On Monday, 22 September 2014, Kenya, on behalf of the African Group, delivered this opening statement. On normative matters, the African Group expressed the following views regarding the work of the SCCR:
With regard to the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), the Group would like to state that it has always been supportive of the proposed treaty for the protection of broadcasting organizations as per the 2007 General Assembly mandate. This commitment has not changed. In addition, in relation to exceptions and limitations for libraries and archives and education and research, the Group has made substantive proposals in various topics and has been working with other proponents of text to come up with consolidated text. It is important to note that during the last SCCR, Brazil on behalf of the proponents of texts announced the finalization of the consolidation process with regard to all topics under the libraries and archives. This initiative has gone a long way in bringing the texts to the desired maturity to enable this Assembly take a decision to convene a diplomatic conference to adopt the treaty on exception and limitations for libraries and archives. While a lot remains to be done in the area of education and research, with political will, the text in this area can also be brought to maturity fairly quickly to enable the General Assembly in 2015 to take a decision to convene a diplomatic conference by 2016.
On the work of the IGC, the African Group noted:
With regard to the work of Intergovernmental Committee on Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC), the Group believes that time has come for this Assembly to make the decision to convene a diplomatic conference to adopt a legally binding instrument(s) for the effective protection of Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions. A lot of progress has been achieved during the year to enable this Assembly to convene a diplomatic conference in 2015. We note that the mandate of IGC ends in 2015 and therefore the decision to convene the diplomatic conference has to be taken during this session.
With respect the disclosure requirements of the proposed Design Law Treaty in relation to the registration of traditional designs and traditional cultural expressions, the African Group stated,
Another critical element in the proposed Design Law Treaty which is important to the Group is the issue of the registration of traditional designs and traditional cultural expressions. We note Article 3 of the draft articles of proposed Design Law Treaty provides a closed list of requirements which can be requested by parties to the treaty.
With developed countries seeking extensive exceptions and limitations in Traditional Knowledge, Traditional Cultural Expressions, and Genetic Resources negotiations, it would be impossible for some of the provisions to be implemented especially in regard to disclosure requirements if the Design Law Treaty is implemented before the IGC process is finalized.
Please find the full statement below.
General Assembly; African Group Opening StatementMadam President,
The African Group is happy to see you presiding over this Assembly and is confident that under your able leadership we shall reach a satisfactory result. The Group would also like to thank the secretariat for the excellent arrangements and the documents prepared for this session.
Madam President,
The past one year since the last ordinary session of the Assembly has been very difficult with protracted discussions and negotiations in various committees of WIPO. While the African Group has been constructive in its engagement, it is sad to note that there has been very little progress on issues of interest to the Group.
The Group also notes that all the issues referred by the Assembly to the various committees remain unresolved and some are back again before the Assembly for direction and consideration.
Some of the challenges being faced by the Group in negotiations include the lack of political will by our partners to engage in good faith, in the spirit of give and take. We believe that WIPO is big enough to meet the interests of all Member States be they developing or developed and hope that all Member States will engage in good faith and in true cooperative spirit so as to advance all issues of interest to various groups.
Turning to some of the issues of critical importance to the Group;
On external offices, the African Group would like to reiterate once again its position on this matter; the Group would like to see a decision during this session of the Assembly to open two external offices in Africa in the current biennium. We note that the funds for opening the two offices were budgeted for and hope that this Assembly will finally take the decision to open the two offices in Africa.
In this regard, the Group would like to thank all the facilitators starting with the Ambassador of Belarus, the Ambassador of Singapore and finally Amb. Fitschen, the DPR German Mission for their tireless efforts in leading informal consultations on the guiding principles. While it was not possible to have the guiding principles finalized before the Assembly, we are very close to reaching an agreement.
As indicated in our previous statements, the Group views the adoption of the guiding principles and the decision on number and location as a package. We therefore look forward to adopting the guiding principles together with a decision on number and location during this Assembly.
With regard to the work of Intergovernmental Committee on Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC), the Group believes that time has come for this Assembly to make the decision to convene a diplomatic conference to adopt a legally binding instrument(s) for the effective protection of Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions.
A lot of progress has been achieved during the year to enable this Assembly to convene a diplomatic conference in 2015. We note that the mandate of IGC ends in 2015 and therefore the decision to convene the diplomatic conference has to be taken during this session.
On the proposed Design Law Treaty, the Group would like to state that the inclusion of technical assistance as an integral part of the treaty is still an important element to the Group. This is critical as it will ensure predictability and availability of technical assistance to implement the treaty.
