One of the recommendations mutually identified by leading high-level COVID-19 response review committees, including the Independent Panel (IPPPR), is the proposal of a peer-review system whereby countries review and publish their health preparedness capacities. When discussing the potential of such an instrument, it is worth looking at the strengths and weaknesses of the 15-year-old Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a peer review process in the area of human rights. While bearing in mind that not all lessons are transferable from one policy field to another, the comparison may provide some valuable insights for the development of a similar mechanism anchored in the WHO to strengthen pandemic preparedness. The Multilateral Dialogue of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) in Geneva has therefore invited UPR info, a Geneva-based non-profit, non-governmental organization with unique expertise and insights into the UPR process to identify key lessons and considerations for the drafting of a Universal Health and Preparedness Review (UHPR), based on 15 years of their expert knowledge of the similar peer-review process.
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This report was written by UPR Info:
UPR Info is a non-governmental organization based in Geneva that fosters a conducive environment for civil society and States to advance the realisation of human rights and progress on inclusive development that leaves no one behind within the Universal Periodic Review.
To learn more about their work, visit their website.
