Legal and technical assistance to the AfCFTA Secretariat for the Phase II negotiations on IPR

The AfCFTA Secretariat, the body in charge of the negotiations of the IPRs Protocol, is a new addition to the African Union system. The legal and technical support ranges from drafting the IPR Protocol, to preparing technical documents for the negotiations, to providing demand driven specific legal and technical advice to the Secretariat and the negotiators, and will be critical for the successful conduct and conclusion of the negotiations on the IPRs Protocol.

The main objectives of this activity include:

• providing legal and technical advice to the AfCFTA related to the negotiations of the AfCFTA Protocol on IPRs;

• contributing to the preparation of technical documents for the negotiations;

• support in drafting the initial text of the IPRs Protocol if requested; and providing specific legal advice based on the request from the Secretariat and the negotiators of the IPRs Protocol.

The expected result from this activity will be to have effective support to the negotiations of the IPR Chapter of the Protocol, in line with international best practices.