RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/BFA/60
29 August 2002
(02-4598)
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 5 JULY 2002
1. The WTO Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration met on 5 July 2002 under the
chairmanship of Mr. Neil McMillan of the United Kingdom.  The terms of reference and compositionof the Committee are set out in document WT/L/44/Rev.1.  The agenda contained in document
WTO/AIR/1849 was adopted.
I. ADMINISTRATIVE UP-DATES AND PROGRESS REPORTS AS AT 31 MAY 2002
C
ASH SITUATION AND STATEMENT OF OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS (CRP(02)16 AND
WT/BFA/SPEC/76)
INSTALMENT PAYMENTS FOR COUNTRIES IN ARREARS (CONTRIBUTIONS FROM 1987 AND
EARLIER YEARS ) (CRP(02)17)
CONTRIBUTIONS OF OBSERVER COUNTRIES TOWARDS THE COST OF SERVICES PROVIDED BY
THE SECRETARIAT (CRP(02)18)
HUMAN RESOURCES (CRP(02)19)
EXTRA -BUDGETARY CONTRIBUTIONS :
-S TATUS OF ALL EXTRA -BUDGETARY CONTRIBUTIONS (CRP(02)20)
-S TATUS OF PLEDGES MADE AND FUNDS RECEIVED : DOHA DEVELOPMENT AGENDA 
TRUST FUND (WT/BFA/SPEC/77)
2. A member of the Secretariat presented the cash situation, the statement of outstanding
contributions as at 31 May 2002, a progress report of payment by instalments for countries in arrears
(arrears from 1987 and earlier years), and the contributions of Observer countries towards the cost of
services provided by the Secretariat.  As of 31 May 2002, the total contributions received from
Members amounted to CHF 82.5 million.  Since the date of the report, the following Member
countries had made payments: (i) Greece, (ii) Krgyz Republic (iii) Namibia, (iv) the Netherlands,
(v) Saint Lucia, (vi) Singapore, and (vii) St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  Contributions received fromObservers to the WTO towards the cost of services provided by the Secretariat stood at CHF 386,590.
The Working Capital Fund amounted to CHF 8.8 million as at 31 May 2002.  There were two
Members in Category I of the Administrative Measures, and four each in Category II and III, while in
Category IV, there were 18 as at 31 May 2002.
3. Another member of the Secretariat presen ted a progress report, document CRP(02)19 on
human resources.  Considerable progress had been made in the selection process of fast track posts.
Of the 17 posts advertised, candidates from 11 different countries, eight of which were from
developing countries, had filled 12 positions.  Implementation of the Performance Award System
(PAS) was well under way, and supervisors and staff would be shortly carrying out the mid-yearWT/BFA/60
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review of performance under the PAS.  The Secretariat recalled that the new PAS system would
operate within the established lines of 2 per cent of the total salary budget.
4. In another development, the Director-General, on the basis of a recommendation by the Joint
Advisory Committee, issued a circular setting out a formal procedure for dealing with staff members’
complaints and grievances.
5. A member of the Secretariat introduced documents CRP(02)20 and WT/BFA/SPEC/77.  He
drew the attention of the Members to the situation as at 30 June 2002 of the Doha Development
Agenda Global Trust Fund (DDAGTF), which had received contributions amounting to
CHF 14.7 million.  He indicated that expenditure under the fund was less than foreseen due to the fact
that recruitment of L-posts was taking somewhat longer than expected.  It was anticipated that
expenditure for the second half of the year would increase.  He further informed the Committee of the
creation of a new Trust Fund for the Trade Policy Courses in Africa.
6. One Delegation indicated that his Government had made a transfer order of its contribution to
the DDAGTF the previous week.  Several Members indicated that their contributions for the fund
would be coming shortly.  One Member suggested that the Secretariat should remind the Members of
the availability of the Trust Fund foreseen to provide legal advice to developing countries as
stipulated in Article 27 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding.  It was also suggested that theSecretariat should inform the Members how the Trust Fund is executed, from the standpoint of
transparency and accountability, since it is funded by non-earmarked contributions.  It was further
recalled that the overhead costs on Trust Funds, as  approved by the General Council (WT/GC/M/11),
amounted to 13 per cent and were channelled into the Programme Support Fund (WT/GC/M/32).
With regard to earmarking of Trust Funds, it was also recalled that, where earmarked contributionscould be used to finance activities covered by the Plan, the funds would be transferred over to the
DDAGTF, as could be seen from the document CRP(02)20.
7. The Committee took note of the various progress reports and the comments of the Members.
II. RESULTS-BASED MANAGEMENT
8. The Chairman recalled the open-ended informal consultations held on 3 July 2002 where the
non-paper (document WT/BFA/W/76), prepared by the Delegates of Belgium, Canada and the
Netherlands, was discussed.  He then highlighted the following points of the discussions: (i) the
Secretariat would prepare a short report for the next meeting in autumn with regard to the present state
of Results-Based Management (RBM) in the WTO and its evolution since 1995, (ii) for the
preparation of the 2003 budget proposals, the Secretariat would take those elements from the
document WT/BFA/W/70 which could be easily implemented, particularly with regard to thepresentation, (iii) it seemed that there was a general consensus that any further developments in RBM
should be neither burdensome nor bureaucratic, (iv) delegates mentioned that the RBM process
should not turn into an exercise of micro-management of the Secretariat, and (v) to the extent
possible, emphasis should be placed on quantifiable objectives, while not neglecting the qualitative
aspect of the exercise.
