WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/GEN/236
9 March 2001
(01-1161)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English
NOTE ON DEVELOPING COUNTRY PARTICIPATION IN CODEX BODIES
Submission by the FAO/WHO C odex Alimentarius Commission
I. BACKGROUND
1. The Final Act of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations includes two
Agreements designed to limit the impact of non-tariff barriers to trade and to subject such barriers to
the disciplines of the GATT and the WTO.  These are the broad WTO Agreement on Technical
Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) and the more specific WTO Agreement on the Application of
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement).  Both Agreements desire to further the use ofharmonized measures between countries based on the use of internationally agreed standards and both
Agreements require countries to give consideration to using internationally agreed standards in the
formulation of national standards and other measures.
2. The standards, guidelines and other recommenda tions of the Codex Alimentarius Commission
are explicitly referred to in the SPS Agreement.
1  Domestic food safety measures which conform to
Codex standards, guidelines or other recommendations are presumed to be consistent with the SPS
Agreement and with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (1994).2  The standards, guidelines
and other recommendations of the Codex Alimentarius Commission also serve as international
standards within the context of the TBT Agreemen t, which covers all aspects of standardization
except the specific measures covered by the SPS Agreement.  Members of the WTO are required to
base their domestic technical regulations or standards on international standards where relevant
international standards exist.3  Although both the SPS and TBT Agreements make provisions that
allow national governments to apply standards that  diverge from international standards, the legal
value of the standards and other texts adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission has been
greatly enhanced by the WTO Agreements with consequent obligations on WTO Members and on
other countries trading with WTO Members.
3. The Codex Alimentarius Commission is an intergovernmental bodies with established
Statutes and Rules of Procedure.  It is open to all Members of FAO and WHO and currently there are
165 Members.  The Commission develops standards through consultative mechanisms with Member
governments that allows participation by both direct attendance at meetings (plenary sessions of the
Commission and sessions of subsidiary bodies) and by correspondence.  In practical terms,
developing countries participate directly in the standards-setting activities of the Commission mainlyin the plenary Commission sessions (where standards are formally adopted).  Participation of
developing countries in the committees responsible for drafting proposed standards has been
increasing in recent years, but is still below the level of participation in the Commission, or the level
                                                     
1 World Trade Organization: Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures ,
Annex A, paragraph 3(a).
2 World Trade Organization: Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures ,
Article 3.2.
3 World Trade Organization: Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade , Articles 1.1 and 2.4.G/SPS/GEN/236
Page 2
that would be considered as being representative of the Commission as a whole as the following table
shows.  The participation of Eastern European and former CIS countries remains a particular problem.
4. The attached tables show the participation of Member countries in every Codex meeting held
since the 22nd Session of the Commission in 1997.  In preparing these tables, countries were
considered to be "Non-developing" or not "In Transition" if at the time of the meeting they wereMembers of the OECD or G-8 groupings.  Devel oping countries and Eastern European and former
CIS countries in economic transition have been grouped together.
5. The Codex Alimentarius Commission meets bie nnially alternately in Rome and Geneva.
Although participation by accredited representatives to the parent Organizations allows for greater
nominal participation, the technical nature of the subject matter does not always ensure that the
participation is as effective as it could be.  The 28 subsidiary bodies of the Commission responsible
for drafting proposed standards meet either annually or biennially, creating a burden on all Membercountries in regard to participation costs, but affects developing countries to the greatest extent.
Average Attendance at Codex Meetings (by meeting category)
Committees
(by category)Countries
participatingOf which
developingOf which
developing (%)
General Subject 47 24 49%
Commodity 31 14 46%
RegionalCoordinating20 13 62%
Commission 94 66 70%
6. Because the act of adopting a final Codex standard, guideline or other recommendation has
consequences for all WTO Members whatever their stage of development and whether or not they
have participated in the standards-setting proc ess, the General Council of the WTO has encouraged
international standards-setting organizations to ensu re the participation of all Members at different
levels of development and from all geographic regions throughout all stages of standards
development.
7. The major constraints to effective participation of countries in the work of the Codex
Alimentarius Commission are:
• lack of effective infrastructures at the national level for the evaluation of draft
standards and the formulation of positions in consultation with all interested parties;and
• cost of travel and other participation costs at Codex meetings.
