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Info Service on Biodiversity and Traditional Knowledge (Sept16/01) Updates on Plant Variety Protection Special Issue: New APBREBES Publication, 27 September 2016 1. New Publication: Chee Yoke Ling et al., Farmers’ Right to Participate in Decision-making – implementing Article 9.2 (c) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Working Paper, APBREBES, 2016 2. Calendar of Events, Subscription, Feedback & Contact Authors: Chee Yoke Ling (Third World Network), Barbara Adams (Global Policy Forum), with contributions from Sangeeta Shashikant (Third World Network) and Laurent Gaberell (Public Eye) Published by: Association for Plant Breeding for the Benefit of Society (APBREBES) and its member organisations: Development Fund, Public Eye, SEARICE and Third World Network The right of farmers to participate in decision making at the national level on matters related to the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture is recognized in Article 9.2(c) of the International Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (“the Treaty”). It is a prerequisite for the full and effective implementation of Farmers’ Rights. Yet, as this report shows, the operationalization of Article 9.2(c) at the national, regional and international levels is severely lacking. Farmers face considerable challenges in exercising their right to participate at all these levels. Consequently, decisions on policies and laws do not not only ignore farmers’ needs, but also adversely affect farmers’ freedom to operate. This is evidenced for example by the formulation of seed laws, in particular those related to plant variety protection, seed certification and marketing laws, that restrict and in some cases criminalize farmers’ right to freely use, save, exchange and sell farm saved seed/propagating material. The publication presents the context of the Treaty and Article 9.2(c). It analyzes submissions by contracting parties, civil society organizations and farmer organizations on Article 9.2(c) and discusses implementation at the Treaty level. The study also presents selected national, regional and international experiences, identifying key challenges in operationalizing farmers’ right to participate at the national, regional and international levels. Learning from the challenges, and drawing from the norms, principles, good practices and mechanisms that exist within the UN system, especially within the human rights framework, this paper discusses some of the key elements that are essential for the effective operationalization of farmers’ right to participate in decision-making. The publication presents recommendations for Governments, the Treaty, as wells as regional and international organisations and processes in order to operationalize Article 9.2(c). Chee Yoke Ling et al., Farmers’ Right to Participate in Decision-making – implementing Article 9.2 (c) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Working Paper, APBREBES, 2016
Autumn 2016 Session of UPOV bodies Monday, 24 October , Seminar on propagating and harvested material in the context of the UPOV Convention (open to the public) Monday (evening), 24 October Meeting on the Development of a Prototype Electronic Form Tuesday, 25 October, Administrative and Legal Committee Tuesday (evening), 25 October Working Group on Variety Denominations Wednesday, 26th October, Symposium on possible interrelations between the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) and the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV Convention) Thursday, 27 October, Consultative Committee (closed to observers) Thursday, 27 October (evening), Working Group on a Possible International System of Cooperation Friday, 28 October, Council See also the Upcoming Events on our website
Subscribe to the APBREBES Newsletter. You are welcome to forward this issue to other interested individuals or organisations.
Susanne Gura, APBREBES Coordinator Tel: 0049 228 948 0670 Mob: 0049 177 669 1400 Mail: contact@apbrebes.org Web: www.apbrebes.org
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