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Updates
on Plant Variety Protection Content 1. Editorial 2. UPOV’s 2014 Autumn Session – Upcoming Issues 3. Open Letter to the Secretary of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) on Implementation of Resolution 8/2013 Concerning Farmers' Rights 4. Guatemala: Social Mobilization Crowned with Victory 5. Ghana: CSOs continue protest against Plant Breeders’ Bill 6. New Publication: “Plant Variety Protection in Sub-Saharan Africa: Balancing Commercial and Smallholder Farmers’ Interests”
1. Editorial This
issue of the APBREBES Updates on Plant Variety Protection highlights
key items to be discussed at the UPOV 2014 Autumn Session, and a CSO
Open Letter to the ITPGRFA Secretary arguing that the approach of
the Secretary to implementation of Resolution 8/2013 which concerns
farmers’ rights is flawed. 2. UPOV’s 2014 Autumn Session – Upcoming Issues UPOV
will be meeting in Geneva for its Autumn session from 13th
to 17th October 2014. Its Administrative and Legal Committee
(CAJ) will meet on 13th October, the Administrative and
Legal Committee Advisory Group (CAJ-AG) on 14th and 17th
October, the Consultative Committee (CC) on 15th October
while its highest decision-making body, the UPOV Council on 16th
October. The meetings of the CAJ-AG and the CC are closed to observers. 3. Open Letter to the Secretary of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture on Farmers' Rights In a letter dated 18th September 2014 NGOs from around the world have asked Dr. Shakeel Bhatti, the Secretary to the International Treaty to reconsider his approach to implementing paragraph 3 of Resolution 8/2013 (adopted in September 2013) concerning implementation of Farmers' Rights (Article 9) of the Treaty. Paragraph 3 of Resolution 8/2013requests the Secretary to “invite UPOV and WIPO to jointly identify possible areas of interrelations among their respective international instruments”. 4. Guatemala: “Social mobilization crowned with victory” On 5th September 2014, the Congress of Guatemala repealed plant variety legislation that would have allowed Guatemala to accede to UPOV 1991. This legislation passed by Congress in June has sparked massive protests from farmers' organizations, indigenous movements and civil society. The revocation of the legislation also known as "Monsanto Law" follows a decision taken on 29 August by the Constitutional Court to suspend the law based on demands of different farmer and civil society organisations. 5. Ghana: CSOs continue protest against Plant Breeders’ Bill Civil society groups continue to protest against the Plant Variety Protection Bill, which is modeled on UPOV 1991. Previously farmer, labour unions, religious, political and civil society organisations have had street demonstration against the adoption of the Bill, expressing serious concerns over the lack of public consultation, the content of the Bill (in particular the undermining of farmers' rights), and Ghana's intention to join UPOV 1991. 6. New Publication: “Plant Variety Protection in Sub-Saharan Africa: Balancing Commercial and Smallholder Farmers’ Interests” by Bram De Jonge, in Journal of Politics and Law; Vol. 7, No. 3; 2014 See the Abstract Full text is available at http://ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/jpl/article/view/39778 Calendar of Events Autumn session of UPOV bodies, 13 to 17 October 2014
See
also the Upcoming
Events on our website Subscribe Subscribe to the APBREBES Newsletter. You are welcome to forward this issue to other interested individuals or organisations. Feedback & Contact 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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