RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/BFA/73 
16 July 2004 
 (04-3074) 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration  
 
 
 
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 28 JUNE 2004 
 
 
1. The WTO Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration met on 28 June 2004 under the 
chairmanship of Ambassador Henrik Rée Iversen from Denmark.  The terms of reference and 
composition of the Committee are set out in document WT/L/44/Rev.1.  The agenda contained in 
document WTO/AIR/2333 was adopted with one additi onal point on briefing on logistic matters and 
security questions. 
I. ADMINISTRATIVE UP-DATES AND PROGRESS REPORTS AS AT 31 MAY 2004 
A. CASH SITUATION AND STATEMENT OF OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS  
B. INSTALMENT PAYMENTS FOR COUNTRIES IN ARREARS (CONTRIBUTIONS FROM 1987  AND 
EARLIER YEARS ) 
C. CONTRIBUTIONS OF OBSERVER COUNTRIES TOWARDS THE COST OF SERVICES PROVIDED BY 
THE SECRETARIAT  
D. HUMAN RESOURCES  
E. EXTRA -BUDGETARY CONTRIBUTIONS : 
- TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIY IN 2004 
- DOHA DEVELOPMENT AGENDA GLOBAL TRUST FUND  
2. A member of the Secretariat presented the cash  situation, the statements of outstanding 
contributions as at 31 May 2004, the progress reports of payment by instalments for countries in 
arrears (arrears from 1987 and earlier years), and th e contributions of Observer countries towards the 
cost of services provided by the Secretariat.  As at 31 May 2004, the total contributions received from 
Members amounted to CHF 112,630,128 while those from the Observers amounted to CHF 414,424.  
The Capital Working Fund stood at CHF 9,013,238 as at 31 May 2004.  Since 31 May 2004, the 
following Members had made payments:  (i) Belize, ( ii) Fiji, (iii) Jamaica, (iv) Mozambique, (v) the 
Philippines, and (vi) St. Vincent & Grenadines. 
3. The Secretariat also presented a progress re port on human resources, document CRP(04)09.  
Of the six new posts corresponding to the consolidat ion of temporary assistance positions, four had 
been filled.  The two new posts in the 2004 budget ha d been allocated to the Rules Division and to the 
Technical Cooperation Audit.  The results of the audit on training needs undertaken by an outside 
consultant would form the subject of a proposal to the Committee in the context of its consideration of 
the draft revision to the 2005 bud get.  A revised transfer agreem ent with the United Nations Joint WT/BFA/73 
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Staff Pension Fund was expected to be submitte d to the General Council and the United Nations 
General Assembly for approval in the autumn. 
4. One Member requested that, if the training programme had financial implications, the 
Committee be informed of them prior to the year-end  budget cycle discussion.  It would be helpful for 
the Members to have knowledge of the particular item in advance. 
5. The Secretariat explained that the new post had been allocated to the Technical Cooperation 
Audit to replace a post which had been borrowed from the Trade and Environment Division.  With 
regard to the current status of staffing in th e Organization, the Secretariat would provide the 
breakdown by grade of the regular and temporary staf f on a divisional basis and would also include 
organizational changes, if any, at the next meetin g.  The filling of the six new posts corresponding to 
the consolidation of temporary assistance had all b een subject to external  competition, and the person 
occupying the temporary post had not always been the successful candidate.  The Secretariat would 
also provide the information on the current numb er of borrowed posts at the next meeting. 
6. Another member of the Secretariat presented documents WT/BFA/SPEC/113 and CRP(04)10.  
As at end of May 2004, the total expenditures re lated to the implementation of the Technical 
Assistance and Training Plan stood at CHF 13.5 million which corresponded to 56 per cent of the 
budgeted cost of the Plan.  The balance of the Pr ogramme Support Fund as of 31 May 2004 was still 
in deficit.  However, the deficit would hopefully be absorbed by the end of the year.  With regard to 
the Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund ( DDAGTF), a total of CHF 26.7 million had been 
pledged thus far for 2004, taking into account the pledges initially made for 2002 that would be 
cashed in 2004, the pledges for 2004 as well as the transfers received from other funds.  With regard 
to the cash flows, the DDAGTF showed an uncommitted balance of CHF 7.6 million as at 
31 May 2004.  The Secretariat also informed the Committee that a Member had made payment to the 
2004 DDAGTF since the preparation of the document CRP(04)10. 
7. The Committee took note of the various progress reports and the comments from the 
Members. 
II. REVIEW OF THE GUIDELINES ON VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS FROM 
NON-GOVERNMENTAL DONORS 
8. A member of the Secretariat presented the document WT/BFA/W/111/Rev.1 and recalled that 
