UN/Pandemic Response: Amb. Hilale Meets with WHO, WTO Directors General

MOROCCO, March 2 - Morocco's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN, Omar Hilale, in his capacity as co-facilitator of the UN process on prevention, preparedness and response to pandemics, paid a working visit to Geneva from February 27 to March 1.

This visit is part of the preparation for the holding of the High Level Meeting of the UN General Assembly on prevention, preparedness and response to pandemics and the development of the Political Declaration on the subject to be adopted at the level of heads of state and government.

During this trip, Hilale had meetings with the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Deputy Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, Lisa Jorgenson.

The Moroccan diplomat had multiple briefings, technical and bilateral meetings with representatives of Member States, senior WHO officials in charge of the emergencies division, representatives of the private sector and civil society, as well as other stakeholders in the pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPPR) system.

The visit focused on harmonizing and aligning the political process underway in New York, under the Moroccan co-facilitation led by Hilale and his counterpart the Israeli co-facilitator Ambassador Gilad Erdan, with the process of negotiating an instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB), as well as the 2005 International Health Regulations Review (IHR Amendments Review) process taking place in Geneva.

The results of these numerous exchanges have led to several recommendations and suggestions to be incorporated into the draft Political Declaration on the PPPR.

This major declaration, the first of its kind, is primarily aimed at mobilizing political will at the national, regional and international levels for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response and will contribute to the global process, currently being led by WHO, to develop an international convention or legal instrument on the subject, under the WHO Constitution.

Similarly, it intends to provide the necessary tools and evidence-based knowledge to be better prepared for future pandemics, in this case equity, access to health protection measures, health systems, accountability, good governance, patents and intellectual property, supply chains, financing and resource mobilization, cooperation, global solidarity...

The Member States of the United Nations had adopted, by consensus, last February 24, resolution 77/275, co-facilitated and presented to the President of the General Assembly by Morocco and Israel, on the scope, modalities, format and organization of the High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on Prevention, Preparedness and Response to Pandemics to be held during the High-level Week of the 78th Session of the General Assembly, next September.

MAP:02 March 2023