IMPROVING THE FUNCTIONING OF THE
COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS

REFORM MEASURES ADOPTED ON A TRIAL BASIS AT
THE FORMAL MEETING OF 30 NOVEMBER 2023

1  INFORMATION REGARDING INFORMAL MEETINGS OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS

1.1.  We request that the Chairperson for the Council for Trade in Goods routinely circulate an Overview Report after a CTG informal meeting, under their own authority.

1.2.  The aim of such a Report would be to help improve transparency and foster greater inclusion for Delegations that cannot attend the informal meetings due to myriad reasons (including, but not limited to, competing meetings and/or capacity constraints as referenced by submissions including _JOB/GC/223/Rev.1 and _JOB/CTG/21/Rev.1).

1.3.  Such a document shall be compiled and circulated on the basis of the following principles:

(i)      It should be circulated as soon as possible and preferably within two working days of the informal meeting;

(ii)     it shall provide a factual and neutral overview of the main elements discussed by Members, and be linked to the agenda of the meeting as circulated in the Informal Convening Notice;

(iii)    as a reminder it should capture, if applicable, next steps as referenced at the meeting, including Chair consultations, the dates of the next formal and/or informal meetings, etc. which should continue to be convened and communicated formally as according to current practice;

(iv)    it shall not indicate the names of any Member, or contain information to make Members identifiable;

(v)     this record of the meeting shall not include the opinions of the Chairperson, beyond those expressed by the Chairperson within the meeting itself; and

(vi)    nothing in this document precludes the Chair from circulating a further separate Communication under their own responsibility. Such Communications may include but not be limited to Chairs' texts, further detail on next steps, and/or other documents as requested by Members.

1.4.  We welcome that the CTG already uploads all Convening Notices to the Interactive Meetings Calendar. For transparency, we request that the Overview Reports of informal meetings are also, immediately upon circulation, uploaded to the relevant page of the Interactive Meetings Calendar.