Results of the 2006 Assemblies of WIPO Member States
" As a global body encouraging creativity and innovation, as well as being a market-oriented provider of services for a demanding cross-section of users, WIPO’s constituency is wide. Our goal has been to ensure that the totality of that constituency is included in the drive to help identify, protect and use intellectual assets." - Director General Kamil Idris in his opening address to the Assemblies.
The Assemblies of WIPO’s 183 Member States concluded on October 3, having achieved consensus on every item on the agenda.
At the closing session, Director General Kamil Idris thanked delegates for the wisdom they had brought to bear during the discussions and for their good will in ensuring that all items handled by the General Assembly were concluded successfully. He looked forward to the continuation of this spirit of determination and commitment to enable the Organization to face the challenges ahead. The WIPO General Assembly was chaired by Ambassador Enrique Manalo, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, who joined Dr. Idris in extolling the constructive approach which had prevailed throughout the Assemblies.
The principal decisions of the meetings that took place from September 25 to October 3 include the following:
The Assemblies adopted a new mechanism for the preparation and follow up of the program and budget which strengthens the role of Member States. Members welcomed the Secretariat’s progress report on the implementation of the Joint Inspection Unit’s recommendations, including progress on the desk-to-desk review. They also welcomed a report on the Secretariat’s initiatives in the last year to strengthen budgetary control and managerial processes, including a comprehensive revision of human resources strategies, procurement procedures and internal oversight.
The General Assembly renewed the mandate of the Provisional Committee on Proposals Related to a WIPO Development Agenda (PCDA) for a further year. Member States reviewed the two sessions of the PCDA in February and June 2006, and emphasized the need to continue discussions on the proposals submitted so far in the process. The General Assembly agreed that the PCDA would hold two 5-day sessions to allow for structured in-depth discussions on all 111 proposals made so far. The lists of proposals to be discussed in the first and second sessions were identified.
In order to streamline the process of examining all proposals in an inclusive manner, the PCDA will seek to narrow down the proposals to eliminate repetition or duplication; separate actionable proposals from declarations of general principles and objectives; and note those proposals which relate to existing activities in WIPO and those which do not. Ambassador Manalo will produce initial working documents in consultation with Member States.
The PCDA will report to the 2007 General Assembly, with recommendations for action on agreed...
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