PHA-Exch> Sign On letter on TRIPS plus standards in Customs Organisation

[PHM Global Secretariat]

Sign On letter on TRIPS plus standards in Customs OrganisationDear friends,

Kindly be informed that the PHM Global has endorsed the below letter that was earlier circulated by the Third World Network. We encourage all the PHM affiliated organizations, networks or activists to endorse the letter.

Please send the name of your organization, country, contact person and email address, by 28th of October, to Sangeeta Shashikant (ssangeeta at myjaring.net).

Kind regards,

Hani Serag
Global Secretariat Coordinator,
People's Health Movement (PHM)
Email: secretariat at phmovement.org
Web: www.phmovement.org
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Dear All,

Below is a sign-on letter to the World Customs Organisation (WCO)  protesting the TRIPS plus standards on IP enforcement that are being pushed through by the Secretariat. These standards if adopted will have dire consequences for the right to development of developing countries and affect access to essential items such as access to medicines and knowledge. 

Several developing countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Cuba etc. have taken issue with the TRIPS plus standards being pushed at WCO as well as with the lack of transparency and accountability within the WCO.

In addition, only business groups that are pro-IP enforcement are presently allowed to participate and provide input into the standard setting process.

This sign-on letter raises all of the abovementioned issues and is intended to provide support to the efforts of developing countries to protest against these standards and to open up the process in WCO so that the implications of the standards that are being negotiated are better understood. 

If your organisation is able to sign on to this letter, please send the name of your organization country, contact person and email address by 28th October to ssangeeta at myjaring.net 

Please feel free to circulate this to your allied groups and ask them to respond by 28th October to the email address ssangeeta at myjaring.net   

This letter will be sent to the WCO on 29th October before its next meeting.    

Thanks for showing solidarity. 
Pls do not hesitate to contact us should you require more information. 

Sangeeta Shashikant
Third World Network
email: ssangeeta at myjaring.net 

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SIGN-ON LETTER TO THE WORLD CUSTOMS ORGANISATION

20th October 2008

Mr. Kunio Mikuriya 
Office of the Secretary General 
World Customs Organization 
30, Rue du Marché B-1210 Brussels

Dear Sir,

We the undersigned public interest groups are writing to raise our concerns 
about recent developments in the World Customs Organisation, in particular 
the setting of intellectual property enforcement standards that go beyond 
the TRIPS agreement (TRIPS plus) in the SECURE Working Group, the lack of 
dialogue with, and involvement of public interest organisations in the 
standard setting process and the lack of transparency surrounding the 
Working Group's work. 

IP is a complex topic and the subject of intense debate nationally as well 
as globally especially since the establishment of minimum IP obligations by 
the TRIPS Agreement. For developing countries and even consumers in 
developed countries, these standards have created severe problems in terms 
of access to essential items such as medicines, knowledge and other tools 
necessary for development. It is therefore of utmost importance to ensure 
that the policy space and flexibilities that are inherent in the TRIPS 
Agreement are retained, to always enable the right balance between public 
interests and the interests of the IP holder as well as to safeguard the 
right to development of developing countries.  

Article 7 of the TRIPS Agreement is clear and explicit on this: "The 
protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights should contribute 
to the promotion of technological innovation and to the transfer and 
dissemination of technology, to the mutual advantage of producers and users 
of technological knowledge and in a manner conducive to social and economic 
welfare, and to a balance of rights and obligations".

In this context the expansive IP enforcement standards being pushed 
hurriedly in the SECURE Working Group are of deep concern. It is well known 
that the recent push for strong TRIPS plus enforcement standards comes from 
developed countries and their commercial entities, and they are seeking 
international organizations to set such standards on their behalf. Noting 
the recent developments at the WCO, it appears that WCO is targeted as one 
such organisation.

We are strongly of the view that activities taking place within the SECURE 
Working Group such as the "Working Draft on Provisional Standards Employed 
by Customs for Uniform Rights Enforcement" are heavily tilted in favor of 
the rights of the IP holders and go against the interests of developing 
countries as they are TRIPS plus in nature and will not only undermine 
access for developing countries but also require these countries to divert 
public resources into enforcement of private rights. And although the SECURE 
standards are purported to be "voluntary", it can be anticipated that 
developed country parties and other entities will put pressure on developing 
countries to adopt these as national law, via bilateral instruments or 
technical assistance.

The activities also extend beyond the authority, capacity as well as the 
expertise of customs officials. For example, customs officials would not 
have the capacity or the expertise to determine whether a particular 
pharmaceutical product infringes patent rights or is a legitimate generic 
medicine being imported for local needs, consistent with flexibilities 
available within the TRIPS Agreement. In addition the standards introduced 
could potentially work as a barrier to international trade of generic 
medicines.

Thus we firmly believe that the WCO and the SECURE Working Group in 
particular needs to engage in a long period of reflection and discussion 
before adopting any instrument in relation to IP. This is because if the 
delicate balance between the public interests and IP holder as well as the 
policy space found in the TRIPS agreement is lost, the consequences 
particularly in developing countries will be dire.

We are also very concerned, that despite the wide-ranging effects of the 
SECURE Working Group's work and its implications on access to knowledge, the 
right to health as well as other fundamental rights of citizens of the 
world, SECURE only benefits from the inputs of the private sector which 
favor an IP enforcement agenda. In addition documents for discussion in the 
SECURE Working Group as well as meeting reports and other relevant documents 
are not readily available on the WCO's website, making it difficult for 
public interest groups to follow developments on the activities of the WCO 
as well as of SECURE. 

In view of the above, we the undersigned public interest organizations 
urgently call on the WCO to:

(1) enable the accreditation of public interest NGOs to the various WCO 
bodies and in particular the SECURE Working Group, to participate in 
discussions of any instruments pertaining to intellectual property rights;

(2) make publicly available all documents that will be considered in, as 
well as the meeting reports, agenda, and participants list of the various 
WCO bodies, in particular the SECURE Working Group;

(3) provide an opportunity to public interest NGOs to submit written inputs 
on the documents being the object of consideration by SECURE Working Group 
and to disseminate these inputs widely;

(4) initiate public discussion within the context of the SECURE Working 
Group, with the participation of a wide variety of stakeholders and experts 
reflecting a balance of perspectives to provide an opportunity for the 
Working Group to better understand the implications of SECURE standards. The 
discussion should also deliberate on the appropriate role and scope of IP 
enforcement and of customs officials in these matters and accordingly the 
role of WCO (if any) in these matters.

Signatories
Act Up Paris
Center for Encounter and Active Non-Violence, Austria
Coalition for Health Promotion and Social Development (HEPS-Uganda)
Consortium for trade and development, India
Consumers Association of Penang, Malaysia
Edmonds Institute, US
Economic Justice and Development Organization (EJAD), Pakistan
Health Action International (Global)
Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, India 
Third World Network
People's Health Movement
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