Kamil Idris - Controversy

Controversy

A report, carried out by WIPO's Internal Audit and Oversight Division at the request of the United Nations Joint Inspection Unit and subsequently leaked to journalists, concluded that Kamil Idris repeatedly misrepresented his age. The report stated "that Idris sought to change his records at WIPO to show that he was born on August 26, 1954, despite signing numerous earlier documents showing his date of birth as August 26, 1945."

On September 21, 2007, the Secretariat of the WIPO published "a note provid clarifications pertaining to a series of reported allegations and rumors concerning the Organization and its Director General". The note points out "a deliberate intention to harm" and criticizes the report by WIPO's Internal Audit and Oversight Division:

"Despite grave concerns over the value of the said report, its legitimacy, the fallacy of its conclusions and the failure of its author to observe due process and principles of independence, the report was somehow made available to some Member States and other parties, hence compromising its confidential status."

During the 10-day WIPO general assembly that ended on October 3, 2007, a move by the United States, backed by developed countries, to remove Idris from his job was blocked by developing countries and the agency failed to approve a budget. A proposal to reduce Patent Cooperation Treaty fees did not pass. On October 3, the government of Switzerland, host country to WIPO, issued a press release citing "serious credibility" concerns and calling for an immediate search for a replacement for Idris. As a result of the crisis, the future of WIPO was questioned, "because its credibility has been undermined by the Idris affair". "The US looking for other ways of regulating intellectual property and if it decides to go it alone “the days of WIPO are numbered"."