[Ecommerce] Four stories on Kamil Idris stepping down from helm of WIPO

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

UN intellectual property chief to step down early
Thu 15 Nov 2007, 13:11 GMT


By Laura MacInnis

GENEVA, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The head of the United Nations'
intellectual property watchdog will step down next year, a year early,
after documents bearing a false birth date brought pressure on him to
resign, diplomats said on Thursday.

Kamil Idris, head of the World Intellectual Property Organisation
(WIPO) for a decade, was found by internal auditors to have signed
documents with a false birth date -- making him seem nine years older
-- when he joined the agency 25 years ago.

The United States, European Union and other wealthy nations last month
refused to approve WIPO's new two-year budget in protest over a lack
of a full and open debate on the Sudanese lawyer's reported misconduct.

The United States welcomed Idris's early departure as "a positive
development."

Idris, in an e-mail circulated to WIPO staff and obtained by Reuters,
said: "I have decided to advance the process for nominating and
appointing a director-general."

Countries would be asked to nominate his replacement for a selection
committee to review in May 2008, "for appointment by the (WIPO)
General Assembly at its next session in September 2008," he said.

Idris, who denies any wrongdoing, was re-appointed in 2003 for a six-
year mandate that would have ended in November 2009.

LATEST BUDGET

His message to WIPO staff included an appeal for the agency's member
states to endorse its latest budget, which seeks a 12 percent increase
in spending over the next two years.

"I personally urge all concerned in the best interest of the
organisation to proceed soon with the formal approval of the 2008-2009
programme budget," he said.

"The member states and the employees of WIPO deserve to have an
organisation that is led with the highest professional and ethical
standards, and we believe that this renewal of leadership will bring
new confidence and vitality to the organisation," U.S. ambassador
Warren Tichenor said in a statement.

Idris was first elected to WIPO's top post in 1997. Diplomats said
last year's audit questioned whether he could have had the 10 years of
senior experience required for the post he applied for in 1982, given
his real age at the time.

WIPO is mandated to protect adherence to intellectual property rules,
trademarks and patents. Unlike other U.N. agencies, the 184-state body
is largely self-financing through its patents' fees.

Former World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz was forced to resign last
June amid an ethics scandal involving a high-paying promotion for his
companion. (Editing by Stephanie Nebehay)


-------------------------

Tribune de Gen=E8ve,

WIPO head stepping down

13:06 Facing opposition from the US and European countries, the
controversial Sudanese director-general of the UN organization says he
will retire next year.

The head of the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization,
accused of falsifying his age to promote his career, has announced he
will be resigning next year. Kamil Idris, WIPO=92s director-general,
said he will retire in September 2008, rather than continuing a
mandate until 2009, a spokesman for the UN organization said.

An internal audit showed Idris, from Sudan, changed his birth to 1954
last year after previously claiming to be born in 1945 in order to
gain promotions. Controversy over his leadership led to the
organization=92s $537 million budget being blocked by the United States
and European countries. Idris=92s anticipated departure was welcomed as
=93positive=94 by the US ambassador in Geneva, Warren Tichenor.

Idris, who has led WIPO for the past 10 years, was under strong
pressure to step down, given the crisis atmosphere at the
organization, one diplomat told the AFP news service. His departure is
expected to pave the way for approval of the organization=92s budget.
Other than the controversy surrounding Idris=92s age, his management
came under fire in several reports.

Last summer PricewaterhouseCoopers uncovered chronic cases of
absenteeism and lack of discipline at WIPO, involved in regulating
intellectual property such as author=92s rights and patents. The
consultant recommended cutting 300 of 1,200 positions at the
organization. An earlier report in 2005 questioned hiring practices
and promotion of personnel. WIPO has been forced to trim the cost of
planned expansion plans for its headquarters to SFr125 million from
SFr300 million.

----------------------

AP


Head of UN patent agency to quit after row over alleged falsified
documents

The Associated Press
Published: November 15, 2007


GENEVA: The head of the U.N. patent agency is to leave his post a year
early, officials said Thursday.

Kamil Idris, who was due to step down from his post as director-
general of the World Intellectual Property Organization in 2009, had
faced pressure to resign after using an apparently false birth date to
get jobs and win promotions.

Developed countries failed last month in thd eir bid for a public
debate on an internal report that said Idris had claimed his year of
birth as 1945 when he applied to join the agency, then changed it to
1954 last year.

