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Experts discuss ways to protect Pacific cultures
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Posted on Feb 20 2001
Legal and cultural policy experts from Pacific Island nations are meeting this week with the Executive Board of the Council of Pacific Arts in Noumea, to consider the guidelines and model legislation that make up the Regional Framework for the Legal Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Expressions of Cultures in the Pacific Islands.
The Framework is a new landmark initiative in the international debate; currently no international framework exists to protect traditional knowledge and expressions of culture. Once finalized, the Framework will be presented to the Forum Trade and Economic Ministers Meetings in June, with the aim of assisting countries in the region to adopt the legislation.
At the renowned Cultural Symposium of 1999, the widely disparate levels of protection for Pacific Island cultures, and the need for specific legislation, became apparent.
At the same time, in June 1999, Forum Trade Ministers mandated the Forum Secretariat to assist member countries to develop regional guidelines and legal mechanisms for the protection of indigenous intellectual property rights.
In response to these concerns, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, the Forum Secretariat and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) engaged two legal consultants.
Professor Kamal Puri from the University of Queensland, Australia, and Clark Peteru from Samoa, a specialist in intellectual property rights, drafted a legal framework to cover the region.
This framework will form the basis for discussion at the workshop, jointly organized by SPC, ForSec and UNESCO to be held at SPC headquarters, Noumea, New Caledonia, on Feb. 26-28.
According to Rhonda Griffiths, SPC’s Cultural Adviser, “The cooperation between these three prominent regional organizations indicates our commitment to protecting the traditional knowledge associated with the rich and diverse culture that exists in the Pacific Islands today”.
