G/TBT/GEN/267  
 
17 September  2019 
(19-5971) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
ACTIVITIES OF THE UN ITED NATIONS ECONOMI C COMMISSION FOR EUR OPE (UNECE) 
RELATED TO THE WORK OF THE WTO TBT COMMI TTEE  
INFORMATION PROVIDED  BY UNECE  
This document contains information provided by UNECE  at the TBT Committee meeting of 
20-21 June 2019 under Agenda Item 5 (Observers).  
 
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1  UNECE ACTIVITIES REL ATED TO STANDARDS AN D TECHNICAL REGULATI ONS  
1.1.  UNECE would like to recall that the organization hosts several standards setting bodies – 
including the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) and UN/CEFACT among 
others. Additionally, a unique body, the Working Party on Regulatory Cooperation and 
Standardization Policies – or Working Party 6 (WP6) - develops and dissemin ates best practice 
related to the development and implementation of technical regulations, standardization policies, 
and policies related to quality infrastructure as well as conformity assessment and market 
surveillance. It encourages and supports regulat ory cooperation among members in specific sectors.  
1.2.  The 2019 meeting of the UNECE WP.6 will be held from 20 to 22 November 2019.  
1.3.  The present document summarizes recent activities of the UNECE WP.6 that are of particular 
interest to the TBT Committee.  
1.1  UNEC E activities on "Standards for the SDGs " 
1.4.  The focus of the work of the WP.6 in 2019 is to support its member states by developing 
guidance and best practice on how to use standards in operationalizing the priority of sustainable 
development and the achievem ent of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.  
1.5.  These activities are supported by the project on "Standards for the SDGs " which was funded 
by the Federal Republic of Germany through its Metrology Body (PTB) and other donors. The project 
aims at raising awareness a mong standards bodies on the 2030 Agenda, promoting the use of 
standards as a tool for policymakers, authorities, the civil society, business communities, and other 
stakeholders, and developing a culture of collaboration across different organizations.  
1.6.  The project has three main deliverables:  
• Awareness -raising activities and high -level events, at regional and global levels  
• A series of case studies, presenting the practical experience of policy makers  using 
international standards for sustainable development  
• A database that will allow users to identify and link standards to SDGs and targets 
(currently, SDG6, SDG7, SDG11 and SDG13)  
1.7.  The project will be continued through 2021 thanks to additional funding from the Government 
of Germany and we look for ward to working with members of the WTO TBT committee in its delivery.  G/TBT/GEN/267  
 
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  1.2  Gender -Responsive Standards Initiative  
1.8.  As an important element of its activities on the promotion of standards as a foundation of 
sustainable development, the UNECE Working Party 6 lead s the "Gender -Responsive Standards 
Initiative ", with participation from international regional and national standards bodies, 
governmental authorities, regional and intergovernmental organizations as well as NGOs, 
UN organizations, and academic and researc h institutions.  
1.9.  The initiative aims to strengthen the use of standards and technical regulations as tools to 
attain SDG 5 (Achieve Gender Equality and Empower all Women and Girls), integrate the gender 
lens in the development of both standards and technical regulations, as well as elaborate gender 
indicators and criteria that could be used in standards development.1 
1.10.   The initiative works on the basis of bi -monthly webinar meetings and occasional in -person 
meetings. Upcoming in person meetings will be  held:  
• On Tuesday 17  September 2019 in Cape Town, as a side event of the ISO General 
Assembly  
• On Wednesday 20 November in Geneva, as part of the UNECE WP.6 annual session  
1.11.   We encourage Members to participate in this work and sensitize their standards bodie s to also 
participate in these activities,  which led to adoption of the "Gender -Responsive Standar ds 
Declaration ". The Declaration has now been signed by  more than 60 standards bodies  worldwide 
and the list keeps growing daily. Upon s igning, standards body commit to drawing up a "Gender 
Action Plan ", containing actions based on their respective priorities.2  
1.12.   Finally, in an effort to provide an analytical backdrop to the ongoing work, UNECE published 
a volume on "Gender Responsive Standards " which makes the case for mainstreaming gender in the 
development and implementation of standards.  
1.13.   In this context, UNECE looks forward to the  Workshop on the role of gender in development 
of standards and technical regulations, which is scheduled to be h eld in 2020, as part of 8th Triennial 
Review and stands ready to assist in the organization of the workshop and/or provide subject matter 
expertise.  
1.3  Sectoral Initiative on Cyber Security  
1.14.   Another area of interest to the members of the WTO TBT Committee is the "Sectoral Initiative 
on Cyber -Security " which aims to promote the convergence of national technical regulations 
currently in place, or yet to be put in place, in this sector towards a shared framework that is based 
on a risk -based approach and other in ternational best practices.  
1.15.   This initiative is being developing by UNECE in partnership with the International 
Electrotechnical Commission. It aims at reducing barriers to trade for components, equipment, 
qualified persons and services, encourage competit ion, increase market choice and reduce costs.  
1.16.   It also aims at increasing the level of data protection for banking, health and other essential 
data services and the level of reliability, continuity, safety and security of critical infrastructures, 
such as electrical energy supply, and other essential services that are the backbone of any national 
economy. Interested members of the WTO TBT Committee are invited to comment on the draft 
proposal  and participate in the initiative.  
                                                
1 More information is available at: http://www.unece.org/tradewelcome/steering -committee -on-trade -
capacity -and-standards/tradewp6/thematic -areas/g ender -initiative.html   
2 The Declaration is available in English and other languages on the UNECE website: 
www.unece.org/tradewelcome/tradewp6/thematic -areas/gender -responsive -standards -initiative/gender -
responsive -standards -declaration.html  G/TBT/GEN/267  
 
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  1.4  Risk-based regulatory systems  
1.17.   In 2018, UNECE finalized a complete training course on risk -based regulatory frameworks. 
The course can be made available both as an onli ne tool and for in person training courses of different 
lengths. These materials are based on the methodology detailed in the publication: Training Guide 
on Regulatory Frameworks and Market Surveillance, available on the UNECE website.3  
1.18.   The foundation of these training modules is the large body of UNECE work aimed at promoting 
the use of risk management tools in regulatory systems.  A pilot project based on these materials 
was carried out in Kyrgyzstan in 2018 and we look forward to working with WTO TBT mem bers to 
hold similar online and in presence trainings in additional countries and regions in future.  
1.5  Education on standards and standards -related issues  
1.19.   UNECE WP.6 has been working on the priority of education on Standards and standards -
related issues sin ce the 1970s (see dedicated pag e on our website). In 2018, it issued a publication 
on "Bringing standardization in University Curricula: Making the case ". The Publication advocates for 
integrating education about standardization in to the curricula of educational establishments and 
presents priorities and directions for future work.  
1.20.   UNECE invites Members to involve their academic institutions, in their respective countries, 
to participate in the ongoing activities. and in particular to complement the compendium of 
information available on existing University programmes on standards and standards -related issues 
that is available on the UNECE website4. A meeting to review recent activities on Education on 
Standards and Standards related  issues is scheduled for 20 November 2019 at the Palais des Nations 
in Geneva.  
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3 https://www.unece.org/index.php?id=47846&L=0  or as online training.  
4 https://www.unece.org/tradewelcome/steering -committee -on-trade -capacity -and-
standards/tradewp6 /thematic -areas/education.html