Major achievements in 2005
In order to prepare a toolkit for policymakers on how to transform property
assets held by the socially and economically disadvantaged into usable
capital, a High Level Commission on Property Rights for the Poor was established
by the Working Party on International Legal and Commercial Practice. The
outcome from this Commission will constitute an important contribution
to achieving the goals of poverty alleviation.
The Real Estate Advisory Group’s Land for Development Programme (LFD)
programme led to the establishment under UNECE of a programme on Third
Party Arbitration Courts (TPACs) for emerging market economies in the region
where TPACS can strengthen newly acquired property rights of citizens in rural
areas and support affordable dispute resolution. The Department for International
Development of the United Kingdom Government has provided extrabudgetary
funding to the UNECE to promote this programme. In addition to serving member
States, the programme will also become a flagship project for the High Level
Commission.
The UNECE and World Intellectual Property Organization jointly organized
in Kazakhstan a seminar on enforcement of intellectual property rights,
cooperation with the World Customs Union and the US Patent Office.
Good governance guidelines for Public-Private-Partnerships have been
finalized.
A Seminar on the E business Repository Project was organized to report
results of research conducted by the UNECE Team of Specialists
on Internet Enterprise Development (TSIED) on business registration and
repositories in four UNECE member countries.
A Forum on Entrepreneurship in the UNECE Region: The Key Building
Blocks, Challenges and Opportunities was organized, opened by
Mr. Christian Poncelet, President of the French Senate. An event was also
organized around the theme of Corporate Governance Trends and
Issues in the UNECE Region.
A Forum “After Fifteen Years of Market Reforms in Transition Economies:
New Challenges and Perspectives for the Industrial Sector” was held in May 2005.