8. The first of these constraints is being addressed by a variety of means, in particular by direct
project assistance for the establishment or strengthening national Codex infrastructures.  Theseprojects can only be considered sustainable, however, if the country is able to maintain its effective
participation in the Commission’s work.  The second constraint also places a great burden on
countries, but is not as critical to effective participation at the first constraint.G/SPS/GEN/236
Page 3
II. PROCEDURAL OPTIONS
9. The CAC works through an 8-Step elaboration process that requires two rounds of written
consultation with all Member governments (Steps 3 and 6);  two rounds of discussion in committee
open to all Members (Steps 4 and 7);  and two rounds of consideration by the plenary session of the
Commission (Steps 5 and 8).  Developing countries may participate in all stages of this process,nevertheless, as indicated above, the level of participation does not reflect the full composition of the
CAC.
10. Suggestions have been made within the CAC to modify this procedure by either postal
balloting on standards or by passing through an approval process by the Regional Coordinating
Committees prior to adoption by the Commission.  Neither suggestion has received support,
principally because the view of the CAC is that its standards should be adopted by consensus by
means of an open and transparent process.
11. Maintaining the current procedures, but improvin g the effectiveness and level of participation
in the process is the best option.
III. MEETINGS OPTIONS
A. G
ENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
12. Since the CAC is a body of both FAO and WHO, formal invitations to attend Codex meetings
are sent from the Secretariat to Ministries of Agriculture and Ministries of Health in Member
countries according to the official mailing lists of FAO and WHO.4  Copies are also sent to the Codex
Contact Points notified to the Secretariat by each Member country and to the Permanent
Representations to FAO and WHO in Rome and Geneva, respectively.  Advance copies of invitations
are also sent to the electronic distribution list maintained by the Secretariat.  The Provisional Agendafor each meeting is sent together with the invitation.
13. Provisional Agendas and other working documents are sent to Codex Contact Points by mail
and via electronic distribution lists.  To the extent possible, all Codex documentation is made
available on the Internet.  The website for Codex documentation is up-dated at least twice per week.
14. The CAC and its subsidiary bodies frequently seek the input of Member countries by means
of Circular Letters sent to all Members and interested international organizations (both
intergovernmental and non-governmental).  In accordance with its Procedure for the Elaboration of
Standards, comments are requested from governments at Steps 3, 5, 6 and 8 of the eight-step
elaboration procedure.  Comments and other input are requested on other occasions as well, for
example to seek information on trade.  Circular Lett ers are sent to all Codex Contact Points and to the
electronic distribution lists.  All comments received are distributed to all other Codex Contact Points
(unless received after the deadline) and all written comments are reviewed by Codex Committees inthe course of elaborating standards, guidelines or similar recommendations.
15. At the final stage of the process, any Member country can submit written comments directly
to the CAC for consideration at the time of the adoption of a standard, guideline or recommendation.
                                                     
4 In some instances, invitations are sent to Ministries of Foreign Affairs or other addresses, depending
on the mailing lists for official correspondence established by Members countries and FAO and/or WHO.G/SPS/GEN/236
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B. THE CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION
16. Plenary meetings of the Codex Alimentarius Commission currently take place every two
years, alternately in Rome and Geneva, the Headquarters of FAO and WHO respectively.  This allows
a high level of participation especially through the Permanent Representations of countries to the
parent Organizations.
C. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION
17. Under the Statutes and Rules of Procedure of the CAC, the Executive Committee must ensure
geographic balance.  It is composed of a Chairperson and three Vice-Chairpersons elected in a
personal capacity from among delegations, and seven additional Members elected on a Regional
basis.  The CAC is currently considering proposals that could lead to the abolition of the Executive
Committee and its replacement with more frequent session of the Commission, or to an enlargement
of the Executive Committee with its regional Membership proportional to the Membership of theregions.
D. C
ODEX COMMITTEES AND TASK FORCES
18. Codex Committees are organized by host governments, who pay the operating costs of these
meetings (interpretation and translation and other meeting costs).  The Rules of Procedure of the CAC
specify that costs of delegates' participation are borne by the governments concerned.  Costs of directparticipation therefore pose a constraint to participation by developing countries, however countries
may still participate by correspondence.
