HOLY SEE FEARS FAILURE ON TRIPS IN WTO TALKS WOULD

UNCLAS VATICAN 006064 SIPDIS DEPT PLEASE PASS USTR; DEPT ALSO FOR EB/TPP/MTA AND EUR/WE (D. MENNUTI) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD VT WTO SUBJECT: HOLY SEE FEARS FAILURE ON TRIPS IN WTO TALKS WOULD POSE SERIOUS HUMANITARIAN REPERCUSSIONS; URGES COMPROMISE REF: DEILY-HARDT TELCON 12/19 ¶1. (U) THE HOLY SEE CONTACTED THE EMBASSY DECEMBER 19 TO CONVEY ITS URGENT CONCERNS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL FAILURE OF ONGOING NEGOTIATIONS AT THE WTO GENERAL COUNCIL IN REGARD TO TRIPS AND PUBLIC HEALTH. IN A NON-PAPER DELIVERED TO THE UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 02 VATICA 06064 191322Z EMBASSY (TEXT BELOW),THE HOLY SEE CHARACTERIZED THE U.S. AS BEING ALONE IN OPPOSITION TO THE CURRENT CHAIRMAN'S TEXT, AND SUGGESTED THAT THIS "BLOCKAGE" WOULD "RESULT IN SERIOUS HARM" TO MILLIONS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AT RISK FROM HIV/AIDS, MALARIA, TUBERCULOSIS, AND OTHER PUBLIC HEALTH CRISES, WHILE ALSO DAMAGING A RULES-BASED TRADE SYSTEM. EMBASSY UNDERSTANDS THAT HOLY SEE PERMANENT OBSERVER TO THE WTO, DIARMUD MARTIN RAISED THIS CONCERN WITH THE SECRETARIAT OF STATE AND REQUESTED THEIR INTERVENTION WITH THE EMBASSY. AMBASSADOR HAS ALSO RECEIVED A REQUEST FROM VATICAN-BASED MEDIA TO COMMENT ON THE U.S. POSITION IN THESE NEGOTIATIONS. PER REF DISCUSSION, EMBASSY WILL DEFER PUBLIC COMMENT UNTIL AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF CURRENT ROUND OF TALKS DECEMBER 20. WE WILL ALSO CONVEY TO THE HOLY SEE OUR STRONG DESIRE TO ENSURE LIBERAL LICENSING ARRANGEMENTS FOR THOSE MEDICINES RELATING TO HIV/AIDS, TUBERCULOSIS, MALARIA AND OTHER INFECTIOUS EPIDEMICS OF SIMILAR GRAVITY CITED BY THE HOLY SEE IN ITS NON-PAPER. AS THE NON-PAPER CONCLUDES, THE HOLY SEE WOULD VIEW A FAILURE OF THE TALKS AS "A MATTER OF SERIOUS ETHICAL AND HUMANITARIAN CONCERN." ¶2. (U) THE FULL TEXT OF THE HOLY SEE'S NON-PAPER FOLLOWS: BEGIN TEXT: THE HOLY SEE HAS LEARNED WITH CONCERN OF THE BLOCKAGE OF NEGOTIATIONS AT THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO) ON THE QUESTION OF TRIP'S AND PUBLIC HEALTH. THE DOHA DECLARATION ON THIS ISSUE WAS HAILED AT THE TIME BY UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 03 VATICA 06064 191322Z ALL SIDES AS AN IMPORTANT STEP FORWARD IN RECONCILING THE PUBLIC HEALTH NEEDS OF THE POOREST COUNTRIES AND THE IMPORTANT BENEFITS WHICH CAN COME FROM A RULES-BASED INTERNATIONAL REGIME FOR THE PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. THE AGREEMENTS AT DOHA FORESAW THAT A DEFINITIVE DECISION ON THIS QUESTION SHOULD BE TAKEN BY THE END OF THIS YEAR 2002. THE HOLY SEE HAS ALSO LEARNED THAT NOW THE UNITED STATES SEEMS TO STAND ALONE IN ITS OPPOSITION TO THE TEXT THAT HAS BEEN PATIENTLY NEGOTIATED BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE TRIP'S COUNCIL. A FAILURE TO COME TO AN AGREEMENT BY THE TIME-LIMIT INDICATED RUNS THE SERIOUS RISK THAT ENTIRE NEGOTIATION WOULD COLLAPSE. IT WOULD BE A DIFFICULT TO "FREEZE" THE CURRENT AGREED TEXT FOR ANY SIGNIFICANT PERIOD INTO THE NEW YEAR. THE FAILURE TO REACH A CONSENSUS WOULD RESULT IN SERIOUS HARM, ESPECIALLY TO MILLIONS OF PERSONS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES WHO ARE MOST EXPOSED TO HIV/AIDS, TUBERCULOSIS AND MALARIA, AND TO OTHER POSSIBLE SERIOUS PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS. SUCH A FAILURE, IN THE PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES, WOULD RESULT INEVITABLY IN DAMAGE TO A RULES-BASED INTERNATIONAL TRADE SYSTEM, SOMETHING WHICH IS OF PARTICULAR INTEREST TO THE UNITED STATES. THE HOLY SEE URGENTLY INVITES THE UNITED STATES TO EXAMINE ALL THE POSSIBLE WAYS WHICH ARE STILL OPEN TO ADDRESS UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 04 VATICA 06064 191322Z CONCERNS ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION, WITHOUT ENDANGERING THE ADOPTION OF A CONSENSUS DECISION AT THE WTO WITHIN THE TIME-LIMIT FORESEEN. THE HOLY SEE CONSIDERS THAT THIS IS A MATTER OF SERIOUS ETHICAL AND HUMANITARIAN CONCERN. END TEXT. HARDT UNCLASSIFIED > 2002VATICA06064 - Cla