International Humanitarian Law Commons^™

Intellectual Property And “The Lost Year” Of Covid-19 Deaths, Madhavi Sunder, Haochen Sun

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Protecting intellectual property (IP) is a question of life and death. COVID-19 vaccines, partially incentivized by IP, are estimated to have saved nearly 20 million lives worldwide during the first year of their availability in 2021. However, most of the benefits of this life-saving technology went to high- and upper-middle-income countries. Despite 10 billion vaccines being produced by the end of 2021, only 4 percent of people in low-income countries were fully vaccinated. Paradoxically, IP may also be partly responsible for hundreds of thousands of lives lost in 2021, due to an insufficient supply of vaccines and inequitable access during …

Making The World Safer And Fairer In Pandemics, Lawrence O. Gostin, Kevin A. Klock, Alexandra Finch

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Global health has long been characterized by injustice, with certain populations marginalized and made vulnerable by social, economic, and health disparities within and among countries. The pandemic only amplified inequalities. In response to it, the World Health Organization and the United Nations have embarked on transformative normative and financial reforms that could reimagine pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPPR). These reforms include a new strategy to sustainably finance the WHO, a UN political declaration on PPPR, a fundamental revision to the International Health Regulations, and negotiation of a new, legally binding pandemic agreement (popularly called the “Pandemic Treaty”). We revisit …

The Global Health Architecture: Governance And International Institutions To Advance Population Health Worldwide, Lawrence O. Gostin, Eric A. Friedman, Alexandra Finch

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Policy Points Global health institutions and instruments should be reformed to fully incorporate the principles of good health governance: the right to health, equity, inclusive participation, transparency, accountability, and global solidarity. New legal instruments, like International Health Regulations amendments and the pandemic treaty, should be grounded in these principles of sound governance. Equity should be embedded into the prevention of, preparedness for, response to, and recovery from catastrophic health threats, within and across nations and sectors. This includes the extant model of charitable contributions for access to medical resources giving way to a new model that empowers low- and middle-income …

Lockdowns, Quarantines, And Travel Restrictions, During Covid And Beyond: What’S The Law, And How Should We Decide?, Lawrence O. Gostin, Meryl Chertoff

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in vast deprivations of liberty previously unthinkable: lockdowns, business closures, travel restrictions, and quarantines. Even witnessing China’s January 2020 lockdown of 11 million people in Wuhan, it seemed wholly implausible that London, Rome, or New York would shut down. But they did, and much more. At the initial height of the pandemic in April 2020, more than 3.9 billion people, about half the world's population, were under stay-at-home orders. That same month, 43 US states were under stay-at-home orders.

What are the scientific, public health, and ethical justifications for various forms of liberty deprivations? Are they …

The Stellenbosch Consensus On Legal National Responses To Public Health Risks: Clarifying Article 43 Of The International Health Regulations, Roojin Habibi, Steven J. Hoffman, Gian Luca Burci, Thana Cristina De Campos, Danwood Chirwa, Margherita Cinà, Stéphanie Dagron, Mark Eccleston-Turner, Lisa Forman, Lawrence O. Gostin, Benjamin Mason Meier, Stefania Negri, Gorik Ooms, Sharifah Sekalala, Allyn Taylor, Alicia Ely Yamin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The International Health Regulations (IHR), of which the World Health Organization is custodian, govern how countries collectively promote global health security, including prevention, detection, and response to global health emergencies such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Countries are permitted to exercise their sovereignty in taking additional health measures to respond to such emergencies if these measures adhere to Article 43 of this legally binding instrument. Overbroad measures taken during recent public health emergencies of international concern, however, reveal that the provision remains inadequately understood. A shared understanding of the measures legally permitted by Article 43 is a necessary step in …

Is It Lawful And Ethical To Prioritize Racial Minorities For Covid-19 Vaccines?, Harald Schmidt, Lawrence O. Gostin, Michelle A. Williams

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has disproportionately affected racial minorities in the United States resulting in higher rates of infection, hospitalization, and death. With a limited supply after the initial approval of a safe and effective vaccine, difficult legal and ethical choices will have to be made on priority access for individuals. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) has recommended prioritization of racial minorities who are “worse off” socioeconomically and epidemiologically. TheWorld Health Organization (WHO) similarly cautioned that “colorblind” allocation frameworks could perpetuate or exacerbate existing injustices. Both NASEM and WHO urge policy makers to allocate vaccines in …