19. There have been several proposals to improve the participation of developing counties by
holding Codex meetings in developing countries, paid for by the usual host country.  The recent
meetings of the Codex Committee on Food Additives se rve to illustrate the potential of this option:
Participation at the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants
(1996 – 2000)
Year Place Countries
participatingOf which
developingOf which
developing (%)
1996 Manila 35 16 31%
1997 The Hague 42 17 29%
1998 The Hague 53 28 35%
1999 The Hague 53 30 36%
2000 Beijing 39 20 34%
IV. CONCLUSIONS
20. Various options are available and are being explored to improve the participation of
developing countries in the work of the CAC.  The greatest constraint to effective participation is lack
of effective infrastructures at the national level for the evaluation of draft standards and the
formulation of positions in consultation with all interested parties.  This constraint can only be
removed through the process of technical assistance at an accelerated rate.G/SPS/GEN/236
Page 5CODEX ALIMENTARIUS: PARTICIPANTS BY COMMITTEE GROUP
Group Commission
Committee City Session Date From Date To Non-Dev Dev/Trans Total % Dev
Codex Alimentarius Commission Geneva 22 23/06/1997 28/06/1997 26 59 85 69.4
Codex Alimentarius Commission Rome 23 28/06/1999 03/07/1999 31 72 103 69.9
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________
Summary for 'Group' =  Commission (2 detail records)
Sum 57 131 188
Avg 28.5 65.5 94.0 69.7
Min 26 59 85 69.4
Max 31 72 103 69.9
Group Executive
Committee City Session Date From Date To Non-Dev Dev/Trans Total % Dev
Executive Committee Rome 45 03/06/1998 05/05/1998 5 5 10 50.0
Executive Committee Rome 46 24/06/1999 25/06/1999 5 4 9 44.4
Executive Committee Geneva 47 28/06/2000 30/06/2000 5 6 11 54.5
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________
Summary for 'Group' =  Executive (3 detail records)
Sum 15 15 30
Avg 5.0 5.0 10.0 49.7
Min 54 9 4 4 . 4
Max 5 6 11 54.5G/SPS/GEN/236
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Group Commodity Committee
Committee City Session Date From Date To Non-Dev Dev/Trans Total % Dev
Cocoa Products and Chocolate Bern 17 16/11/1998 18/11/1998 20 14 34 41.2
Fats and Oils London 16 08/03/1999 12/03/1999 19 10 29 34.5Fats and Oils London 17 19/02/2001 23/02/2001 15 16 31 51.6Fish and Fishery Products Bergen 23 08/06/1998 12/06/1998 21 17 38 44.7Fish and Fishery Products Aalesund 24 05/06/2000 09/06/2000 23 20 43 46.5
Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Mexico City 9 09/10/2000 13/10/2000 15 18 33 54.5
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Mexico City 7 08/09/1997 12/09/1997 9 14 23 60.9Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Mexico City 8 01/03/1999 05/03/1999 8 20 28 71.4Milk and Milk Products Montevideo 3 18/05/1998 22/05/1998 23 17 40 42.5Milk and Milk Products Wellington 4 28/02/2000 03/03/2000 24 9 33 27.3
Naltural Mineral Waters Bern 16 19/11/1998 21/11/1998 20 9 29 31.0
Processed Fruits and Vegetables Washington D.C. 19 16/03/1998 20/03/1998 12 14 26 53.8Processed Fruits and Vegetables Washington D.C. 20 11/09/2000 15/09/2000 13 12 25 48.0Sugars London 7 09/02/2000 11/02/2000 17 9 26 34.6
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________
Summary for 'Group' =  Commodity Committee (14 detail records)
Sum 239 199 438
Avg 17.1 14.2 31.3 45.9
Min 8 9 23 27.3
Max 24 20 43 71.4G/SPS/GEN/236
Page 7Group General Subject Committee
Committee City Session Date From Date To Non-Dev Dev/Trans Total % Dev
Food Additives and Contaminants The Hague 30 09/03/1998 13/03/1998 25 28 53 52.8
