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| West puts pressure on head of UN agency |
| 2007-10-05 |
| The United Nations agency that manages international treaties on patents, copyrights and trademarks was in turmoil on Thursday after industrialised countries, led by the US and European nations, blocked approval of the 2008-09 budget in an attempt to force the resignation of Kamil Idris, its director-general. European diplomats said the move, which came just before midnight on Wednesday on the last day of the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s annual meeting, was “a vote of no confidence” in WIPO’s leadership. Western nations accuse Mr Idris of mismanagement and misconduct. An internal auditor’s report last year concluded that he had broken UN financial and integrity rules by knowingly falsifying his age on official documents. An administrative review by Ernst & Young in 2005 and a staffing review by PwC this year have raised questions about the way WIPO has been managed by Mr Idris, who took office in 1997. Mr Idris, a Sudanese national who has the support of African and Muslim nations, denies wrongdoing. He has incensed his critics by trying to suppress the internal auditor’s report and refusing to defend himself publicly at the annual meeting, as the US and others had demanded. “The serious allegations of misconduct against the director-general cannot be swept under the carpet,” Nick Thorne, UK ambassador to the UN in Geneva, said on Thursday. Switzerland’s foreign affairs ministry said steps to replace Mr Idris were needed to restore WIPO’s credibility. Industrialised countries now plan to call an emergency meeting of WIPO’s 184 member states to discuss selection of a new director-general, in an effort to keep up the pressure on Mr Idris to resign. Western diplomats on Thursday acknowledged they did not have the votes to oust him if he refused to go voluntarily, but said the budget vote of 44 against to 64 in favour showed they could muster enough support to block important decisions in the organisation, which require a two-thirds majority. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #5 Mr Idris, a Sudanese national who has the support of African and Muslim nations It's difficult to imagine having any more damning sort of "support". |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-10-05 20:17 |
| #4 Looks like they still have a bad cockroach infestation in that building. Fumigate it. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2007-10-05 15:59 |
| #3 Really. When I think of "Science and Industry Marches On", Sudan's right there leading the parade... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-10-05 14:40 |
| #2 Lots of copyrights and patents coming out of "African and Muslim nations" are there? WIPO is a technology-transfer scam, plain and simple. |
| Posted by: mojo 2007-10-05 14:31 |
| #1 Business as usual at the UN. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2007-10-05 05:51 |