functioning of WTO Bodies
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSES TO ENHANCE CLARITY AND
ACCESSIBILITY OF INFORMATION
Communication
from Barbados, Colombia, India, Grenada, Paraguay, Singapore, Saint Kitts and Nevis,
the United Kingdom, and Uruguay
The following communication,
dated 19 December 2024, is being circulated at the request of the
Delegations of Barbados, Colombia, India, Grenada, Paraguay, Singapore, Saint Kitts and
Nevis, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay.
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1 CLARITY OF INFORMATION
1.1. We recall the proposal on "Enhancing Clarity and Accessibility
of Information" (_JOB/CTG/43/Rev.1) as endorsed by the Council for Trade in Goods in
December 2023. On the basis of the Council's approval, administrative processes
were improved to enhance the clarity of information on the activities of the
Council in the interests of transparency, inclusion and efficiency.
1.2. Our Delegations welcome the creation of a concise follow‑up table, circulated
after formal meetings. This document is issued under the authority of the
Chairperson, and concisely collates agreed next steps, deadlines, and actions
to be taken by delegations in preparation for the next formal meeting.
Delegations can see an example of this document in _G/C/W/857, which was circulated by the Chair of the Council for Trade
in Goods on 4 December 2024 following its meeting on 2-3 December 2024.
1.3. Our Delegations consider that this follow-up document demonstrates excellent
practice. It provides transparency on key points to Delegations including those
who could not attend the meeting, and information on key upcoming dates ahead
of the circulation of Minutes. This supports Members' with tracking information
and deadlines, to support their engagement with the Body.
1.4. In the interests of clarity and accessibility of information, we
propose other WTO Bodies adopt this practice of circulating a follow-up
document, following the same format as the Council for Trade in Goods (per
annex attached). The follow-up document should be issued as soon as possible
and preferably within five working days of the formal meeting and, to the
extent possible, in all WTO official languages simultaneously. The Chair should
also circulate a courtesy copy of this document to delegates when it is
available, which should be uploaded to
the WTO Documents Online Database. The document can be linked in the
relevant page of the Interactive Meetings Calendar.
2 WEBSITE HubS
2.1. Our Delegations would also highlight excellent practice in terms of
the CTG page
of the WTO website. Changes to the format have transformed the page into a
central hub of practical information for delegates including hyperlinks to
Minutes, the eAgenda, the Interactive Meetings Calendar and key dates. As such,
we consider the CTG page to be an example of best practice in terms of
user‑friendly access to consolidated information, and we encourage other Bodies
to draw inspiration from its format as appropriate. We recognise that many
other WTO Bodies have already made similar improvements to their websites and
welcome such efforts by the Secretariat. To this end, we encourage continuous
efforts to improve the accessibility and streamlining of information on the
websites across WTO Bodies to ensure user-friendliness.
3 The importance of minutes
3.1. We reaffirm Footnote 3 of the General Council's Decision on 14 May 2002
on the "Procedures for the Circulation and Derestriction of WTO Documents"
(_WT/L/452), as providing that the Secretariat shall normally circulate
Minutes within three weeks after a meeting of a WTO body and not later than the
notice convening the following meeting of that body. Our Delegations consider
the speedy drafting and circulation of Minutes to be a top priority and core
Secretariat work. To this end, we acknowledge the efforts of the Secretariat in
the preparation of the Minutes, and recommend that the Secretariat considers:
(a) setting aside dedicated time to focus on the Minutes immediately after
meetings; (b) considering the use of digital tools as appropriate; and (c)
exchanging and sharing best practices between the Secretariat across the various
WTO Bodies, with a view to ensuring the timely circulation of Minutes.
ANNEX
|
SUBJECT
|
DETAIL
|
|
1._ Remarks by the Chairperson:
|
Hyperlink to the Chairperson's remarks
under each item on the eAgenda, as well as any consolidated remarks, if
available.
|
|
2._ Decisions taken at the meeting:
|
List of Decisions, including
hyperlink to all relevant documents on Docs Online.
|
|
3._ Upcoming meetings:
|
Hyperlink to the tentative
calendar of meetings covering the body in question. Hyperlink to the WTO Calendar of meetings and webpage for the relevant
Body (e.g. see example of Hub for Council for Trade in Goods).
Hyperlink to any further
information on dates that could be useful, including to prepare for upcoming
meetings.
|
|
4._ Key dates for the upcoming meeting:
|
List of tentative dates on the
next meeting, covering the following categories:
Date of the meeting
Activation of the meeting's
eAgenda (as appropriate)
Circulation of the meeting's
initial convening notice
Closure of the meeting's agenda
Circulation of the meeting's
revised convening notice, including the meeting's tentative agenda
Circulation of the meeting's
annotated agenda
|
|
5._ Guidance on how to add items to the agenda of the next meeting
|
Members
can add items to the agenda in two ways:
1._
Hyperlink
to the relevant page of the eAgenda if available, and;
2._ Email address of the contact point(s) within the
Secretariat team that Members can contact to place items on the agenda via
email.
|
|
6._
Agreed items reverted
to by the Council, and standing items
|
List
of any standing agenda items that have already been added to the next agenda.
|
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