UN
Defends
WIPO N. Korea
& Iran Aid,
Tells ICP Will
Check
Sanctions
Committee
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
July 9 --
After the US
House Foreign
Affairs
Committee
announced
Monday it will
investigate
the UN World
Intellectual
Property
Organization
for, among
other things,
supplying
"Iran
and North
Korea with
computers and
other
sensitive
technology in
violation of
manufacturers'
restrictions
and in
possible
violation of
UN sanctions,"
Inner City
Press asked
the UN two
questions at
the day's noon
briefing.
First,
Inner
City Press
asked for the
UN system's
response to
the
just-announced
investigation.
Video
here.
Second,
following
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
statement over
the weekend
that he had
spoken with
the
North Korea
(formally,
Democratic
People's
Republic of
Korea)
sanctions
committee,
Inner City
Press asked
for a read out
of that
meeting,
and if Ban
meets with
other
sanctions
panels, for
example
that on Somalia
and Eritrea.
While
four
hours later
the UN has
declined to
say more about
these meetings
other than
refer to a
"read out"
that was never
given,
Ban's deputy
spokesman
Eduardo Del
Buey answered
Inner City
Press, as
summarized
by the UN
itself:
"Asked
about
the activities
of the World
Intellectual
Property
Organization
(WIPO), the
Spokesperson
said that WIPO
carries out a
wide range of
capacity-building
programs,
approved by
its 185 member
states, which
aim to assist
developing
countries to
use
intellectual
property for
development,
and to
participate in
the global
intellectual
property
system.
"These
include
programs to
assist IP
offices in
modernizing/automating
their
information
technology
systems, so
they can
process
national and
international
patent and
trademark
applications
more
efficiently.
"Standard
technical
assistance
under this
program may
include
needs-assessment,
assistance in
planning of
the
modernization
of technical
infrastructure
in IP offices,
training for
officials, the
provision
of WIPO's
software for
IP office
automation,
the provision
of
standard
office
equipment and
other
equipment to
manage the
electronic
procedures of
IP office
functions and
services, and
follow-up
validation.
"As
a
matter of
caution,
however, and
in light of
concerns
expressed
recently, WIPO
will in the
future
systematically
refer relevant
cases
of technical
assistance to
countries
under a UN
sanctions
regime to
the UN
Sanctions
Committee."
It
seems
that would
have been
obvious from
the beginning.
But the House
Foreign
Affairs
Committee will
find out - and
perhaps about
Ban
Ki-moon's
meeting(s)
with sanctions
committee(s)
as well. Watch
this
site.
, 
