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Addressee: WIPO
Full Text
The Permanent Forum is concerned that the WIPO Voluntary Fund for Accredited Indigenous and Local Communities is depleted, and emphasizes the critical importance of the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples and local communities in the negotiations of the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore in accordance with article 41 of the Declaration. To that end, the Forum strongly encourages the Member States of WIPO to contribute to the WIPO Voluntary Fund and invites them to explore and identify innovative ways of raising funds for the Fund, including through use of the regular budget of WIPO. The Forum also recommends that WIPO increase the number of indigenous participants through the regular budget and allow their full and effective participation in the negotiations.
Responses
In 2019, WIP stated: The specific recommendation to WIPO referred to in paragraph 58 of the report of the Permanent Forum’s 17th session has found a strong echo in a decision by the 2018 WIPO General Assembly. This decision “recogniz[es] the importance of the participation of indigenous peoples and local communities in the work of the IGC [WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore], not[es] that the WIPO Voluntary Fund is depleted, and encourag[es] Member States to consider contributing to the Fund and consider other alternative funding arrangements.” (See WIPO document A/58/10 para. 43.)
Both the decision of the General Assembly and the recommendation made by the Permanent Forum were recalled at the 38th session of the IGC that took place from December 10 to 14, 2018 (see document WIPO/GRTKF/IC/38/3 REV). Among the decisions taken at its 38th session, the IGC “strongly encouraged and called upon members of the Committee and all interested public and private entities to contribute to the WIPO Voluntary Fund for Accredited Indigenous and Local Communities” and, “[r]ecalling the Decisions of the Fiftieth Session of the WIPO General Assembly, also encouraged members of the Committee to consider other alternative funding arrangements.”
The WIPO Voluntary Fund is presently depleted. The WIPO Director General and the Chair of the IGC have joined strong calls for its replenishment (see also WIPO’s answers under B6 below).
The 2018/2019 overall resources for Program 4 (Traditional Knowledge, Traditional Cultural Expressions, and Genetic Resources) show an increase of 15.4 per cent as compared to the 2016/17 Approved Budget. Program 4 includes implementation strategies such as "Extend administrative support for initiatives aimed at enhancing the effective participation of representatives of indigenous peoples and local communities in WIPO’s work, including logistical management of the WIPO Voluntary Fund for Accredited Indigenous and Local Communities".
Final Report of UNPFII Session 17 (2018)
Area of Work
