RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/C/W/279
12 June 2001
(01-2878)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property Rights
COMMUNICATION FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE
JOINT UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME
ON HIV/AIDS ("UNAIDS")
The following communication, dated 5 June 2001, has been received from the Executive
Director of the Joint United Nations  Programme on HIV/AIDS ("UNAIDS").
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In furthering our work in the area of trade and intellectual property policies and access to
HIV-related commodities, I am writing to you to re quest that the Joint United Nations Programme on
HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) be granted observer status at the World Trade Organization TRIPS Council
meeting on health scheduled for 20 June 2001 in Geneva.
In recent years, the UNAIDS secretariat has been collaborating increasingly with its
co-sponsors and other international organizations to identify ways in which trade and intellectual
property laws and agreements could play a supportive role in our efforts to improve access to HIV and
AIDS medicines.  In this regard, the UNAIDS secretariat was an observer and participated in the
WTO Ministerial Conference held in Seattle, USA, 30 November – 3 December 1999.  In addition, I
was very pleased to have participated personally in the Workshop on Differential Pricing andFinancing of Essential Drugs sponsored by the WTO and WHO and held in Norway in April of this
year.  The collaboration between the WTO and UNAIDS has included WTO participation as a
member of the Inter-agency Advisory Group on HIV/AIDS.  WTO also made an important
contribution to the UN System Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS.
UNAIDS attendance as an official observer at the TRIPS Council meeting on health on
20 June would provide an opportunity for UNAIDS to serve as a resource for the TRIPS Council and
its Member States in providing information on the AIDS epidemic, problems regarding access to
medicines for people infected by the virus, and the importance of trade and intellectual property
policies and agreements to access to HIV-related commodities.
We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the WTO, and hope to follow the
discussions at the TRIPS Council meeting on health which are of direct interest to us.
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