The earlier date would have helped him get his first job at WIPO in
1982 and subsequent promotions until 1997, when he landed the post of
director-general at the agency. The later birth date could have
enhanced his retirement benefits, the report said. Idris denies the
allegations.

The row led the United States and other Western countries to block
approval of the agency's US$537 million (=80378 million) biennial budget
for the 2008-2009 period, hampering its efforts to expand its work in
developing countries.

Idris, a Sudanese national, announced his departure Wednesday in an
internal memo to staff, which was obtained by The Associated Press.
Its authenticity was confirmed by WIPO officials.

In the memo Idris states that he has "decided to advance the process
for nominating and appointing a Director General" and urges member
states to consider approving the new budget.

No reason for his early departure, likely to be in the fall of 2008,
is given, and WIPO officials were unable to provide an immediate
explanation.

Warren Tichenor, the U.S. ambassador in Geneva, issued a statement
describing Idris's announcement as "a positive development."

"The member states and the employees of WIPO deserve to have an
organization that is led with the highest professional and ethical
standards, and we believe that this renewal of leadership will bring
new confidence and vitality to the organization," he said.

During the agency's annual meeting in Geneva last month, Tichenor
lamented the failure of member states to "properly address the
evidence of misconduct by the director-general." A European Union
request for Idris to step down in order to avoid further damage to the
organization's credibility was rebuffed at the time.

Developing countries had resisted public scrutiny of the allegations
against Idris, describing them as part of a racist smear campaign
against the head of a well-run United Nations body.

WIPO is unique among U.N. agencies because it achieves a multimillion-
dollar (-euro) surplus by charging fees on patent registrations and
other commercial services, rather than having member states paying all
operating costs.

In addition to the age discrepancy, the Associated Press has learned
that Idris made differing claims about his qualifications when he
applied for jobs.

Idris' 1982 application said he obtained a master's degree in
international law from Ohio University in 1978. But Jessica Stark,
spokeswoman for the university, told the AP Idris attended from Sept
12, 1977, to June 10, 1978, when he received a Master of Arts in
African Studies.

Idris later issued a statement saying that he received a Master of
Arts in International Affairs at Ohio University, omitting the
reference to a law degree originally mentioned in the 1982 job
application.

U.S. officials have also expressed "strong concerns" about the
accuracy of Idris' past applications for U.S. visas and said they were
considering whether that should result in the denial of future visa
applications.

It is unclear whether Idris will face any further scrutiny of his
alleged misconduct following the announcement of his early departure.


-----------------

AFP


UN patent agency head to step down after misconduct row

1 day ago

GENEVA (AFP) =97 The embattled head of the United Nations patent
organisation, embroiled in allegations of misconduct, will step down a
year early, with his successor expected to start after September 2008,
a spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Kamal Idris, head of the World Intellectual Property Organisation
(WIPO), has decided to bring forward by one year the process of
nominating and appointing a new director general, spokeswoman Samar
Shamoon told AFP.

Idris, a Sudanese national who has headed the UN's only revenue-
earning agency for ten years, has been under intense pressure over
claims he misrepresented his age when joining the organisation.

He has also faced criticism for alleged poor management.

The Swiss press revealed in February that Idris was born in 1954, not
1945 as he claimed when he first joined the organisation.

He then recognised the "error" in his date of birth in 2006 when he
was due to retire and was able to extend his mandate until 2009.

WIPO said after the initial press reports that Idris would suffer a
"considerable" cut in his pension as a result of the age change and
denied he had been seeking to profit from the error, insisting that
such allegations were unfounded.

Western states such as Switzerland and the United States called for
his head at WIPO's annual assembly last month and refused to approve
the organisation's 2008-2009 budget while Idris remained in charge.

Western countries now hope to quickly resolve the budget issue,
diplomatic sources said on Wednesday.

US ambassador Warren Tichenor welcomed Idris's decision to step down
early as a "positive development."

"We believe that this renewal of leadership will bring new confidence
and vitality to the organisation," Tichenor said in a statement.

WIPO has also been criticised for its working culture under Idris's
stewardship, with a report by accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers
citing high levels of absenteeism, incompetence and inadequate
disciplinary measures.

WIPO was set up in 1967 to promote and coordinate the protection of
intellectual property throughout the world and to manage international
patent application systems.