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COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

The COW met in the evening to discuss the remaining draft decisions. Three decisions on financial issues (MOU, guidelines for review, and guidance for the financial mechanism) were postponed for consideration until the final Plenary, because the Working Group had not completed its deliberations.

The draft decision on technology transfer (CRP.36) was approved with the deletion of a paragraph that endorses the remaining paragraphs of recommendation II/3.

The draft decision on Intellectual Property Rights (CRP.34) was adopted without comment.

The draft decision on Implementation of Article 8(j) (CRP.35) was adopted with minor amendments. The bracketed paragraph requesting the GEF to examine support for capacity-building for indigenous and local communities did not lack consensus but awaited approval by the finance Working Group. RUSSIA, supported by CHINA, called for the use of all six official languages instead of three for the intersessional workshop to be arranged by the Executive Secretary. ANTIGUA and BARBUDA stated that the core figure of US$350,000 for the workshop was adequate for servicing in all six languages, so this paragraph was unbracketed and the former paragraph, providing for the use of three languages, was deleted. The text was adopted as amended.

To the draft decision on the Medium-Term Programme of Work (CRP.39), the EU proposed a new paragraph requesting the Bureau of SBSTTA to focus the agenda of SBSTTA-3 and to submit it to the Parties sufficiently in advance of SBSTTA-3. The UK said that the preambular paragraph noting difficulties in matching the programme of work with the available resources implies a failure to provide sufficient funds, but the existence of surpluses suggests that this is not the case. The paragraph was deleted. The G- 77/CHINA, supported by the EU, proposed deleting a reference to States who are not Parties in a paragraph inviting Parties and other relevant institutions to submit their views on the medium-term and longer term programmes of work. The US said the widest possible range of views should be solicited. ARGENTINA proposed “governments and relevant institutions.” The EUROPEAN COMMUNITY recommended adding “regional economic integration organizations.” AUSTRALIA’s proposal to replace “States not Parties” with “participants” was accepted and the decision was adopted as amended.

The draft decision on Biosafety (CRP.38) was adopted following informal consultations throughout the day. The original draft decision (CRP.11) was amended to reflect two new operative paragraphs: two representatives from each region will be put forward before the next meeting of the Open-Ended Ad Hoc Working Group on Biosafety (BSWG), and both this new Bureau and Chair Veit Koester will retain their positions until COP-4.

The draft decision on the SBSTTA Modus Operandi (CRP.30) was adopted with the understanding that the meetings could be serviced in the six official languages of the UN, as indicated by John Ashe (Antigua and Barbuda), Chair of the Budget Group.

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