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Reminding the government and negotiators in the Indonesia-EU CEPA negotiations of their commitment not to commit to becoming a member of UPOV and or to change regulatory laws related to the protection of plant varieties following UPOV 1991.

April 23, 2024
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Excellency,

Dr. H. Zulkifli Hasan, S.E., M.M.
Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia

Dr. Ir. H. Andi Amran Sulaiman, M.P
Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia

Febrian A. Ruddyard
Ambassador/Permanent Representative of the Republic of Indonesia, Indonesian Embassy in Geneva

Djatmiko Bris Witjaksono, S.E., MSIE
Director General of International Trade Negotiations

Dr. Ir. Leli Nuryati, M.Sc
Director of the Center for Plant Variety Protection and Agricultural Licensing
Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia

Subject: Reminding the government and negotiators in the Indonesia-EU CEPA negotiations of their commitment not to commit to becoming a member of UPOV and or to change regulatory laws related to the protection of plant varieties following UPOV 1991.

We, the Civil Society Coalition for Economic Justice, have been trying for quite some time to follow the process of negotiating a trade agreement between Indonesia and the European Union (IEU CEPA). We see that one of the chapters discussed in this negotiation is the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs). One of the EU’s proposals regarding the protection of intellectual property rights is to ask Indonesia to become a member of UPOV 1991 (Act of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants), and or harmonize its plant variety protection laws with UPOV 1991.

In this regard, on December 4, 2023, the Special Rapporteur for the Right to Food, Michael Fakhri, sent a communication to the Indonesian government and the EU Commission on this matter. In his letter, Michael Fakhri cited the 2021 report, “Seeds, right to Life and Farmers’ Rights” which states that the more seed systems recognize and support farmers as managers of seed systems for all humanity, the more likely these systems are to guarantee the fulfillment of human rights.

Furthermore, Michael Fakhri in his letter stated that the UPOV Conventions, especially the UPOV 1991 established a paradigm that provides considerable protection to seed breeders at the expense of smallholder farmers, including restrictions on their rights to save, use, exchange, and sell seeds or plant propagation materials as well as the application of breeding techniques such as “selection”.

Therefore, Michael Fakhri said that bilateral or regional agreements should not include UPOV membership as a condition of trade agreements, and the requirement should be removed from existing agreements. Furthermore, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food also recommends countries base seed regulations on the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) and human rights laws such as ICESCR or the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; CEDAW or the Convention on the Elimination of all Discrimination against Women; the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Smallholders and Rural Workers.

The Government of Indonesia through the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Indonesia to the UN, WTO, and other International Organizations based in Geneva has also sent a response to the letter from the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Michael Fakhri, through a letter dated 6 February 2024 signed by Mr. Febrian A. Ruddyard. The letter states, among others, that the Indonesian government still holds the position of not becoming a member of the 1991 UPOV in order to ensure policy space for the protection of smallholders and genetic resources. In addition, we see and know that the ability of farmers to develop diverse seeds according to local needs and natural situations has proven to sustain the food needs of our country. Although most Indonesian farmers are smallholders, even subsistence and landless, they have proven to play a very important role in developing biodiversity, especially in agriculture.

On this basis, we would like to remind the Indonesian government and the negotiators in the Indonesia-EU CEPA negotiations not to give in to pressure from the EU Commission to change the legislation on plant variety protection to conform to UPOV 1991 and or make Indonesia a member of UPOV.

Contact:

Rahmat Maulana Sidik, Executive Director of Indonesia for Global Justice, +62812-1002-5135

Olisias Gultom, Director of Hints, +62 882-9829-3959

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