. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(01)/14
9 November 2001
(01-5559)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Fourth SessionDoha, 9 - 13 November 2001Original:  English
INTRODUCTION OF THE REPORT OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL
Statement by Mr. Stuart Harbinson, Chairman of the General Council
I have the honour to present to you today the Report to the Ministerial Conference adopted by
the General Council on 31 October 2001, covering the activities of the various WTO bodies for the
year 2001.  In doing so, I would like to make a few comments on the three major areas of our work in
2001 - namely the regular work of the Council, the implementation review process and the
preparations for the Doha Ministerial Conference.
With regard to the regular work of the Genera l Council, let me highlight the following points.
The General Council has established three working parties to examine requests for accession
by The Bahamas, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Tajikistan.  The Council has also adopted
the Decision on the Accession of Moldova as the 142nd Member of the WTO.  Finally, the accession
of both China and Chinese Taipei will be considered for action by Ministers at the present Ministerial
Conference.  These decisions are in keeping with our objective of making the WTO a truly universal
organization.  In this respect many Members feel that efforts should be maintained to accelerate the
accession processes for outstanding, as well as future requests.
As part of the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce, the General Council has engaged
in substantive discussions based on the reports submitted to it by the subsidiary Councils andCommittees as well as on other relevant considerations.  Given the rapid evolution of electronic
commerce, many Members attach importance to further focussed deliberations on a number of the
issues raised.
The General Council has also made progress on a number of issues which nevertheless
require further work amongst Members.  I will mention just two:
(i) first, with regard to derestriction and ci rculation of WTO documents, much work has
taken place to explore ways of simplifying the current procedures.  Hopefully this
will bear fruit soon and further emphasize the WTO's commitment to transparency;
(ii) secondly, on the basis of a proposal by a group of 14 countries, Members are
addressing possible improvements to the Dispute Settlement Understanding.  I must
also mention that the subsidiary bodies to the General Council have continued their
sterling efforts in administering the various agreements under their purviews, thusfurther consolidating the multilateral trading system.
1. Implementation review process
Turning now to the implementa tion review process relating to Uruguay Round agreements
which was established by the General Council in May 2000, our work intensified considerably.  Inaddition to the General Council's three Special Sessions on this subject in 2001, there were very
extensive informal consultations.  I must acknowledge the enormous efforts made by all sides –WT/MIN(01)/14
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including by Members, by the Director-General and his colleagues in the Secretariat, by the
Chairpersons of the relevant WTO bodies  and by my predecessor Ambassador Bryn.
Our deliberations over the past two years have yielded a much greater understanding of how
the expressed concerns might be addressed, through decisions for immediate action and in the context
of the future work programme to be decided by Ministers here at Doha.  An initiative by a group of
seven Members in June induced signs of real pr ogress.  The Director-General and myself were
subsequently able to put forward, for the General Council's consideration, draft decisions to address
all outstanding implementation-related issues and concerns.  The draft decision of 1 November has
been transmitted on our own responsibility to Ministers here in Doha for consideration.  It is our
assessment that most elements of this text are acceptable to Members, and that Ministers therefore
need to devote their time to a limited number of outstanding issues in order to reach final agreement.
2. Preparations for the Fourth Session of the Ministerial Conference
Preparations for the Fourth Session of the Ministerial Conference have involved extensive
efforts to develop a draft Ministerial Declaration, as well as a separate draft Declaration on Intellectual
Property and Access to Medicines or Public Health – an issue to which many Members attach great
importance.  This process has been both transparent and inclusive, and I would like to thank all
delegations for their committed and constructive spirit, goodwill and hard work.
Although all delegations showed a willingness to engage constructively and considerable
progress was indeed made, the distance between positions in some key areas remained significant.  In
an effort to provide a basis for eventual consensus, the Director-General and I put forward on
27 October, on our own responsibility, draft texts of a Ministerial Declaration and a Declaration on
Intellectual Property and Access to Medicines or Public Health, making it clear that these texts did notpurport to be agreed in whole or in part at this stage.
The Director-General and I are satisfied that these texts, which we have also transmitted to
Ministers under our own responsibility, represent the best possible basis for Ministers to build on in
the course of their work at this Session.  We are confident that Ministers have in their grasp theelements necessary to reach a positive and balanced result from their important deliberations here in
Doha on the WTO's future work programme.
In conclusion, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all Members for their
continuous support and cooperation, as well as to the Chairpersons of all WTO bodies for their hardwork, determination and valuable assistance throughout the year.  I would also like to take this
opportunity to pay tribute to the Director-General of the WTO, Mr. Mike Moore, and his Deputies for
their tireless efforts and support in the preparatory process leading to this Ministerial Conference.
Finally, let me join the Director-General in thanki ng Your Highness for the outstanding generosity of
your Government in inviting us to Doha for this important Conference which, I am sure, will long be
remembered as a milestone in the WTO's development.
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