General Statements under agenda item 4
Delegations wishing to take the floor under Agenda Item 4, “General Statements,” are encouraged to submit their requests via the WIPO Meet request form. Speakers will be scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis, according to the date on which the Secretariat receives the request. Collection of General Statements will open on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
When requesting the floor, please indicate how your statement will be delivered:
¾ Orally, by a delegate on site,
¾ Orally, by a delegate connecting online,
¾ By pre-recorded video (to be sent in advance), or
¾ In written form only.
To facilitate interpretation, delegations delivering statements orally or by pre-recorded video are strongly encouraged to provide a written copy of the statement in advance, even if only in draft form. Those texts are used by the Interpretation Section solely in order to prepare for delivery and ensure the highest possible quality of interpretation. Any written copy of a statement provided in advance for interpretation purposes only will be treated as strictly confidential.
Oral statements
Oral statements should be delivered at a pace that allows accurate interpretation, with the following approximate time limits:
¾ 3 minutes (~390–480 words) for Ministers or Group Coordinators;
¾ 2 minutes (~260–320 words) for individual Member States, and;
¾ 1 minute (~130–160 words) for Observers.
The time limit will be strictly applied, and a display system will assist delegates in keeping track.
In the interests of efficiency, delegates are invited to convey the substantive elements of their statement and reduce courtesies to a minimum. Furthermore, since group statements represent the position of all group members, individual Member States are encouraged to avoid repeating points already covered by the Group Coordinators.
All oral statements will be reproduced, as delivered, in the session report.
Written submissions
Delegations that do not wish to deliver a statement orally or by pre-recorded video may submit a written statement for the record.
In the interests of time, delegations may also choose to summarize their statement orally, and submit the full version in writing. Those statements will then be made publicly available.
Pre-recorded statements
They should be sent as follows:
¾ widescreen format (16:9 – not a vertical “selfie portrait”)
¾ using MOV or MP4 files with at least 720p, or better 1080p, quality
¾ speaker should face and address the camera lens when speaking
¾ audio level should reach at least -6 dB and not go above 0 dB.
The recorded files may be submitted via the “General Statements” online form available on the WIPO Meet platform, together with a written copy of the statement in the original UN language by June 30, 2026.
Technical questions concerning pre-recorded statements may be addressed to Audio and Video Support Unit.”