Opening Remarks, SCCR, 18th Session

CIEL advocates for an international treaty on copyright exceptions and limitations, specifically to benefit the disabled, libraries, and education. The organization supports the World Blind Union's proposed treaty to improve cross-border access for the visually impaired and promotes open-source standards, such as the DAISY Standard, to accelerate innovation. CIEL criticizes the current Secretariat survey for lacking empirical depth and argues that discussions on a new internet broadcasting agreement are premature due to the significant digital divide between industrialized and developing countries.

• CIEL calls for the creation of a new international instrument on Exceptions and Limitations to facilitate access for libraries, educational purposes, adult-education, mass-literacy campaigns, and the disabled.
• To improve cross-border access for the visually impaired, CIEL endorses the treaty proposed by the World Blind Union and supports proposals introduced by Brazil, Ecuador, and Paraguay.
• The adoption of open-source platforms and standards is encouraged to increase access to knowledge; for instance, the DAISY Consortium's transition from proprietary to open standards in 1997 accelerated technological evolution for people with reading disabilities.
• CIEL argues that a new international agreement on internet broadcasting (webcasting) is premature because of the digital divide; ITU data shows the gap in internet users between industrialized and developing countries grew from 11% in 1997 to 45% in 2007.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2009). Opening Remarks, SCCR, 18th Session. https://www.ciel.org/news/ciel-works-with-partners-to-support-a-treaty-on-copyright-exceptions-and-limitations-at-wipo-a-summary-of-the-meting-available-is-here/

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Opening Remarks, SCCR, 18th Session. 2009. https://www.ciel.org/news/ciel-works-with-partners-to-support-a-treaty-on-copyright-exceptions-and-limitations-at-wipo-a-summary-of-the-meting-available-is-here/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Opening Remarks, SCCR, 18th Session |date=1 June 2009 |url=https://www.ciel.org/news/ciel-works-with-partners-to-support-a-treaty-on-copyright-exceptions-and-limitations-at-wipo-a-summary-of-the-meting-available-is-here/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2009opening, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Opening Remarks, SCCR, 18th Session}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2009}, month = jun, url = {https://www.ciel.org/news/ciel-works-with-partners-to-support-a-treaty-on-copyright-exceptions-and-limitations-at-wipo-a-summary-of-the-meting-available-is-here/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }