OEA - AG - Resolución AG08408E07

FIFTY-FIRST REGULAR SESSION OEA/Ser.P November 10 to 12, 2021 AG/doc.5745/21 Guatemala City, Guatemala 9 November 2021

VIRTUAL Original: Spanish Item 25 on the agenda

NOTE FROM THE PERMANENT MISSION OF PERU FORWARDING THE DRAFT

RESOLUTION “DEVELOPMENTS IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND ITS IMPACT ON

THE HEMISPHERE,” SUBMITTED JOINTLY BY THE DELEGATIONS OF PERU, CHILE,

AND COSTA RICA AND CO-SPONSORED BY THE DELEGATIONS OF ARGENTINA,

BOLIVIA, CANADA, COLOMBIA, ECUADOR, PANAMA, UNITED STATES, AND

URUGUAY, FOR CONSIDERATION UNDER THE RELEVANT ITEM ON THE AGENDA

FOR THE FIFTY-FIRST REGULAR SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

GENERAL ASSEMBLYPERMANENT MISSION OF PERU

TO THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES

Note NO 7-5-M/172 The Permanent Mission of Peru presents its compliments to the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) and has the honor to forward herewith the draft resolution “Developments in the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the Hemisphere,” in the Spanish and English versions, for consideration under the relevant item on the agenda for the fifty-first regular session of the General Assembly. This draft resolution is being submitted jointly by the Permanent Missions of Peru, Chile, and Costa Rica and is furthermore co-sponsored by Argentina, Bolivia, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, United States, and Uruguay. The Permanent Mission of Peru requests your good offices in bringing this draft resolution to the attention of the member states. The Permanent Mission of Peru avails itself of this opportunity to convey to the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States the renewed assurances of its highest consideration. To the General Secretariat Organization of American States Washington, D.C. Click on the link to access the Note from the Permanent Mission of Peru Washington, D.C., November 9, 20213DRAFT RESOLUTION

assurances of its highest consideration. To the General Secretariat Organization of American States Washington, D.C. Click on the link to access the Note from the Permanent Mission of Peru Washington, D.C., November 9, 20213DRAFT RESOLUTION “EVOLUTION OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND ITS IMPACT ON THE HEMISPHERE” THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, PP1 EXPRESSING its solidarity with the peoples of the Americas who continue to face the unprecedented effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on human beings, society and the economy, PP2 RECOGNIZING WITH ALARM that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable people in the region; PP3 ALSO RECOGNIZING that the economic and social crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has widened the social and gender gap in a region that suffers from severe indicators of inequality; PP4 FURTHER RECOGNIZING that the COVID-19 pandemic has deepened deficiencies and inequities in access to essential medicines, such as pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and other health technologies, affecting the response capacity of health systems and limiting the provision of health services essential; PP5 BEARING IN MIND that the health crisis has revealed the high dependence of Latin America and the Caribbean on imports of medicines and other health technologies from outside the region, the vulnerability of global supply chains in emergency situations, and the heterogeneity and gaps in terms of vaccine research, development, and production capacity in the Americas. PP6 RECOGNIZING that in general, the pandemic has deepened regional weaknesses in the planning, preparation, and coordination response in public health; PP7 BEARING IN MIND that in the extraordinary session of the Permanent Council to consider the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact in the hemisphere, held on September

30, 2021, heads of State and Government, ministers of health, as well as the Top world health authorities agreed on the need to carry out coordinated actions to improve the region's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and future health crises; PP8 REAFFIRMING that joint and coordinated hemispheric solidarity and cooperation will help slow and prevent the spread of COVID and contribute to strengthening the regional response and recovery efforts; (taken from CPRES1151) and recognizing the role that the Organization of American States and the Pan American Health Organization can play in this matter; PP9 RECOGNIZING the need for better coordination of technical and cooperative efforts to strengthen the exchange of relevant information, as well as access to safe and effective medicines, treatments, vaccines, quality assured equipment, and necessary scientific and technical knowledge on a voluntary basis and on mutually agreed terms;PP10 RECALLING that the spirit of prompt and effective cooperation to improve sanitary conditions in the Americas has been present since the beginning of the inter-American system and that historically, the importance of providing all means and assistance for the study and research of epidemic diseases in the hemisphere has been recognized; PP11 CONSIDERING that it is necessary to achieve greater political agreement in the region, for the support of structural and transformative actions to build resilient societies and health systems, ensuring their preparation to face current and future threats, while promoting universal access to health and universal coverage of health for its populations; PP12 TAKING INTO ACCOUNT Resolution CP/RES. 1151 (2280/20) “Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic”, approved by the Permanent Council in the virtual extraordinary session held on April 16, 2020, and Resolution CP/RES) 2312/21) “The equitable distribution of vaccines against COVID-19”, approved by the Permanent Council in the virtual regular session held on February 17, 2021; PP13 TAKING INTO ACCOUNT ALSO Resolutions CD59.R3 “Increase in the production

capacity of essential medicines and health technologies” and CD59.R13 “Reinvigorating immunizations as a public good for universal health” approved by the 59th Directing Council of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), in its session of September, 2021; RESOLVES: OP1.- To instruct the Permanent Council to continue facilitating regular dialogue and updates from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), with a view to strengthening hemispheric coordination and cooperation to effectively combat COVID-19 and address its devastating socioeconomic effects. OP2.- To urge member states to promote mutual hemispheric solidarity in the development and acquisition of safe, accessible and effective vaccines and other health technologies, and within this framework, invite member states to support the development of voluntary regional platforms, in alignment with global multilateral efforts, such as the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator; the Regional Platform to Advance the Manufacturing of COVID-19 Vaccines and other Health Technologies in the Americas, launched by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO); as well as the initiative supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and PAHO on Technology Transfer for Production of mRNA Vaccines in the Americas, and the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (CTAP) initiative supported by the WHO. OP3.- To urge Member States to make the greatest possible efforts to continue strengthening public investment in health, which allows for improvement and expansion of national and regional capacities for the development and production of raw materials, vaccines, and essential medicines, in order to achieve a speedy recovery of regional health sectors and economies, and overcome our region’s vulnerability to and external dependence during global health emergencies, allowing the achievement of health security in our region.OP4.- To call on the Member States, at this time of crisis, to apply consistent economic policies that contribute in a sustained way to creating jobs, increasing economic productivity and promoting innovation, in particular that which allows us to move forward together towards a digital future,

strengthening digital infrastructure, technologies and literacy. OP5 To call on the Member States and Permanent Observers to coordinate common positions in Multilateral Organizations aimed at facilitating jointly the post-pandemic recovery, paying special attention to the economic, productive, and financial difficulties aggravated by the pandemic.] OP6.- Support the role of extensive immunization against COVID 19 as a global public good and reiterate to the Member States, and Permanent Observers that are positioned to do so, to take measures to facilitate the equitable distribution of vaccines in the Hemisphere (RES 1165), considering that we will only overcome this emergency by accelerating equitable and timely access to safe, effective and quality COVID-19 vaccines. OP7.- To urge the member states to implement communication and social participation strategies aimed at regaining the population's confidence in immunization, in order to ensure that the region vaccinates its entire target population in the shortest possible time. OP8.- To urge Member States, according to their context and national priorities, within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and particularly within the global context of immunization and requirements for international travel, to apply, as appropriate, measures to facilitate the free movement of travelers, in accordance with the International Health Regulations and bearing in mind the recommendations and guidelines of the WHO regarding immunization and travels. AG08408E03.docx