Timeline

Food & Sustainability

This work aimed to promote informed, balanced and thoughtful discussion about what agricultural systems are best suited to different circumstances and needs.
October 2014

QUNO hosts WTO working session on agricultural trade and food security

QUNO organized a working session at the WTO Public Forum, to address the forum theme of “Why Trade Matters to Everyone." QUNO posed the question “are the benefits of trade sufficiently inclusive?” in consideration of food security. In addition the sub-themes of trade and employment and trade in Africa were addressed by contextual presentations by panelists.

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February 2014

QUNO held side-event panel discussion: Small-scale farmers, innovation and the competition of international regimes?

Small-scale farmer innovation plays an essential role in food security. During this panel discussion, speakers and participants considered how to design a coherent legal regime that supports all types of innovation and management systems, including those of small-scale farmers. Speakers included: Susan Bragdon, QUNO; Shakeel Bhatti, International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture; Isabel Lopez Noriega, Bioversity International; and Antony Taubman, World Trade Organization. The event was moderated by QUNO's Caroline Dommen.

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January 2014

Developing country sui generis options for plant variety protection

Photo Credit: Martin Kunz

These briefing papers on sui generis options for plant variety protection (PVP) are to encourage and support governmental officials and others who wish to develop a PVP system that matches their country’s needs. These briefing papers are the third and fourth in a series on intellectual property, food and agriculture.

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November 2013

QUNO speaks at UNCTAD meeting on Trade and Food Security

QUNO’s Caroline Dommen was a panellist at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) discussion forum, “Why Trade Matters in Development Strategies”. The panel gathered experts on trade and food security to foster dialogue between Geneva trade diplomats and national officials in charge of development planning.

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November 2013

QUNO hosts agriculture and food panel at the WTO Public Forum 2013

Photo Credit: WTO

QUNO hosted a panel discussion at the WTO Public Forum 2013 on “Exploring New Frameworks for Trade and Investment in Agriculture”. Speaking on the panel were Caroline Dommen, QUNO Representative for Global Economic Issues, Hans Herren, recipient of The Right Livelihood Award 2013 and Mark Halle, from the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).

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September 2012

Panel Discussion on Intellectual Property in Agriculture at the World Trade Organization Public Forum in Geneva

A QUNO-IIED (Quaker UN Office - International Institute for Environment and Development) panel at the World Trade Organisation Public Forum in Geneva, September 2012 explored the complex international landscape on intellectual property relating to agriculture. The panel considered the main features of the international intellectual property framework through the following questions:

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