./.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC(99)/ST/4
29 July 1999
(99-3229)
General Council
15 July 1999Original:  French
STATEMENT BY HAITI
The following statement was made by the delegation of Haiti at the meeting of the General
Council held on 15 July 1999, under the item concerning Reports of the Committee on Budget,
Finance and Administration, with the request that it be circulated to Members.
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1. I would like, through you, to thank the Secretariat for having submitted to the Council the
request of the delegation of Haiti concerning the participation of LDCs in the Seattle Conference.  Itwas in the light of the experience of the last two Ministerial Conferences and taking into account the
joint initiative of UNCTAD, UNDP and the South African Government that, after discussing the
matter with various colleagues among the LDCs, I suggested to the Committee on Budget, Finance
and Administration that it endeavour to have the Council rule on the question in the course of this
session.  I accordingly proposed that, in the circumstances, the Budget Committee be authorized toseek ways and means of facilitating the participation of a Minister and two high officials per LDC.
2. The experience of the last two conferences could not have been more humiliating for the
representatives of the LDCs.  On both occasions, it was only at the last minute and after interminable
discussions and much quibbling that the Budget Committee finally assured us that there would be a
way of enabling a Minister and one high official to participate in the conference in question.  The
problem is not so much with the host country, which automatically covers the accommodation costsof two delegates per LDC.  This year again, th e host country (United States) has indicated its
readiness to cover the accommodation costs for a Minister and a high official.  I assume that the
United States will adhere to the practice followed at Singapore, as well as at Brussels and Marrakesh,
and provide each LDC Minister with a chauffeured car, a security service and an office for the
delegation.  However, as in the past, the Budget Committee, being obliged to resort to a special fundto which Members are supposed to contribute, st ill does not know how much will be available to
cover the travel expenses of LDC delegates, specifically a business class ticket for each Minister and
an economy class ticket for each high official.
3. This year the situation could be even more di fficult, since, if we are to follow through the
initiative taken by UNCTAD, UNDP and the South African Government in preparing the LDCs for
the Seattle Conference, we must seek funds to finance the participation of a third delegate per LDC.
Under the initiative in question two senior advisers to the Ministry of Trade of each LDC were able to
participate in a workshop to prepare for Seattle, on condition that these two high officials be delegates
to the Ministerial Conference.  I assume that this initiative was undertaken in the spirit of coordinationof the Integrated Framework agreed between WTO, UNCTAD, UNDP, ITC, IMF and the World
Bank and that it goes without saying that the Seattle delegations will consist of a Minister and two
high officials per LDC.  In this case, the travel and accommodation costs of the second high official
should be borne by the Budget Committee.WT/GC(99)/ST/4
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4. Thus, if we are to avoid the ordeal of the last two conferences, I would like to suggest that the
Council rules on the question in the course of this session and assists the Budget Committee in its
delicate task of collecting funds as quickly as possible, so that the requirements of the Seattle
Organizing Committee, which is already awaiting registrations, can be met.
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