the Committee had started the review of the guidelines in September 2003 as called for in paragraph 9 
of the Guidelines.  At the meeting of 1 April 2004,  the Committee had further discussed the item.  The 
amended text contained in document WT/BFA/W/111/ Rev.1 maintained the not ification of proposed 
donation to the Committee for approval, and encouraged donations to be placed in the DDAGTF at 
large. 
9. Members considered that a fair amount of tr ansparency was important.  Subsequently, the 
Annex 1 of document WT/BFA/W/111Rev.1 had been further revised, taking into account comments 
received (see Annex 1 of docum ent WT/BFA/W/111/Rev.2).  One Member suggested that the 
Committee look into further streamlining of the Guidelines in the future. 
10. The Committee recommends to the General Council to approve the revised guidelines 
on the voluntary contributions, gifts or donation s from non-governmental  donors as contained 
in Annex I to this report.   WT/BFA/73 
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III. ASSESSMENT OF ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTION TO THE 2004 BUDGET AND 
ADVANCE TO THE WORKING CAPITAL FUND:ACCESSION OF THE 
KINGDOM OF THE NEPAL TO THE WTO 
11. The Chairman introduced document WT/BFA /W/117 concerning the assessment of 
contribution on the Kingdom of Nepal. 
12. Consequent to the accession to the WTO of the Kingdom of Nepal on 23 April 2004 
(document WT/BFA/W/117),), the Committee decided to make the following recommendation to the 
General Council: the Committee recommends to the General Council that a pro rata 
contribution to the 2004 budget amounting to CH F 22,258 be assessed on this Government.  
This assessment, calculated as from 23 April 2004, is based on an annual contribution 
of 0.020 per cent, taking into account the intern ational trade figures (imports plus exports in 
goods, services and intellectual property rights) of the Kingdom of Nepal for the years 1997-
2001.  Furthermore, on the basi s of the level of the Working Capital Fund of CHF 9,013,239 the 
Committee recommends to the General Council to assess an amount of CHF 45,066 on the 
Government of the Kingdom of Ne pal as an advance to the Fund  
IV. LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE APPELLATE BODY 
13. A representative of the Secretariat presen ted document WT/BFA/W/118 and recalled the 
meeting of 1 April 2004 and document WT/BFA/W/ 109 with regard to a possible adjustment of 
compensation provided to Appellate Body Members.  He highlighted the percentage variations in the 
Geneva consumer price index for the past ten years,  and the financial implications on the adjustments 
on an annual basis should those rates of inflation be applied to the compensation elements. 
14. Some Members indicated that they had tran smitted the information to their capital and 
required more time to study the matter.  A few Me mbers questioned the basis of calculation of the 
original financial package, and enquired on the timing of the implementation of the proposal if it were 
approved. 
15. The Secretariat clarified that the statistics provided in paragraph 4 of the document 
WT/BFA/W/118 were from the “Indice genevois des prix à la consommation”.  The retainer fee of 
CHF 7,000 was set at the time of the establishment of the Dispute Settlement Body, and that the 
amount of daily allowances used was the same as th e one adopted by the United Nations.  The retainer 
fee and the allowances for administrative expenses are covered in the regular budget while the daily 
fee for days worked is covered by the Appellate Body Operating Fund. 
16. The Committee took note of the presentation and the comments from the Members and 
indicated that it would revert to the item at its next meeting for further deliberations. 
V. ADJUSTMENT TO WTO DEPENDENCY ALLOWANCES 
17. It was recalled that at the meeting of 1 Apr il 2004, the Committee agreed to continue the 
deliberation at its next meeting on the point of dele gating to the Director-General the authority for the 
determination of adjustments of dependency allowan ces.  A member of the Secretariat introduced the 
document WT/BFA/W/119 which provided information on the methodology used since January 1999.  
As was the case for General Service dependency allowances payable in the United Nations common 
system, a comparison was made with dependency allowances payable in the Canton of Geneva. 
18. One Member indicated that the practice used in  the organization was not established in the 
Staff Rules and Regulations and that he would like  to clarify some details with the Secretariat. WT/BFA/73 
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19. The member of the Secretariat clarified that the methodology referred to in document 
WT/BFA/W/119 corresponded strictly to that as set out in document WT/BFA/W/80.  Any change of 
the approved methodology would have to be su bmitted to the Committee for endorsement and 
reported to the General Council. 
20. The Committee took note of the report and the comments of the Member and agreed to revert 
to the question at the next meeting. 
VI. ORAL REPORT ON EFFICIENCY MEASURES IN THE WTO 
