UCILeR researchers prepare international convention project on pandemics
André Dias Pereira and Ana Gaudêncio, Integrated Researchers at the University of Coimbra Institute for Legal Research, are part of the team of jurists created by the International Center for Comparative Environmental Law (CIDCE), in a voluntary initiative with the aim of preparing a draft convention on pandemics. This initiative aims to respond to the extraordinary meeting of the World Health Assembly, held in Geneva from November 29 to December 1, 2021, on the preparation and adoption of an International Convention or similar instrument on pandemic preparedness and response. This draft convention is now published on the CIDCE website (cidce.org).
The draft Convention is the result of a voluntary act by this team of legal experts to contribute to the international debate. This project emanates from a spontaneous initiative by CIDCE, an independent international NGO specialized in environmental law, whose vocation also includes the protection of human and animal health. Hence its concern to design a legally binding instrument that allows humanity to be united in the face of the dangers of a pandemic.
It has been proven that the resurgence of pandemics is caused by anthropogenic interference with natural ecosystems. The complex interconnection that exists between living species is often the root cause of zoonoses, whose emergence is linked to the close interdependence between human health, animal health, environmental quality, and climate change. This is why the "One Health" multisectoral approach is at the heart of the draft convention. This concept, located at the crossroads of all disciplines related to the human-animal-environment interface, makes it possible to anticipate, prevent, detect, and control diseases that are transmitted from animals to humans. The concept in question comes from a "planetary health" approach that closely integrates the welfare of humanity and safeguards all other forms of life.
The convention being promoted would also serve to support the mobilization of all stakeholders and consolidate multi-sectoral alliances, offering a framework for dialogue and convergence for coherence of approaches, coordination of actions, and synergy of interventions.
As a universal threat, the pandemic requires universal solidarity for a universal solution through a universal convention. The well-being of humanity and the sustainability of the planet are at stake.