Mr President, I would like to thank you on behalf of the International Federation of Film Producers’ Associations, FIAPF, for the opportunity to make our views known and to offer our wholehearted support to all Member States as you begin the process of finalising this important text. FIAPF extends its warmest congratulations to you for your election as well as to your vice-chairs and all those serving in similar capacities in the other committees of this Conference. Finally, we would like to express our gratitude to the Government of Morocco for hosting this Diplomatic Conference and for its proactive engagement with the important issue under consideration here.

Mr President, FIAPF has faith in this process; we believe that – with good will, common sense and a commitment to a balanced outcome – the proposed INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENT/TREATY ON LIMITATIONS AND EXCEPTIONS FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED PERSONS and PERSONS WITH PRINT DISABILITIES, can be negotiated to a successful conclusion. FIAPF’s reasons for taking an interest in this Treaty are two-fold: first of all, because social, educational and cultural equity for those with visual and print impairments should always concern us all as citizens committed to social and cultural inclusion; secondly because we believe any new addition to the edifice of international copyright norms needs to be consistent with the existent corpus of Instruments and Treaties. In this latter regard, FIAPF has some concerns which we would briefly like to share with you: