The International Court of Justice (ICJ) recently issued its Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change, prompting growing discussion regarding its potential relevance to the programme of work of the World Health Organization (WHO) and its member states. In parallel, the 78th World Health Assembly adopted both the Global Action Plan on Climate Change and Health and the WHO Pandemic Agreement — the second instrument ever adopted by the Health Assembly under Article 19 of the WHO Constitution.
Before the Pandemic Agreement can open for signature, negotiators must finalise the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) System, with a deadline at the 80th World Health Assembly in May 2027. The Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) on the agreement has continued to meet in Geneva to operationalise implementation arrangements ahead of entry into force.
Following adoption of the PABS System, the IGWG will need to continue its work to establish rules of procedure for the Conference of the Parties (COP) and any subsidiary bodies that states party to the agreement may seek to create. This interim period — between the adoption of PABS and the first COP — presents a timely opportunity to examine the provisions of the agreement and consider them in light of the obligations identified in the advisory opinion, including those relating to its surveillance provisions (Article 4), One Health provisions (Article 5), and health and care workforce provisions (Article 7).
This Strategic Roundtable brings together invited experts with experience across the Pandemic Agreement negotiations and the ICJ advisory opinion process to help shape the programme of work for the Health Diplomacy Youth Network (HDYN)–World’s Youth for Climate Justice (WYCJ) Joint Task Force on the ICJ Advisory Opinion.
This roundtable-based session, which welcomes both intervenor and observer participation, will allow participants to help define the Task Force’s scope, methodology, and key analytical priorities as it begins its work.
