OEA - AG - Resolución AG08415E03

FIFTY-FIRST REGULAR SESSION OEA/Ser.P November 10 to 12, 2021 AG/doc.5750/21 Guatemala City, Guatemala 10 November 2021

VIRTUAL Original: English Item 25 on the agenda NOTE FROM THE PERMANENT MISSION OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA SUBMITTING, ON ITS OWN BEHALF, AND ON BEHALF OF THE DELEGATIONS OF THE BAHAMAS, BARBADOS, BELIZE, DOMINICA, GRENADA, GUYANA, HAITI, SAINT LUCIA, SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS, SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES, TRINIDAD AND

TOBAGO, AND SURINAME, AMENDMENTS TO DRAFT RESOLUTION “EVOLUTION OF

THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND ITS IMPACT ON THE HEMISPHERE” (AG/doc.5745/21)

FOR CONSIDERATION UNDER THE RELEVANT ITEM ON THE AGENDA FOR

THE FIFTY-FIRST REGULAR SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

GENERAL ASSEMBLYPermanent Mission of Antigua and Barbuda PM 33/2021 The Permanent Mission of Antigua and Barbuda presents its compliments to the General Secretariat of the Organisation of American States and has the honor to refer to the draft resolution: Developments in the COVID_19 Pandemic and its Impact on the Hemisphere to be considered at the 51 st Regular Session of the General Assembly. The Permanent Mission has the honor to submit amendments to said resolution on behalf of the following thirteen delegations namely: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Saint Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname and requests that these amendments be circulated to all Member States. The Permanent Mission of Antigua and Barbuda avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States the assurances of its highest consideration. Washington DC November 10, 2021

Suriname and requests that these amendments be circulated to all Member States. The Permanent Mission of Antigua and Barbuda avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States the assurances of its highest consideration. Washington DC November 10, 2021

Organization of American StatesWashington, D.C.

DRAFT RESOLUTION

“EVOLUTION OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND ITS IMPACT ON THE

HEMISPHERE” THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, PP1 ACKNOWLEDGING THAT the peoples of the Americas continue to face the unprecedented effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on lives, livelihoods and their economies; 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 that already existed (NEW PARA) AWARE that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the inherent and structural vulnerabilities of the Caribbean states due to their small size, financial and human resources constraints, and susceptibility to exogenous shocks. 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, the vulnerability of global supply chains in emergency situations, and the imbalance 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, representative heads of State and Government and ministers of health, together with leading global and hemispheric health authorities emphasized the need to carry out forcoordinated actions to improve the region's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and future health crises;- 2PP8 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 .the Pan American Health Organization, and specifically in relation to CARICOM, the Caribbean Health Agency, can play in this matter; (NEW PARA) RECALLING the statement by the United Nations Secretary General that vaccines are global public goods;1 (NEW PARA) ALARMED by the unequal distribution of vaccines which resulted in developing countries having to seek charitable donations of vaccines. (NEW PARA) Calling for an increase in the production of vaccines through the establishment of production facilities in developing countries, and the exchange of relevant scientific and technical knowledge 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 health systems, that are capable of managing current and future threats, while promoting universal access to health and universal coverage of health for its populations; (NEW PARA) REAFFIRMING the importance of financing mechanisms and technical assistance to allow the most vulnerable nations to mitigate the economic losses caused by the COVID_19 pandemic and to prepare for future pandemics 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; (NEW PARA) REITERATING its gratitude to the Pan American Organization, the World Health Organization and the Caribbean Public Health Agency for their work to protect the health of the peoples of the Americas during the COVID-19 pandemic; 1 https://www.un.org/press/en/2021/sgsm20620.doc.htm3RESOLVES: 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 socio-economic 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 to apply consistent economic policies that contribute in a sustained way to creating jobs, increasing economic productivity and promoting innovation, including by strengthening lieracy, digital infrastructure and technologies 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 to encourage 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 , considering that an important element in overcoming this emergency is by accelerating equitable and timely access to safe, effective and quality COVID-19 vaccines. (NEW PARA) To call on international financial institutions to provide concessionary financing to developing countries, particularly small states, based on vulnerability, to mitigate economic losses caused by the COVID_19 pandemic. OP7.- To encourage member states to implement communication and social participation strategies aimed at regaining the population's confidence in vaccines in furtherance of the achievement of community immunity in each of them.- 4OP8.- 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. AG08415E01