./.RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/19
3 March 1999
(99-0825)
Original: English
GENERAL COUNCIL
Meeting held on 1 March 1999
Concluding remarks by Ambassador A. Mc humo, Chairman of the General Council,
on the Appointment of the next Director-General
In concluding this meeting at which we have had such a useful discussion, let me share with
you my understanding and my vision of how we should now proceed on this important matter in this
new phase which is beginning today.
As I stated in paragraph 4 of my earlier statement1, while building on the wealth of
information we already have, the consultations in this new phase and from now on, will need to bemore intensely focussed on building the necessary consensus around the most acceptable candidate.
Ambassador Rossier's report will no doubt provide a basis for candidates and Members for further
reflection on their positions and to draw the necessary conclusions.  However it is clear that if we
maintain the same approach as before, we may continue to obtain the same pattern of results without
necessarily achieving the clear consensus that we need for the new Director-General to be elected.  Itis for this reason that I reiterate what I have already indicated in my earlier statement that from now
on we need more dynamic interactions among Members and between Members and Candidates so as
to bring about new situations which will lead to consensus.
For Ambassador Rossier and myself, we shall be endeavouring to forge such consensus on the
basis of a combination of objective factors, the most important of which are the following:
(a) the strength of support in terms of first and second preferences for the candidates as
indicated in the previous phase of consultations and as it continues to evolve in the
process of further consultations;
(b) the extent to which a candidate enjoys least opposition or what you might call the
extent of "tolerance" that a candidate enjoys;
(c) The extent of the geographical spread of a candidate's support.We believe that none of the above factors alone will bring the consensus that we are seeking
and that it has to be a judicious combination of all of these elements.  Indeed, the consultative process
of this new phase must enable us to firmly establish the tradition that for the election of the Director-
General of the WTO, there is no recourse to a vote by all of us or a recourse to a veto by any of us.
We should all work towards consensus – without a vote and without a veto.
As repeatedly indicated before, it is Members who will bring about that consensus, and
Ambassador Rossier and myself are here to manage and facilitate the process.  For that reason and as
already indicated in my previous statement, we shall expect Members to come to us for any useful
information and on our part we may need to call on some Members to provide further clarifications as
                                                     
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necessary to arrive at a consensus.  In that regard Ambassador Rossier and I shall be available every
day from tomorrow Tuesday, 2 March until Friday 5 March to receive any useful information that
delegations may wish to proffer.  The Secretariat will be ready to receive from delegations indications
of their preferences of the time they may wish to see us and the venue will also be specified.  It should
be clear that delegations need only come to see us if they have new or extra information that may beuseful in our search for consensus.  At the same time, either during these coming four days or
immediately after, we may contact some delegations to seek for further clarifications from them and
we hope those delegations will continue to give us their maximum cooperation as in the past.
Finally, as already indicated in my previous statement, we shall be reporting to the General
Council as frequently as feasible if significant developments towards consensus – be they positive or
negative – become apparent.  As we undertake these final consultations, Members will take intoaccount our common desire to finish this matter as soon as possible and certainly before the end of
March 1999.
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