21. A member of the Secretariat briefed the Committee on the development on efficiency 
measures in the WTO.  It was recalled that a ques tionnaire was sent to all the Directors requesting the 
latter to review where savings could be made.  Replies from Directors had been received and 
analysed.  Concrete measures would be presented at the time of discussion of the revision of budget 
estimates for 2005.  In addition, the Secretariat had sent a letter to the all delegations in May 
requesting the latter to re-assess th eir needs for documentation in paper copies.  At the time of the 
meeting. 52 delegations had responded.  Some indicat ed that they no longer required hard copies of 
documents; others had decreased the number of hard copies required.  The Secretariat would continue 
to report to the Committee on the results of the exercise. 
22. Members welcomed the initiative to rely more on the electronic dissemination of information 
and thus reduce the number of paper copies of doc uments reproduced and distributed.  One Member 
suggested that it would be helpful if a daily list of new documents could be sent to Members by e-
mail, to facilitate a better use of documents.  An other indicated that while for some Members, the 
electronic dissemination of information provided a prac tical solution, others might have to rely on the 
paper copies for logistical reasons.  Some Members enquired on the development of putting 
documents on CD-ROM or DVD, and the production of an annual CD-ROM for all documents. 
23. The Secretariat informed that the putting documents on CD-ROM and DVD was still under 
study as it also involved certain investments.  Furt her, the Secretariat also clarified several aspects 
regarding the parking space available in the Centre William Rappard and at the Chemin de Mines. 
24. The Committee took note of the report, the comments from the Members and that the 
Secretariat would keep the Members posted on the development. 
VII. MONITORING TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE 
25. A member of the Secretariat introduced document WT/BFA/W/120, recalling that the 
Secretariat had agreed in 2003 to provide information with regard to efforts to monitor and control the 
use of temporary assistance in the WTO.  He drew the attention of the Members to paragraph 9 of the document which provided the current situation and the projection that the 2004 expenditure on 
temporary assistance might be in deficit if the curr ent trends were to continue.  Long-term temporary 
assistance had become a common practice in international agencies in Geneva and the trend had given 
rise to the development of a jurisprudence in th e International Labour Organization (ILO) where the 
tribunal had noted that long-term or short-term temporary staff acquired certain rights i.e. their 
contracts could not be ended without sufficient notice.  In a tight budgetary situation, there might be a 
risk that some temporary assistance contracts could not be extended.  
26. Some Members stated that Members would not be responsible if such a situation should arise 
since everything had to be done within the budget approved by Members.  Members requested the 
Secretariat to look for possible savings in other budgetary items with a view to ensuring a 
continuation of essential activities, including those related to the Integrated Framework.  One Member 
requested the Secretariat to provide more detailed information of the specific locations of the long-
term temporary assistance staff.  Some requested to develop effective means to monitor and control  WT/BFA/73 
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the recruitment of long-term temporary assistance st aff so as to address members' concern on the root 
cause for such a situation and constant increase of regular staff posts as a result of continuous 
consolidation of temporary assistance positions.  So me Members expressed support for the idea that 
all temporary assistance positions to be consolidated  after approval by Members should be the subject 
of an open competition.  The Chair concluded that the Committee would revert to this matter at the 
next meeting of the Committee. 
27.  The Deputy Director-General for Administration said that he would consult with Directors 
with a view to identifying areas of possible savings. 
VIII.  OTHER BUSINESS 
28. A member of the Secretariat presented a comprehensive report on ways and means of 
improving security and safety in the organization. 
29. The Chairman proposed the formation of an open-ended working group to discuss the matter. 
30. Members thanked the Secretariat for the presentation.  One Member indicated that the report 
was realistic and suggested that the Committee handle  the question of financial implications and leave 
the technical details to the experts.  The Comm ittee could count on the active and constructive 
participation of his Government. 
31. The Committee took note of the presentation and the comments from Members and requested 
the Secretariat to convene a meeting of the open-ended working group in the near future. 
 
