With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to grip the world, Justice and Correctional Services Minister, Ronald Lamola, has joined calls for a waiver of intellectual property rights tied to COVID-19 vaccines.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe world is an interconnected society and therefore, we share a common fate. It is against this background that we call for the waiver of intellectual property rights tied to COVID-19 vaccines. Not only is \u2018vaccine apartheid\u2019 morally indefensible; it deepens global inequalities and erodes our ability build a truly global community,\u201d said the Minister on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Lamola made these comments during the Greek National Day and the Bicentennial Anniversary of the Greek Revolution on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be remiss of us not to acknowledge that these momentous celebrations are marred by the advent of COVID-19, which has sparred no nation. Now more than ever, we are called upon by our endangered future to deepen our historical ties and form a united front against vaccine apartheid or nationalism,\u201d said the Minister in his virtual address.<\/p>\n
The Minister wished President Katerina Sakelaropoulou, the government, the people of Greece and the diaspora well on their 200th celebration of the Independence of the Hellenic Republic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe continued presence in and commitment to this land of ours of an estimated 45 000 Greek-South Africans, stands as testimony to the shared values and common destiny that we share as governments, cultures, and democratic civilizations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can thus be rightly expected of us to continue the reaffirmation and search for closer cooperation, as we seek to address the global challenges that face our planet and our peoples,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Lamola noted that the celebration coincides with South Africa\u2019s Human Rights Month.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we celebrate this very important month of our nascent democracy, we do so in the name of our stalwart and heroine, Mme Charlotte Manye Maxeke.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike Laskarina Boubourina, Charlotte Maxeke is a heroine of our struggle. We can without a doubt say without the contributions of Maxeke and Boubourina alike, our nations may have been remarkably different to what they have become today,\u201d said the Minister.<\/p>\n
South Africa, he said, commends the people of Greece for their commitment to building a society anchored on democracy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have no doubt that as we celebrate 25 years of constitutionalism, we will look to you for insights on how we continue to entrench constitutionalism, democracy, and the rule of law as a framework for a better society,\u201d said Lamola. – SAnews.gov.za<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to grip the world, Justice and Correctional Services Minister, Ronald Lamola, has joined calls for a waiver of intellectual property rights tied to COVID-19 vaccines. \u201cThe world is an interconnected society and therefore, we share a common fate. It is against this background that we call for the waiver of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[38678],"class_list":{"0":"post-184518","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-south-africa","7":"tag-sanews","8":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184518\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}