9. One of the delegates who produced the non- paper introduced document WT/BFA/W/76 on
RBM and highlighted three points: (i) to the extent possible, the Secretariat should be guided by the
recommendations of the report of the Human Resources Consultant, document WT/BFA/W/70, in
preparing the 2003 Budget, (ii) Technical Assistance should be integrated into the RBM process in
due course, and (iii) an informal Working Group should be established to review and monitor theimplementation of the RBM in the WTO.
10. With regard to the suggestion of integratin g of the Technical Assistance into the RBM
process, Members felt that the Secretariat should be given time to reflect on the issue.WT/BFA/60
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11. Concerning the proposal to establishing a Working Group early in 2003 to monitor and
review the implementation of the RBM, some Members showed concern over the increase of the
number of meetings which could be a burden on smaller delegations.  As the Secretariat would
prepare and present a paper on the evolution of the RBM process in the WTO for a future meeting, it
was felt that the matter could be further discussed at that time.
12. The Committee took note of the report and the Chairman summarized the discussions as
follows: (i) RBM should not become a bureaucratic process, (ii) while the responsibility of the
implementation of RBM rested with the Secretariat, the monitoring of the progress of the
implementation rested with the Members, (iii) the Secretariat would prepare a paper on the evolution
of the RBM process in the WTO, (iv) the Secretariat should bring to the attention of the new Director-
General the report “Strategic Organizational Re view” which the Human Resources Consultant had
prepared (WT/BFA/W/69), and (v) the establishment of a Working Group or other mechanism tomonitor and review the implementation of RBM should be discussed at the next meeting based on the
Secretariat paper mentioned above.
III. AGREED TERMINATION SCHEME
13. A member of the Secretariat presented the document WT/BFA/W/75 on a possible agreed
termination scheme, which would be designed to ta rget those staff members whose services were no
longer required by the Organization and whose early separation from service would be in the mutual
interest of the Organization and the staff member.  In this respect, the scheme would not be limited to
specific occupational groups or levels of the hierarchy. It would reflect only the existing provisions of
the Staff Regulations and Rules and Pension Plan Regulations.  The elements of an agreed terminationpackage would comprise only the “variable” entitlements, including termination indemnity, pay in
lieu of notice and special leave.  It was suggested to constitute a fund either by transfers from an
overall WTO surplus, if any, or by means of a budget allotment, and to be replenished on an annual
basis as required.  It was suggested the initial level of the fund could be set at CHF 2 million.
14. In general, Members indicated that they were open to the idea, but would like to have more
details.  Would the scheme serve as a tool for downsizing or be focused on restructuring?  Would the
initiative come from the staff or from management?  What financial impact would the scheme have on
the WTO Pension Plan?  What, according to the Secretariat, would be the average yearly separations?
Would the scheme serve as a contingency reserve?  What implications could the scheme have on staff
morale?  How would the new scheme compare to the existing one as stipulated in the Staff Regulation
10?  A few Members questioned the necessity of the scheme.
15. The Secretariat explained that the scheme was designed to implement what already had been
provided in the Staff Rules and Regulations.  It would give the Organization flexibility to refill the
existing posts with staff having a more relevant profile in respect to the needs of the WTO.  The
initiative could come from the staff as well as from the management though the ultimate decision
would rest with the Director-General.  Separation wo uld be transparent and on a voluntary basis.  The
annual separations could average from three to five cases.  The WTO Pension Plan ManagementBoard would be consulted on the actuarial implications of the scheme.
16. The Committee took note of the report and the various comments from the Members and
would take up the issue again at the time of deliberation of the 2003 Budget.
IV. PROGRESS REPORT ON DRAFT PROJECT STUDY FOR NEW WTO ANNEXE
17.   The Chairman recalled the decision of the General Council in December 2001 which
authorized the Director-General to launch, in cooperation with the Swiss authorities, a draft study
aimed at producing a building plan and putting together the financial package required for itsWT/BFA/60
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implementation.  The process would put the General Council and the Swiss authorities in a position to
make a final decision on the matter.
18. The Swiss Delegation presented a progress report on the draft project study, document
CRP(02)21.  The Property Foundation for Internati onal Organizations (FIPOI) was preparing to
organize an international architectural competition for the new WTO building annexe.  The total costof the draft project study was estimated at approximately CHF 5 million, including the costs of the
competition procedure, the drawing up of the specifications, the identification of needs and the
preparation of the general estimate.  Subject to the approval of the Federal Council and the Federal
Chambers, funding would take the form of an advance on the overall interest-free loan, repayable over
50 years, which would be granted to the WTO for the construction of the new building annexe if
appropriate.  It was foreseen that the process would start in September 2002 and terminate in
December 2007.
19. The Committee took note of the report.
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