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

H.E. Ambassador Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter
5; 6; 7 REVIEW OF THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 27.3(B); RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TRIPS AGREEMENT AND THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY; PROTECTION OF TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND FOLKLORE
169.   The Government of Zimbabwe reiterates its previous information provided on this agenda item. As a signatory to the Convention on Biodiversity, Zimbabwe attaches great importance to its international obligations under the CBD. We join other delegations in calling for the harmonisation of the TRIPS Agreement to the CBD as we are of the view that the TRIPS Agreement does not prevent a person from claiming patent rights on an invention based on a genetic resource or traditional knowledge. 170.   Recalling Paragraph 19 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration of 2001, and reiterating that Section 33 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe inculcates a right to culture for our people, it states, "The State must take measures to preserve, protect and promote indigenous knowledge systems, including knowledge of the medicinal and other properties of animal and plant life possessed by local communities and people." 171.   The TRIPS Agreement is indifferent to acts of biopiracy and obligations under the CBD in respect of prior informed consent and benefit sharing for accessing biological resources. Furthermore, the TRIPS Agreement does not require patent applicants to disclose origin of GR and TK used in a claimed invention. 172.   It is therefore our considered declaration that the TRIPS Agreement be amended to introduce for a mandatory disclosure requirement of the country or source of origin of GR or associated TK. The argument that this issue should be dealt with in another organisation, being the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) is redundant as none of the WIPO treaties and discussions deal with trade-related aspects of intellectual property. 173.   The delegation of Zimbabwe has noted that WIPO has recently published a study entitled, "Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions." We propose that this Council consider inviting WIPO to brief Members on its findings as this and other studies by the Organisation could benefit us immensely in our discussions.
The Council took note of the statements made and agreed to revert to the matters at its next meeting.
22.   The Chair proposed that, following past practice, agenda items 5, 6 and 7 be addressed together. She recalled that there had been important developments in this area in many WTO Members that have not been shared with this Council. So far, only 27 Members had responded to the List of Questions on Article 27.3(b), with Mexico and Ukraine being the most recent submissions. Two longstanding procedural issues under these items had been discussed extensively on the record, at every regular meeting of the Council for almost ten years now:
a. The suggestion for the Secretariat to update the three factual notes on the Council's discussions on the TRIPS and CBD and related items; these notes had been initially prepared in 2002 and last updated in 2006; and
b. the request to invite the CBD Secretariat to brief the Council on the Nagoya Protocol to the CBD, initially proposed in October 2010.
23.   Delegations' positions on these issues were well known and already extensively recorded in the Council's minutes. Considering that the agenda was particularly full for the present one-day meeting, she strongly suggested that delegations focus their interventions on suggestions on how to resolve the differences and make progress on the substantive issues. Existing positions were very well known and were very clearly on the record, so there was no need to reiterate them.
24.   The representatives of Brazil; Tanzania, on behalf of the African Group; Bangladesh; South Africa; Zimbabwe; China; India; Nigeria; Kenya; Switzerland; Indonesia; Canada; the United States of America; the European Union; and Japan took the floor
25.   The Council took note of the statements made and agreed to revert to the matters at its next meeting.
IP/C/M/95, IP/C/M/95/Add.1