Observer Status and Access to Documents - Comparative Analysis across Selected International Organizations

by Catherine Monagle

Foreword by the Editors

The Association for Plant Breeding for the Benefit of Society (APBREBES) was granted

observer status to UPOV in October 2010. At the same time, UPOV established a working

group to look at rules concerning observers. In such a discussion, we believe the

overview provided in this report on the rules concerning observers in UPOV and in

other international fora of relevance to UPOV will be useful.

Berne Declaration and Development Fund, both members of APBREBES recommend

that the UPOV working group on rules concerning observers would in particular look

into:

  1. Make all UPOV documents publically available;
  2. Invite all observers to join it work, with a view to achieve a balanced representation of the different stakeholder groups;
  3. Open consultative committee for observers.

Such changes would be in line with the general trend among many intergovernmental

organizations over the last decade to gradually expand transparency and participatory

mechanisms, in line with internationally recognized principles of good governance.

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Observer Status and Access to Documents