Internal Transparency and the effective participation of Members

back to top

Confidence-Building

Early in 2000 the Director-General proposed a work programme combining the start of mandated negotiations with a number of confidence-building elements, including measures to improve internal transparency and the effective participation of Members. This was agreed to by the General Council at its meeting of 7-8 February 2000.

At this meeting of the General Council Members identified the issue of internal transparency and effective participation of Members as one of the priority issues to be addressed in the first six months of the year. At the heart of the issue on WTO institutional reform is the delicate balance between efficiency and inclusiveness. When the GATT was founded by 23 countries in 1948 issues such as transparency, coordination and participation were relatively easy to address. However, with the WTO membership now standing at 139 issues of inclusiveness, transparency and ensuring the effective participation of all Members in the work of the WTO have become more complex, though no less vital.

back to top

Consultation

Since then the Chairman of the General Council and the Director-General have conducted an intensive series of open-ended consultations on how to improve internal transparency. This process was initiated by an invitation to Members for specific suggestions on how to make the consultative processes in the WTO more transparent and inclusive. Numerous contributions from individual or groups of countries were received and these, as well as a Secretariat compilation of the main points raised by delegations, have served as the basis for constructive and positive discussions at seven meetings of the full membership. In addition, the Chairman presented a short discussion paper in which he highlighted a number of issues where he saw a convergence of opinion. In his paper the Chairman focused on the fact that Members in general see no need for radical reform of the WTO, firmly support the fundamental principles of the multilateral trading system, including the practice of reaching decisions by consensus, and that informal consultations continue to be a useful tool, provided that certain improvements regarding inclusiveness and transparency are applied.

On 17 July the Chairman provided Members with a progress report which emphasized the general recognition that significant improvements in the consultative processes have taken place in the first half of the year 2000. Members expressed particular appreciation for the efforts of the Chairman of the General Council and the Director-General and his Deputies to establish a practice of improved transparency and full consultation in the substantive work of this organization. The Chairman emphasized that while such tangible progress on internal transparency was important the full membership has a collective responsibility to keep this issue under close scrutiny as the organization moves forward on the substantive agenda.

At the General Council Special Session on Implementation held on 18 October 2000, a large number of delegations representing Members from all regions and all levels of development expressed satisfaction with the way in which the consultative processes were being carried out, and complimented the Chairman and the Director-General on the efforts they have made in this respect.

back to top

Ministerial Conferences

At an informal meeting in early November Members engaged in a constructive exchange of views on issues relating to the preparation and organization of Ministerial Conferences. In line with the interactive approach adopted for discussions on internal transparency, the Chairman asked delegations to consider a number of specific questions, including, inter alia, the conduct of the preparatory process, the format of Ministerial Declarations, advance decision on Chairs and negotiation structure, the role of the host country, and the role of the Director-General and the Secretariat. In addition, the Chairman asked delegations to consider the suggestion by some Members that Ministerial Conferences could be held annually rather than every two years and that such conferences should be political events to discuss the developments in the international trading system on a more regular basis. A large number of delegations participated in the debate and the Chairman indicated his intention to produce a statement, under his responsibility, that would attempt to capture the mainstream of the discussion.

In his statement on internal transparency and effective participation of Members at the meeting of the General Council 7 and 8 December 2000 the Chairman briefly recalled the history of the discussions on this issue. In turning to the preparation and organisation of Ministerial Conferences he noted that the informal discussions had resulted in what he saw as a significant convergence of views.

First, Members generally seemed to consider the main functions of the Ministerial Conference to be to provide the possibility for political involvement in the ongoing work of the WTO, give political guidance for future priorities, and allow for decision-making by Ministers. Whether this would be in the form of a Ministerial Declaration would depend on the agenda of each individual Ministerial Conference.

Second, Members saw merit in having a maximum of flexibility in the process leading up to, and including, Ministerial Conferences. Any guidelines for the preparation and conduct of Ministerial Conference should be broad and flexible taking into account the agenda of each Conference.

Third, there was broad recognition of the need to establish an efficient, Geneva-based preparatory process which would allow for solutions to be worked out in advance for most issues, particularly when decisions by Ministers are required. The setting up of any negotiating structure and working groups as well as chairmanships should also be agreed during the preparatory process.

Fourth, there seems to be broad agreement among Members that the Chairman of the General Council with the support of the Director-General and the Secretariat shall assume a central role in the preparatory process as well as during the Ministerial Conference, especially in the negotiation of any agreed outcome. A host country would normally provide the Chairperson of the Conference who would chair the ministerial debate.

Fifth, Members generally considered that the Marrakesh Agreement already provided the flexibility needed regarding the frequency of Ministerial Conferences.

Sixth, Members reiterated that Ministerial Conferences should be held at the WTO Headquarters unless the Ministerial Conference or the General Council decided to accept an offer by a Member to host a Ministerial Conference.

Seventh, it remained clear that a strong, inclusive, and transparent process leading up to, and including, Ministerial Conferences, was fundamental in order to ensure a successful outcome. Furthermore, there seemed to be a common understanding throughout the Membership that the working methods during the preparatory process as well as during the Ministerial Conference, should be built on the positive experiences that have evolved in the organisation over the past year.

In his concluding remarks the Chairman expressed satisfaction that Members recognized that the practices and way of doing business in the WTO had improved. That was a collective achievement and it was clear that these issues would, indeed should, remain ever present in all aspects of future work. All the delegations that spoke expressed appreciation for the Chairman's statement and for his efforts in improving the transparency and inclusiveness of WTO work.

At the General Council Special Session on Implementation on 15 December all delegations recognized that the consultations on implementation related issues held by the Chairman and the Director-General had been conducted in a constructive and transparent manner and urged them to continue this practice.

back to top

Secretariat Initiatives

From the outset of the debate on internal transparency the Director-General instructed the WTO Secretariat to continue to look at immediate practical ways in which to improve and speed up the information flow to Members. At present such efforts include initiatives to further improve the on-line data bases available to Members and a number of pilot projects to use electronic communication channels to inform delegations about activities at the WTO. A Daily Bulletin also informs delegations about activities the previous day. In addition, a number of internal Secretariat task forces are continuously looking at matters of immediate concern relating both to the internal functioning of the Secretariat and ways in which the Secretariat could improve on its service to Members.

The Director-General has also implemented initiatives to help ensure the full and effective participation in the work of the WTO by Members who do not have representatives resident in Geneva. These include the appointment of a member of the secretariat staff earlier this year to liase with non-residents and the organisation of a week-long seminar for non-residents in Geneva at the WTO. The seminar encompasses a programme of lectures and other events designed to help trade officials familiarise themselves with the work of the WTO and of other organizations in Geneva. "Geneva Week 2000" took place in late October this year. The Director-General is also conducting consultations among interested parties to explore ways of enhancing facilities and services available to small missions and non-residents in order for them to participate more effectively in the WTO.

In addition, the WTO Secretariat has so far installed 94 Reference Centres in developing and least-developed countries to keep governments and regional entities up-to-date on the activities of the WTO. Most recently, Reference Centres were established in the Lebanon and at the OECS Secretariat in Saint Lucia.