Minutes - TRIPS Council - View details of the intervention/statement

Mr. Martin Glass (Hong Kong, China)
Angola on behalf of Least-developed countries
F FOLLOW-UP TO THE REVIEW UNDER PARAGRAPH 8 OF THE DECISION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PARAGRAPH 6 OF THE DOHA DECLARATION ON THE TRIPS AGREEMENT AND PUBLIC HEALTH
145. The representative of Angola, speaking on behalf of the LDC Group, said that the LDC Group regarded the adoption of the Protocol as an important milestone in efforts to respond to the difficulties experienced by countries with no or insufficient manufacturing capacities. However, only few Members had deposited their instruments of acceptance six years after the adoption of the Protocol. It was therefore important to establish why countries were not coming forward so that corrective measures could be taken. For this purpose, the LDC Group supported the proposal that an open-ended workshop be held on the implementation of the TRIPS amendment. Such a forum could reveal where the impediments to the acceptance process lay, and how they could be removed. Information on how to accept the Protocol should be incorporated into the national and regional technical assistance and capacity building activities undertaken by the Secretariat. He noted that a number of topics for further discussion and information had been prepared through the Chairman's consultative process to facilitate the System's annual review. Sharing experiences would certainly provide clarity on a meaningful use of the System and any obstacles to such use. Information on alternatives would also be valuable to the LDCs.
IP/C/M/65