Member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), meeting in the Program and Budget Committee (PBC) from January 11-13, 2006 took a number of decisions relating to the work of the Organization.
The PBC agreed with the proposal of the WIPO secretariat that the recommendation of the United Nations Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) on budget transfers should be adapted to the specific needs of WIPO and that this decision should not be applied before the 2008/09 biennium and after the completion of the desk-to-desk review of the human and financial resources of the Organization.
At the same time, the PBC also agreed that the secretariat should start work on a draft comprehensive review of WIPO's Financial Rules and Regulations for submission to the April 2007 session of the PBC. In addition, the secretariat briefed the PBC on the actions taken on other JIU recommendations since the September 2005 Assemblies, most of which have now been implemented. (The JIU recommendations were part of the report they carried out in early 2005 entitled "Review of Management and Administration in WIPO: Budget, Oversight and Related Issues.")
In a follow-up to the decision of the 2005 WIPO Assemblies, the PBC also conducted a preliminary discussion on ways to further involve member states in the preparation and follow-up of the Organization's program and budget. The meeting welcomed the document prepared by the secretariat as a useful basis for further work. As a result of the discussions, the PBC agreed that the secretariat should convene two rounds of informal consultations and a session of the PBC to identify a mechanism to be submitted for approval by the 2006 WIPO Assemblies.
The secretariat also briefed the PBC on the work it had done following the decision by the 2005 WIPO Assemblies to restart the WIPO new construction project, including arrangements for the management of the project and the establishment of a Selection Board comprised of representatives of member states. The PBC welcomed the secretariat's work and the plans it had presented for the various tenders to be run in connection with the project. The PBC agreed that prior to the meeting of the Selection Board, which had already been scheduled for January 16, 2006, the Audit Committee should be given the opportunity to consider first the organizational chart of the project as elaborated by the secretariat.
The PBC also elected seven independent expert members of the WIPO Audit Committee from candidates nominated by member states. The Audit Committee had been established by the 2005 WIPO Assemblies. The seven independent experts come from China, Jordan, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Russian Federation, Togo and the United Kingdom. The Audit Committee is expected to meet soon to commence its work and to elect its remaining two members, who in accordance with its terms of reference, should be senior oversight professionals or senior managers, one of whom should be from the UN system.
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