Opening Statement by India on behalf of the Asia and Pacific Group
at the 31st Session of IGC, delivered by Dr. Sumit Seth, First Secretary (Economic Affairs) on 19 September 2016

Thank you Mr. Chairman

1.         India has the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Asia & the Pacific Group.

Mr. Chairman

2.         Asia & the Pacific Group supports the working methodology and the work program proposed by you. Our group has studied the information note in which you have summarised the work undertaken by the IGC on Traditional Knowledge since the text-based negotiations began in 2010. 

3.         Asia Pacific Group favours the discussion on the core issues in order to arrive at a common landing zones namely on the issues ofObjectives, Beneficiaries, Subject matter, Scope of protection, and Exceptions and Limitations.

4.         How we define Traditional Knowledge will lay down the foundation of our work. The definition of Traditional knowledge should be inclusive and capture the unique characteristics of Traditional Knowledge. In our view, we should have a comprehensive definition which do not require separate eligibility criteria.

5.         Asia Pacific Group is in favour of a differential level of protection of Traditional Knowledge using a tiered approach. Such an approach will provide an opportunity to strike an optimal balance between the rights and interests of the owners, the users of Traditional Knowledge and the wider public interest.

6.         Establishing the level of rights based on the characteristic of the Traditional Knowledge could be a way forward towards narrowing the existing gaps, with the ultimate objective of reaching an agreement on an international legal instrument/instrumentswhich will ensure the balanced and effective protection of traditional knowledge (TK), in addition to protection of Genetic Resources and Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs).

7.         On the issue of Beneficiaries some members of our group have a different position, however most of the members of the Asia & the Pacific Group are of the view that it is pertinent to include national authorities within the definition of beneficiaries, if there are instances in which Traditional Knowledge cannot be directly attributed to a local community.

8.         Most of the members of the Asia & Pacific Group also are of the view that the member states need to recognise the important role played by the national authorities as the trustee of Traditional Knowledge where beneficiaries cannot be identified and in case where beneficiaries are identified, State should be accorded the fiduciary role in consultation with local communities.

9.         On the issue of the scope of the protection, Asia Pacific Group is in favour of providing maximal possible protection for widely held Traditional Knowledge, as such Knowledge especiallythe Traditional Medicinal Knowledge is of immense commercial value. Also, there has to be some form of economic rights flowing such as a user fee as decided by Contracting Parties and in case of research and development widely established concepts of Prior Informed Consent, Mutually Agreed Terms and Access Benefit Sharing should be included while providing protection to such widely held Traditional Knowledge.

10.       On exceptions and limitations, it is of fundamental importance to ensure that the provisions should be considered in a balanced way between the specific situations of each member state and the substantive interests of TK holders. Hence, the integrality of the principle of differential protections of Traditional Knowledge should be reflected in the text of the instrument/instruments.

11.       Some members have a different position, however most of the members of the Asia Pacific Group would like to reiterate that there is a need for a legally binding instrument/instruments providing effective protection of Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expression.

12.       Before concluding, our Group would like to express its appreciation for the leadership provided by you Mr. Chairman and the Vice-Chairs in the previous 2 sessions of IGC. We would also like to thank the Secretariat for meticulous preparations for this session.

We are hopeful the discussions in this session would lead to visible progress in the work of this committee.

I thank you