Decision of Executive Council on the Report of the Third Ordinary Session of the African Ministerial Conference on Science and Technology (AMCOST III)

DECISION OF EXECUTIVE COUNCIL ON THE REPORT OF THE THIRD
ORDINARY SESSION OF THE AFRICAN MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE ON
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (AMCOST III) - DOC. EX.CL/385 (XII)

The Executive Council:

1. TAKES NOTE of the Report and Ministerial Decisions of the Third Ordinary Session of the African Ministerial Conference on Science and Technology, held in Mombasa Kenya from 12^th to 16^th November 2007;

2. ADOPTS the conclusions and recommendations of the Session of the African Ministerial Conference on Science and Technology as follows:

a. REQUESTS Member States and RECs to champion the implementation and domestication of Africa’s Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action at the local, national and regional levels;

b. SUPPORTS the formation of the Pan-African Association of African Women in Science and Technology and REQUESTS the Commission and Member States to gather gender-disaggregated data about women in science and technology at country level in order to formulate concrete initiatives and programmes for women;

c. ALSO REQUESTS the AU Commission and NEPAD to prepare a common framework coordinated by the Bureau of AMCOST and the Bureau of the African Ministerial Conference on Environment (AMCEN) in order to determine the rationale and modalities for establishing a panel on climate change;

d. FURTHER REQUESTS the AU Commission to present the Revised Model Law on Biosafety to all relevant departments and sectors in Member States for their comments;

e. REQUESTS the Commission in Consultation with Member States to:

i) Develop a comprehensive framework on intellectual property, individual and community rights to protect traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, including the centralization of all matters related to intellectual property, individual and community rights;

ii) Develop a bio-prospecting policy framework that ensures beneficial utilization and equitable commercialisation of biotic resources, including the creation of a central national control system to manage bio-prospecting affairs in all their diversity.