Achievement of the sustainable development goals and economic growth is possible only after the aggressor state of russia withdraws its troops from the territory of Ukraine. This was emphasized by the Ukrainian delegation at the 30th session of the WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) in Geneva.

The full-scale invasion of the russian federation devalues all collective efforts to develop and promote IP. This was emphasized by Marharyta Okseniuk, Deputy Director of the Investment, Innovation and IP Department of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, in her address to the Chair, the WIPO Secretariat and representatives of the member states.

«Ukraine marks 426 days of the war for survival after russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine. On this day, I would like to remind you of 19,514 cases of forced transfers of Ukrainian children, including under the pretext of psychiatric and medical rehabilitation. About 4,390 Ukrainian children with a special status (orphans and children deprived of parental care) remain in the temporarily occupied territories and in russia. About 43 camps for the "ideological re-education" of Ukrainian children that were created on russian territory and in the temporarily occupied Crimea. These young people do not learn how to commercialize their products or protect their IP. We may never be able to show them collaborative efforts to promote IP. Moreover, I want to remind you about 10 thousand civilians, including 465 children, who will never again be able to contribute to the global IP sphere ever», - emphasized the representative of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine.

«We can discuss sustainable development only after the war is over», - emphasized Bohdan Paduchak, First Deputy Director of the Ukrainian IP Office:

“The role of SMEs and innovation in achieving economic recovery and sustainable development is crusial. It is also important that support is provided to the most vulnerable social groups to ensure their engagement in inclusive growth and counteract the negative factors of the war. Ukraine recognizes the valuable efforts of WIPO in developing programs aimed at building IP capacity for such groups, including through various DA projects”, - said the representative of the IP office.

At the same time, during the 30th session of the WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property, the russian delegation systematically tried to conceal information about the impact of the full-scale war and to prevent statements in support of Ukraine. However, the representatives of the delegations supported our country: Poland - on behalf of the countries of the Regional Group of Central Europe and Baltic States; Switzerland - on behalf of the countries of Group B; Sweden - on behalf of the European Union and its member states.

The IP community remains focused on the goals of the WIPO Strategic Action Plan to support and empower women and youth in the IP sphere, methodological and economic research, digitalization, etc.

The participants discussed the draft Agenda of the 30th session of the WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP):

• Reporting on a number of WIPO projects on the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals and related tasks;
• Consideration of development project proposals for countries with economies in transition and developing countries;
• Empowering young people to innovate for a better future;
• Discussing WIPO's technical assistance in the area of cooperation in the Sustainable Development Goals.

Participation of Ukrainian representatives in the Committee's sessions provides our specialists with an opportunity to deepen the understanding of the impact of intellectual property on development, as well as to continue discussions on the implementation of the Development Agenda recommendations. This is important for supporting national stakeholders, taking into account WIPO's technical assistance and efforts together with Member States in developing programs aimed at building IP capacity.

For reference:

The 30th session of the WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) takes place in Geneva, Swiss Confederation, on April 24-28, 2023.

25 April 2023