POINTS FOR DECISION:  Paragraphs 10 and 12 
 
_______________WT/BFA/73 
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ANNEX I 
REVISION
 
(28 June 2004) 
VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS, GIFTS OR DONATIONS FROM 
NON-GOVERNMENTAL DONORS 
 
 
Given that voluntary contributions, gifts or donations  (hereafter "donations")  from non-governmental 
donors could be of benefit and since Members are committed to ensuring that no conflict of interest should arise through the acceptance of such donations, it is herein affirmed that the process with regard to such donations will be governed by the following guidelines. 
 
1. Donations proposed by private individuals an d non-governmental, non-profit organizations or 
foundations (non-governmental donors) may be considered.  These may include donations of goods or 
services "in kind";  however, secondment of staff from non-governmental donors to the WTO is 
prohibited. 
2. Donations from non-governmental donors which are for-profit organizations or companies 
shall not be accepted. 
3. The activities, aims and motivations of the non-governmental donors mentioned under 1 
above shall not be incompatible wi th the policies, aims and activities of the WTO and, as mentioned 
above, shall not give rise to a conflict of interest. 
4. While non-governmental donors shall be encouraged to make donations to the Doha 
Development Agenda Global Trust Fund at large,  the donor may specify one or more activities 
associated with WTO programs as the purpose of the donation. 
5. All proposed donations from non-governmental donors shall be notified to the Committee on 
Budget, Finance and Administration which shall promptly consider the proposals. The Director-General shall accept a proposed dona tion only after the Committee has approved* the 
proposed donation and its intended use(s). It is recognized that the Committee may wish to consider 
establishing a subsidiary working group to make  recommendations to it relative to proposed 
donations. 
6. The notification shall include full details regarding the activities, aims and motivations of the 
non-governmental donors mentioned under 1 above and the intended uses(s) of the donation. 
7. All accepted donations from non-governmental donors shall be placed in a trust fund and be 
disbursed in a manner that takes into account th e broad objectives of the Committee on Trade and 
Development, the Memorandum of Understanding Establishing the Global Trust Fund and any 
additional modalities to be establis hed for the purpose of disbursing the resources of the trust fund. 
8. Donations shall not entitle non-governmental donors to use of the WTO name or logo in any 
way. 
                                                     
 
* Pursuant to Regulation 19:1 of the WTO Financial Regulations.  All donations of a type covered by 
these guidelines are deemed to involve a certain additional financial liability for the WTO.  WT/BFA/73 
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9. Full details relative to all accepted donations  from non-governmental donors and their uses 
shall be included in the Director General’s Budget ary and Financial Report on extra-budgetary funds. 
10. Information with regard to accepted donatio ns shall also be made available on the WTO 
Website in order to ensure transparency. 
 
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