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22 May 2020

On May 20, 2020, the President of the Republic of Belarus signed the Law of the Republic of Belarus No. 19-Z “On Accession of the Republic of Belarus to the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled” (hereinafter – the Law on Accession).

For the Republic of Belarus, the Law on Accession enters into force on June 3, 2020. The Republic of Belarus has thereby expressed its consent to become party to the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled (hereinafter – the Marrakesh Treaty).

The Marrakesh Treaty was adopted in Marrakesh on June 27, 2013 and entered into force on September 30, 2016. The parties to the Marrakesh Treaty are 67 states, including the Russian Federation, European Union countries, the United States of America.

Accession to the Marrakesh Treaty will allow the Republic of Belarus to strengthen mutually beneficial ties with the World Intellectual Property Organization and confirm its readiness to follow universally recognized international standards in the field of intellectual property rights protection.
The Law on Accession provides for the designation of libraries, educational institutions and public associations of persons with disabilities as authorized bodies of the Republic of Belarus, engaged in the international exchange of works converted into a special (accessible) format.

The accession of the Republic of Belarus to the Marrakesh Treaty will contribute to:

  • improved access to cultural and other information for persons who are blind, visually impaired and otherwise disabled;
  • enrichment of the collections of libraries, educational institutions and public associations of persons with disabilities with works in special (accessible) formats;
  • development of international interlibrary cooperation and popularization of works of Belarusian authors.

The State Committee on Science and Technology of the Republic of Belarus has been appointed as the coordinating body for the activities of state bodies and other organizations for the implementation of the treaty.
Accession to the Marrakesh Treaty is an image-defining step for the Republic of Belarus, reflecting its development as a social state.


WIPO, foto: Dave Halberstadt, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
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