We note that discussions on technical assistance have of late become convoluted as evidenced in stalemates in various committees of WIPO. Despite statements of commitment on the provision of technical assistance, the reality is different and remains bleak. For example, the report on External Review on Technical Assistance in the area of Cooperation for Development which was finalized in August 2011 is yet to be implemented. Instead of focusing on the implementation of the recommendations, there has been a push to discuss best practices for the effective delivery of technical assistance without first digesting the various recommendations in the report.
The stalemate is also affecting the implementation of Article 51 under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) which is critical in enabling developing countries implement the treaty. The implementation of this critical provision has become doubtful given that it is now being tied to the resolution of stalemate in the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) yet there is no goodwill to resolve the matter in that committee.
That Article 51 of the Patent Cooperation Treaty according to some Member States can only be implemented after resolving the stalemate in the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property is a sign of lack of political will to provide targeted technical assistance to developing countries which can have the desired impact in developing the necessary capacity and infrastructure to enable them participate fully in the intellectual property system.
It is for this reason that the African Group would like to have the assurance that targeted technical assistance will actually be provided to implement the Design Law Treaty by having a specific provision within the treaty. We fear that leaving it outside the treaty will make it hostage to the ongoing stalemate in CDIP and PCT.
It should be noted that during the last session of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property, some Member States questioned the relevance and usefulness of the Committee and stopped short of calling for its disbandment. It is therefore difficult to seek comfort in the statements that technical assistance will always be provided regardless of whether there is a binding provision or not when the evidence suggests otherwise.
Furthermore, during the last IGC, one delegation questioned the proposed provision on technical assistance and capacity building in the draft articles in Genetic Resources and Traditional Cultural expressions texts. The delegation wondered how this organization could provide technical assistance and capacity building to developing countries when they are supposed to be experts in the area.
The discussions on technical assistance have therefore become philosophical arguments with no guarantees as to the adequacy and relevance of the technical
assistance to be provided. This is why the African Group is asking for a clear binding provision to implement the proposed Design Law Treaty.Another critical element in the proposed Design Law Treaty which is important to the Group is the issue of the registration of traditional designs and traditional cultural expressions. We note Article 3 of the draft articles of proposed Design Law Treaty provides a closed list of requirements which can be requested by parties to the treaty.
With developed countries seeking extensive exceptions and limitations in Traditional Knowledge, Traditional Cultural Expressions, and Genetic Resources negotiations, it would be impossible for some of the provisions to be implemented especially in regard to disclosure requirements if the Design Law Treaty is implemented before the IGC process is finalized.
It should be noted that the proposed Design Law Treaty is not a substantive treaty but a formality treaty. The closed list of formalities being proposed in treaty will therefore adversely affect the provisions in the Traditional Knowledge/ Traditional Cultural Expressions texts especially in regard to protection against the misappropriation and misuse of traditional designs if the Design Law Treaty were to be adopted before the conclusion of negotiations in IGC.
In this regard, it would be important for the adoption of this treaty to await the completion of negotiations in IGC so that when formalities are adopted, they can also take into account the provisions of the various instruments under IGC. This is critical if we are to avoid rendering the work of IGC useless.
With regard to the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), the Group would like to state that it has always been supportive of the proposed treaty for the protection of broadcasting organizations as per the 2007 General Assembly mandate. This commitment has not changed. In addition, in relation to exceptions and limitations for libraries and archives and education and research, the Group has made substantive proposals in various topics and has been working with other proponents of text to come up with consolidated text. It is important to note that during the last SCCR, Brazil on behalf of the proponents of texts announced the finalization of the consolidation process with regard to all topics under the libraries and archives. This initiative has gone a long way in bringing the texts to the desired maturity to enable this Assembly take a decision to convene a diplomatic conference to adopt the treaty on exception and limitations for libraries and archives. While a lot remains to be done in the area of education and research, with political will, the text in this area can also be brought to maturity fairly quickly to enable the General Assembly in 2015 to take a decision to convene a diplomatic conference by 2016.
On Governance of WIPO, the Group welcomes the recommendations of the Joint Inspection Unit on the review of WIPO management and administration which has made a specific recommendation to the WIPO General Assembly to review the WIPO governance framework as well as its current practices with a view to strengthening the capacity of governing bodies to guide and monitor the work of the organization. The African Group as well as other Member States have made proposals and comments in this area. The Group would therefore like to see informal consultations launched to deal with issues related to governance in a comprehensive manner.
Last but not least, the Group welcomes the report of the External Auditor and the recommendations contained therein. In particular, the Group would like to have a new definition on the development expenditure adopted so as to enable Member States to track the resources being devoted to the implementation of development agenda recommendations. During the last session of Programme and Budget Committee we were very close to reaching an agreement on a new definition. We therefore look forward to having informal consultations in this area during this Assembly.
I thank you.