WTO : GC suspends agenda item on paragraph 8 of MC12 TRIPS Decision (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
Members on 20 December agreed to suspend the agenda item relating to paragraph eight of the WTO' 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) Decision on the TRIPS Agreement concerning the extension of the Decision to cover the "production and supply of COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics" until the next session of the WTO's General Council (GC), expected to take place on 2-3 March 2023, said people familiar with the development.

Trade : China blocks EU panel requests over trade with Lithuania, IPRs (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
Two requests for the establishment of dispute panels by the European Union, one on Chinese measures concerning trade in goods and services with Lithuania, and the other on China's enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPRs), were blocked by China at a meeting of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) on 20 December.

Russia : LGBTQI "propaganda" law imperils HIV prevention (PRIV)
(IPS, Bratislava)
A new law banning LGBTQI "propaganda" in Russia will further stigmatise LGBTQI people in the country and could worsen what is already one of the world's worst HIV/AIDS epidemics, critics have warned.