Rarotonga, Cook Islands | 6 October 2026
The Cook Islands has joined other Pacific nations in calling for Indigenous Peoples and local communities to be recognised as custodians and rights holders of their traditional knowledge and cultural expressions, at international negotiations in Geneva.
Foreign Service Officer Teremoana Fukofuka represented the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration at the 53rd session of the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore, held from 16 to 25 September 2026.
The Committee is negotiating on proposed international rules covering traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions. These are knowledge practices, design, songs, dances and stories passed down through generations. For the Cook Islands, that includes our weaving, traditional medicine, carving and ura. When they are used without permission or benefit to the communities they come from, the loss goes beyond economic.
Working with Pacific delegations, the Cook Islands also called for customary practices, traditional governance and the realities of small island developing states to be properly considered in any future international protections.
“Sitting at the negotiating table, I kept thinking of our mamas who make tivaevae, our carvers, and the knowledge our elders carry. These negotiations can feel technical, but at their heart they are about making sure that what belongs to our communities stays with our communities. As a law graduate, seeing international law being shaped in real time, and helping make sure Pacific perspectives were part of it, was an experience I'll carry with me and I hope to keep contributing to this work for the Cook Islands,’’ said Ms. Fukofuka.
At IGC 53, countries continued detailed negotiations on draft texts covering traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions. The texts developed during the session will form the basis for further negotiations in 2027.
The work also supports the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, which places Pacific peoples, cultures and knowledge at the centre of the region’s future.
MFAI acknowledges WIPO’s support for Cook Islands participation and the Pacific Islands Forum Geneva Office for coordinating Pacific engagement. MFAI will continue to work with the Ministry of Cultural Development and communities to shape the Cook Islands position ahead of the next round of negotiations.