As part of her busy working agenda in Switzerland, Foreign Minister Mondino held political meetings today in Geneva with top UN officials to discuss migration and human rights issues in Venezuela and Nicaragua.
First, Mondino met with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, to whom she reiterated the Argentine Government’s concern over the severe human rights crisis in Venezuela, which escalated after the fraudulent election in July. In this regard, Mondino referred to the migration crisis in Venezuela in general and to the circumstances under which Argentina granted asylum to six Venezuelan citizens in the Argentine Residence in Caracas in particular. In addition, she reaffirmed the commitment to ensure that the mandates of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela are renewed at the 57th Session of the Human Rights Council, which is being held in Geneva.
This is a top priorities both for Argentina and the countries of the Core Group. On Monday 10 September, during her speech at the 57th Session of the Human Rights Council, delivered on behalf of the other Core Group countries, Mondino denounced the severe human rights situation in Venezuela.At the
Session, the participants also discussed the alarming situation in Nicaragua, where fundamental human rights are being violated, as documented by the OHCHR. Furthermore, Argentina issued a joint statement on behalf of the Core Group on Human Rights in Nicaragua and urged that nation to fully cooperate and allow the staff from the OHCHR and other mechanisms of the Human Rights Council, including the Group of Experts, to enter the country and perform their tasks.
At their meeting, Foreign Minister Mondino and Volker Türk discussed Argentina’s work on its own human rights agenda.
Later, the Foreign Minister met with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, to whom she reaffirmed Argentina's commitment to continue working together with the UNHCR to address a refugee crisis of unprecedented scale.
They discussed the humanitarian aspects of migration from Venezuela, which poses a critical problem for the region, particularly for the largest host countries of Venezuelan citizens. In this respect, Mondino offered details on the assistance provided to Venezuelan citizens, who are allowed to obtain their residency in Argentina by providing proof of identity and Venezuelan citizenship, even with expired documents, provided they have a clean criminal record.
The Argentine policies on refugee protection and our country's leadership in this field, particularly regarding legislation and good practices, were highlighted.
Intellectual Property
At the end of the day in Geneva, Foreign Minister Diana Mondino met with WIPO Deputy Director General, Lisa Jorgenson, who administers the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and the Organization’s programs relating to the law of patents, as well as their full practical application at global level.
The Deputy Director General expressed her enthusiasm about Argentina’s prospects based on the ongoing reforms.
In this context, she recalled that Argentina signed the PCT in 1970, and that it was approved by the Senate in September 1998, but is pending approval by the lower house of Congress. In addition, she mentioned that the Treaty makes it possible to seek patent protection for an invention simultaneously in each of a large number of countries by filing an international patent application (international phase), which is then submitted for evaluation to the national patent offices of the Contracting States where the applicant is seeking patent protection (national phase). Unlike the system in force, this mechanism reduces costs and streamlines the procedure.
Mondino stated that “Argentina aims to meet the current international standards, which provide predictability and transparency to the protection of intellectual property rights” and highlighted “the efforts made by our country to provide a suitable environment for anyone who wants to invest and conduct business in Argentina, and to consolidate as a reliable and attractive partner in the global scenario.” This is in line with the OECD accession process, for which Argentina is carrying out comprehensive work to align with the fundamental standards set forth in the Organization’s decisions and recommendations.