Monday morning at WIPO: Developing countries are an obstacle to development, says Switzerland
As could be expected, the first item of the morning was about the procedures of the meeting. These were rather quickly agreed on, as there were only two new proposals by Bahrain and the UK. The main focus of the morning session is how to structure the debate. There is a power struggle about who gets to set the agenda: In diplomacy, the question of how something is discussed is almost as important as the question what is discussed.
After a merciful break at the beginning of the meeting, delegations taking the floor have started congratulating the chairman on his election again. I had hoped this was over after the first meeting. However, once one delegation started, it seems that the others could not stand back.
The representative of Switzerland made an impressive statement. Lamenting that not everyone recognised the benefits of a strong “IP culture” for development, he accused developing countries and Civil Society of themselves becoming obstacles to development. I find it interesting that Switzerland reckons that developing countries are too busy knocking stones together to start fires to recognise the possibilities offered to them by rich countries which just know so much better what is good for development.
Not only is this condescending and completely ignorant of the fact that it is probably the developing countries themselves who know what’s best for them. It also points to a mindset that is best expressed as follows: “We are WIPO. You will be developed. Resistance is futile.” I am proud to be part of a Civil Society that is an obstacle to this sort of development.
The weather outside, of course, is glorious. Nursing my sunburns from yesterday’s swim in Lake Geneva, I appreciate the curtains blocking the view to the blue sky. If you have to spend the day sweating together with 300 people in suits, ignorance is bliss.
A special treat: The Secretariat delivers a defense of its past work. They basically read out WIPO’s mission statement, saying that the Secretariat has never deviated from the path it was told to go by the member states. It sounded like an attempt to delegate responsibility for WIPO’s past work on the member states. Funny that the Secretariat should feel so guilty about its work. Or did I get something wrong there?