— key focus of Guyana Mission in Geneva

PROGRAMMES tackling issues of health, the environment and intellectual property rights are key areas of focus of the Guyana Mission in Geneva, Switzerland, Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge said.

Speaking at a media briefing on Thursday, Greenidge said the mission is working in partnership with key international organisations in the areas identified.
He explained that through the Mission, his ministry sought assistance in strengthening the capacity of the Finance Ministry to evaluate budgeting and planning decisions through a green economy lens.

“The ministry intervened with the UNEP [United Nations Environment Programme] in early 2017 to this end and the latter undertook the modelling work,” he explained while disclosing that the ministry has received a Guyana Green Economy Modelling Study – Synthesis report. That report is currently being examined.

Earlier this year, the Geneva office initiated discussions with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the desirability of the development of a “public health programme designed to reduce cancer incidence and mortality and improve quality of life of cancer patients”.

It was explained that the report of the WHO/IAEA team will be made available in 2019. Earlier this month, the team spent a week in Guyana producing a baseline study and recommendations for the way forward to effective cancer control interventions and investments.

“In response to engaging with Nestlé at their headquarters in Switzerland, a mission of three Nestlé professionals was sent to Guyana. All indications point to a concrete national private sector, government and international private sector collaboration being launched in 2019. We look forward to this,” the foreign affairs minister said.

He added that subsequent to the accreditation of Guyana’s ambassador to Finland, the latter’s education ministry and the Geneva Mission initiated discussion about possible collaboration in education. A brief report on findings with some ideas will be shared with the education ministry here.

The visit of the President of the Human Rights Council to Guyana and Guyana’s hosting of the workshop and events celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights were a huge success, Minister Greenidge said.

“In the very important area of intellectual property rights, there is to be an important World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) programme of support for Guyana in 2019. This includes a National Intellectual Property Strategy (NIPS) preparation which will take approximately six months. The NIPS will provide a blueprint on how to move forward at the national level on intellectual property matters,” the foreign affairs minister further detailed.

He noted that on the vexing question of copyright, WIPO has completed its review of Guyana’s draft copyright legislation and is proposing to review the country’s industrial property legislation.

“WIPO will continue to work with the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs (MOIPA) on Geographic Indications (GIs) and Traditional Knowledge. I should add that at the regional level, WIPO is also assisting CARICOM to develop a regional system for IP registration, in keeping with Article 66 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas which provides for ‘the establishment of a regional administration for intellectual property rights, except copyright’.”

“Patent protection is available in all member states of CARICOM. However, to obtain protection for a single invention across the whole of the community, applicants are required to satisfy the law and regulations of 14 different countries. In this regard, WIPO has submitted a draft convention which is being considered by the COTED,” he explained.

The main role of that mission is to interface and participate in United Nations debates on emerging matters and represent the interests of Guyana as a small state.