The Lancet–O’Neill Institute/Georgetown University Commission On Global Health And Law: The Power Of Law To Advance The Right To Health, Jenny Kaldor, Lawrence O. Gostin, John T. Monahan, Katie Gottschalk

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Lancet–O’Neill Institute/Georgetown University Commission on Global Health and Law published its report on the Legal Determinants of Health in 2019. The term ‘legal determinants of health’ draws attention to the power of law to influence upstream social and economic influences on population health. In this article, we introduce the Commission, including its background and rationale, set out its methodology, summarize its key findings and recommendations and reflect on its impact since publication. We also look to the future, making suggestions as to how the global health community can make the best use of the Commission’s momentum in relation …

Advancing The Right To Health: The Vital Role Of Law, Lawrence O. Gostin, Oscar A. Cabrera, David Patterson, Roger Magnusson, Helena Nygren-Krug

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Effective laws and an enabling legal environment are essential to a healthy society. Most public health challenges – from infectious and non-communicable diseases to injuries, from mental illness to universal health coverage – have a legal component. At global, national and local levels, law is a powerful tool for advancing the right to health. This tool is, however, often underutilized.

This report aims to raise awareness about the role that public health laws can play in advancing the right to health and in creating the conditions for all people to live healthy lives. The report provides guidance about issues and …

Developing The Substantive Best Interests Of Child Migrants: A Call For Action, Andrew I. Schoenholtz

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This Article attempts to accomplish two goals. First, it provides an overview of what is known and unknown about international child migrants. While this Conference will focus to some degree on child migrants in the United States, this Article shows how significant this phenomenon is around the world. Therefore, this Article provides data and points out the research gaps surrounding this issue.

Equally significant is the lack of legal and policy tools available for governments to respond well and in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child ("CRC") to the children themselves. First, informed by social science …

Report On The Workshop On Refugee And Asylum Policy In Practice In Europe And North America, Randall Hansen, Susan Martin, Andrew I. Schoenholtz, Patrick Weil

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Western nations have struggled to accomplish the dual goals of refugee and asylum policies: (1) identifying and protecting Convention refugees as well as those fleeing civil conflict; and (2) controlling for abuse. The Workshop on Refugee and Asylum Policy in Practice in Europe and North America was organized to facilitate a transatlantic dialogue to explore just how well these asylum systems are balancing the dual goals. The workshop exa!llined key elements of the U.S. and European asylum systems: decision making on claims, deterrence of abuse, independent review, return of rejected asylum seekers, scope of the refugee concept, social rights and …

Asylum In Practice: Successes, Failures, And The Challenges Ahead, Susan Martin, Andrew I. Schoenholtz

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Workshop on Refugee and Asylum Policy in Practice in Europe and North America was organized to facilitate a transatlantic dialogue aimed at understanding just how well these asylum systems are balancing the dual goals. The Workshop was convened by the Institute for the Study of International Migration (ISIM) of Georgetown University and the Center for the Study of Immigration, Integration and Citizenship Policies (CEPIC) of the Centre Nationale de Recherche Scientifique, with the support of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. It was held on July 1-3, 1999, at Oxford University.

The workshop examined key issues …

Temporary Protection: Towards A New Regional And Domestic Framework, Susan Martin, Andrew I. Schoenholtz, Deborah Waller Meyers

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

During the past thirty-five years, the United States has seen the direct influx of thousands of individuals leaving politically unstable countries. While some seeking entry have proved themselves to be refugees and obtained permanent protection in the United States, far more, including a large number of people fleeing civil war, natural disasters, or comparable forms of upheaval in their home countries, have failed to demonstrate that they would be targets of persecution. Yet, their return to their home countries has been complicated by the very circumstances that led to their flight: conflict, violence, and repression. Over time, the United States …

Aiding And Abetting Persecutors: The Seizure And Return Of Haitian Refugees In Violation Of The U.N. Refugee Convention And Protocol, Andrew I. Schoenholtz

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Pursuant to Executive Order 12,807 of May 23, 1992, the “Kennebunkport Order,” United States Coast Guard cutters have been intercepting boatloads of Haitian citizens in international waters off the coast of Haiti and turning them over to the Haitian authorities in Port-au-Prince. No questions are being asked to determine if any of these citizens are bona fide refugees fleeing persecution. All are simply returned.

Does the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees (Protocol), to which the United States is a party, permit the U.S. government to do this? That question is now before the United States Supreme Court. Regarding …