This was the statement delivered today (17 December 2012) by Egypt on behalf of the African Group at the Forty-Second (22nd Extraordinary) Session of the WIPO General Assembly.
African Group. The African Group would like to welcome the significant progress achieved on advancing the draft text of WIPO Treaty on limitations and exceptions for visually impaired persons, person with print disabilities, which was adopted in November 2012 by the Standing Committee to Copyright and Related Rights, in its 25th session.
The African Group attached great importance to the WIPO Treaty and supports a successful conclusion to effectively and meaningfully address the needs and priorities of the visually impaired persons in Africa and all over the world.
While acknowledgeing the fact that a few remaining issues need to be discussed in the next special session with a view to reach convergence on them, the African would like to thank all the delegations and the WIPO Secretariat who worked hard and tirelessly in the past year in drafting the text and advancing it to maturity. The African Group fully supports the convening of the Diplomatic Conference for VIPs in 2013 and would like to call upon all other delegations and groups to unequivocally support this historical decision.