les documents nécessaires pour son mariage. C'est la dernière fois que sa fiancée l'a vu.
Des agents saoudiens l’ont assassiné à l'intérieur du consulat et ont découpé son corps en morceaux.
Il ne s'agissait pas simplement d'une opération véreuse. En 2019, une enquête de l'ONU a mis en évidence "une coordination, des ressources et des finances gouvernementales importantes" derrière l'assassinat.
Read 7 tweets
Andrew Stroehlein Profile picture
Jun 18, 2023
1️⃣ From my Daily Brief last week - Monday:

The EU’s illegal and immoral border policies prioritize suffering: hrw.org/the-day-in-hum…

Audio: hrw.org/video-photos/a…

En français: hrw.org/fr/news/2023/0… Image
2️⃣ From my Daily Brief last week - Tuesday:

US state lawmakers pushing for MORE child labor: hrw.org/the-day-in-hum…

Audio: hrw.org/video-photos/a…

En français: hrw.org/fr/news/2023/0… Image
3️⃣ From my Daily Brief last week - Wednesday:

#India shuts down the internet more than any other country - and it hurts the poor most: hrw.org/the-day-in-hum…

Audio: hrw.org/video-photos/a…

En français: hrw.org/fr/news/2023/0… Image
Read 7 tweets
Andrew Stroehlein Profile picture
Jun 17, 2023
Mass drownings at sea are to the EU what mass shootings are to the US.

It keeps happening.

And every time it happens, politicians pretend to be concerned, yet keep in place the government policies at the root of the problem.

So, people keep dying.
hrw.org/the-day-in-hum…
What can be done?

Start with official, proactive search and rescue at sea.

Some EU states have drastically reduced search-and-rescue capacity at sea, and even restricted private groups from doing it.

Read more: hrw.org/news/2023/06/1…
Accepting mass drownings is a deliberate EU policy choice.

They have deliberated. They have discussed the options, and they know the consequences of the policy they chose.

It doesn't have to be this way.

There are other policy options, like making human life the priority.
Read 4 tweets
Andrew Stroehlein Profile picture
Jun 15, 2023
Mass deaths at sea are to the EU what mass shootings are to the US.

- It keeps happening.

- And every time, politicians pretend to be concerned.

- And every time, politicians keep in place the government policies at the root of the problem.

- And it keeps happening.
See also:
See also:
Read 5 tweets

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