180. Our intervention will be in respect of agenda items 6 and 7.
181. I would want to recall previous information provided by Nigeria on these subject matters and we reiterate that the need for the mutual supportiveness of the TRIPS Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity cannot be over emphasized. Enhanced corporation of the TRIPS Agreement and other relevant international organizations and international instruments remain a basic principle of the TRIPS Agreement. We are in support of the harmonization of the TRIPS Agreement in other to be consistent with the CBD.
182. Traditional communities continue to be negatively impacted as a result of the illegal exploitation of their biological resources or associated traditional knowledge. My delegation is of the view that in order to develop a sound and viable technological base in developing countries and LDCs, any utilization of genetic resources from these regions must involve sustainable use in other to conserve biological diversity, and must show evidence of a fair and equitable sharing of benefits, as are the principles of the CBD. In other to achieve this, we advocate for the creation of a database and registration system to be maintained by the users of this genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore and which therefore contain valuable information as to the origin, source and contact details of the inventor that is accessible to the world. This will go a long way in upholding transparency and build trust among WTO Members.
183. As has been proposed in past African Group proposals, Article 29 of the TRIPS Agreement ought to be given more force to include traceability and a prior informed consent from the source, in respect of any product manufactured from the utilization of genetic components or traditional knowledge and folklore. In other words, full disclosure of the origin and source of any genetic resource or associated traditional knowledge should be made in exchange for patent protection. We call upon our trade partners who are users of the GRTKF to foster strategic collaborations with relevant countries towards developing a mechanism where the patent applicants in their respective countries will be mandated to disclose the actual source of any genetic material or TK utilized by them during the manufacturing of their products. This will go a long way in the administration of benefit sharing with the original owners.
184. The full disclosure requirement will not only be beneficial to Nigeria in terms of access to benefit sharing, but it will also, on the other hand, improve the quality of our substantive patent examination, which will in turn ensure the validity of patent grants in our country.
185. Finally, we urge Members to consider the collaborating with each other both regionally and internationally, in other to achieve this mutually beneficial goal.
