The
Forum on COVID-19 and Law will bring together partners and experts at a
regional and country level to share experiences and lessons identified, and
discuss priorities for strengthening legal preparedness and response.
Held
virtually over two days on 3-4 November 2021, the forum will consist of a small
number of introductory presentations followed by focused expert panel
discussions on specific themes, and be made available to the public via live
stream.
Law has
been critical to the COVID-19 response. Countries’ legal preparedness has been
an important factor in combating the spread and impact of COVID-19, authorising
capacities to detect and respond to risks and ensuring that the response is
coordinated, includes the whole-of-society, promotes equity, and respects
rights and freedoms. Legal preparedness includes a country’s existing laws and
regulations, as well as its capacity to activate and implement those
effectively across sectors and jurisdictions, and to make necessary changes
based on sound policy and experience.
The
scale of the COVID-19 pandemic and the risks to public health it presents
tested the capacity of domestic legal frameworks for health in the region. The
pandemic highlighted critical weaknesses in the public health and health
emergency laws and legal capacities of several countries in the Region, often
rooted in rudimentary and outdated laws, that hampered response efforts and
present an ongoing risk to their populations and that of the region. In
addition, it underlined the impact of other legal frameworks on health
emergency preparedness and response, including health laws, such as those
underpinning the health system and access to health services, and those beyond
health, such as those influencing overall governance, public financial
management, and social and economic conditions. There is a need to capture the
lessons identified from COVID-19 and consider opportunities to strengthen
countries’ legal preparedness beyond COVID-19. It is important such efforts are
well-targeted and sustainable, having regard to domestic capacity, broader
health priorities, and political feasibility. The implications for global
governance of health emergencies are expected to be discussed at a special
session of the World Health Assembly in November 2021.
The
Forum is being hosted by the University of Melbourne, building on their
collaboration with the Regional Office for the Western Pacific on the legal
dimensions of COVID-19, and leveraging their substantial experience hosting
virtual events and expertise in health law in Asia and the Pacific.
Agenda
Day 1
(8:45am to 1:00pm, Manila time)
Session
1 (9:00am): Opening and setting the scene
Session
2 (9:45am): Role of public health and health emergency laws during
COVID-19 and opportunities for strengthening
Session
3 (11:30am): Use of digital technologies in the COVID-19 response
Day 2 (9:00am to
1:00pm, Manila time)
Session 4
(9:00am): Engaging the whole of the health system in the COVID-19 response
to meet surging demand
Session 5
(10:45am): Building and mobilising legal capacity for the COVID-19
response and for legal preparedness beyond COVID-19
Session 6 (12:30pm):
Wrapping up, and where to from here
To join
The Forum will be streamed live by the University of Melbourne: https://law.unimelb.edu.au/centres/alc/news-and-events/forum-on-law-and-covid-19. Please indicate your interest in the Forum here to receive updates, or write to us at wprohle@who.int