International Law Must Protect Indigenous Rights - Un University Report
Existing international rules about protecting intellectual property rights are an affront to the customs of many
indigenous peoples and need to be revamped, according to a new report by the Tokyo-based United Nations University
(UNU).
Under the current system, officials require free access to indigenous secrets in order to decide whether a new product
seeking patent protection is based on traditional knowledge. In many indigenous cultures, however, traditional knowledge
is highly guarded, the UNU study notes.
Obliging indigenous people to offer public documentation for intellectual property protection purposes is insensitive to
centuries-old cultural practice in many places and may lead to injustice, the report warns.
"The challenge for the world community is to devise a process to prevent the piracy of traditional knowledge without
jeopardizing the cultural integrity and ways of indigenous peoples," said Brendan Tobin, who wrote the report, which was
issued in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at a meeting of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.
Among its recommendations, the study proposes limiting access to confidential databases on traditional knowledge.
National governments and international organizations are called on to review existing policies related to traditional
knowledge. Companies should be required to demonstrate prior informed consent as a condition for commercial use of this
knowledge.
"We must learn the lessons of previous resource exploitation ventures, many of which produced significant wealth for
some but little or no lasting benefit to the local population and the area in which those resources were found," said
UNU Rector Hans van Ginkel.