Food Additives and Contaminants The Hague 31 22/03/1999 26/03/1999 23 30 53 56.6Food Additives and Contaminants Beijing 32 20/03/2000 24/03/2000 19 20 39 51.3
Food Hygiene Washington D.C. 30 20/10/1997 24/10/1997 25 29 54 53.7
Food Hygiene Orlando 31 26/10/1998 30/10/1998 26 22 48 45.8Food Hygiene Washington D.C. 32 29/11/1999 04/12/1999 25 42 67 62.7
Food Hygiene Washington D.C. 33 23/10/2000 27/10/2000 22 34 56 60.7
Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems Melbourne 6 23/02/1998 27/02/1998 24 31 55 56.4Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems Melbourne 7 22/02/1999 26/02/1999 22 22 44 50.0
Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems Adelaide 8 21/02/2000 25/02/2000 23 19 42 45.2
Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems Perth 9 11/12/2000 15/12/2000 20 23 43 53.5Food Labelling Ottawa 26 26/05/1998 29/06/1998 23 19 42 45.2
Food Labelling Ottawa 27 27/04/1999 30/04/1999 26 20 46 43.5
Food Labelling Ottawa 28 08/05/2000 12/05/2000 25 17 42 40.5General Principles Paris 13 07/11/1998 11/09/1998 25 32 57 56.1
General Principles Paris 14 19/04/1999 23/04/1999 23 24 47 51.1
General Principles Paris 15 10/04/2000 14/04/2000 24 27 51 52.9Methods of Analysis and Sampling Budapest 22 23/11/1998 27/11/1998 20 17 37 45.9
Methods of Analysis and Sampling Budapest 23 26/02/2001 02/03/2001 23 17 40 42.5
Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses Berlin 21 21/09/1998 25/09/1998 24 18 42 42.9Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses Berlin 22 19/06/2000 23/06/2000 26 25 51 49.0Pesticide Residues The Hague 30 20/04/1998 25/04/1998 26 23 49 46.9
Pesticide Residues The Hague 31 12/04/1999 17/04/1999 25 25 50 50.0
Pesticide Residues The Hague 32 01/05/2000 08/05/2000 27 21 48 43.8Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods Washington D.C. 11 15/09/1998 18/09/1998 23 18 41 43.9
Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods Washington D.C. 12 28/03/2000 31/03/2000 23 11 34 32.4
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________
Summary for 'Group' =  General Subject Committee (26 detail records)
Sum 617 614 1,231
Avg 23.7 23.6 47.3 49.1
Min 19 11 34 32.4
Max 27 42 67 62.7G/SPS/GEN/236
Page 8Group Regional Committee
Committee City Session Date From Date To Non-Dev Dev/Trans Total % Dev
Africa Harare 13 03/11/1998 06/11/1998 1 22 23 95.7
Asia Chiang Rai 11 16/12/1997 19/12/1997 4 18 22 81.8Asia Chiang Mai 12 23/11/1999 26/11/1999 4 15 19 78.9Europe Madrid 21 05/05/1998 08/05/1998 19 3 22 13.6
Europe Madrid 22 03/10/2000 06/10/2000 19 4 23 17.4
Latin America and the Caribbean Montevideo 11 08/12/1998 11/12/1998 2 21 23 91.3Latin America and the Caribbean Santo Domingo 12 13/02/2001 16/02/2001 2 20 22 90.9Near East Cairo 1 29/01/2001 01/02/2001 2 18 20 90.0North America and the South-West Pacific Seattle 5 06/10/1998 09/10/1998 4 5 9 55.6
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________
Summary for 'Group' =  Regional Committee (9 detail records)
Sum 57 126 183
Avg 6.3 14.0 20.3 68.4
Min 13 9 1 3 . 6
Max 19 22 23 95.7
Group Task Force
Committee City Session Date From Date To Non-Dev Dev/Trans Total % Dev
Animal Feeding Copenhagen 1 13/06/2000 15/06/2000 25 10 35 28.6
Foods Derived from Biotechnology Chiba 1 14/03/2000 17/03/2000 20 13 33 39.4Fruit and Vegetable Juices Brasilia 1 18/09/2000 22/09/2000 14 9 23 39.1
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________ __________________
Summary for 'Group' =  Task Force (3 detail records)
Sum 59 32 91
Avg 19.7 10.7 30.3 35.7
Min 14 9 23 28.6
Max 25 13 35 39.4
________________________________________
Grand Total 1,044 1,117 2,161 51.7
___________