RESTRICTED  
  
WT/BFA/148  
 
27 April 2015  
(15-2272)  Page: 1/5  
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration    
 
 REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 23 MARCH 2015 
The Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration met on 23 March 2015 under the 
chairmanship of Ambassador Francisco Alberto Lima (El Salvador) and Ambassador Daniel Blockert 
(Sweden). 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/BFA/2 was adopted with the postponement of the Item B to the next formal meeting of the Committee. 
 
1  PROGRESS REPORT ON THE WORKING GROUP ON AFTER SERVICE HEALTH INSURANCE (ASHI)  
1.1.  The Chair of the Working Group on Afte r Service Health Insurance (ASHI) updated the 
Committee on the progress made within the Workin g Group on its meeting in February and March 
2015. The Working Group first examined the draft re port containing the possible areas for cost 
control to address ASHI liabilities and the budget ary impact of the plan. From this point, the 
Working Group aims to further extend its work for th e final ASHI report to be submitted in July. He 
also informed the Committee that a Member of Senior Management and the Director of Human 
Resources had participated at the last Working Group meeting.  
1.2.  The Chair of the Working Group expressed hi s confidence that the group would be able to 
deliver on its mandate by the July deadline. Th e Chair kindly reminded the Committee that the 
Working Group on ASHI was open to all Members.  Finally, the Chair underlined the considerable 
progress made and thanked the Members of the Wo rking Group for their continued participation. 
He also extended his thanks to the Chairman of the Committee on Budget, Finance and 
Administration for his commitment and helpful guidance with regard to the work of the Working Group.  
1.3.  The Chairman of the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration thanked the Members 
of the Working Group for their involvement in this technical and sensitive matter. He encouraged them to pursue their work in the coming months to meet the July deadline. The Chairman 
underlined that sustainability and continuity were  the two important elements identified when the 
Working Group was created. He stressed that in his view, the current system was not sustainable, 
and hence the need to have specific recommendations from the Working Group on the way forward. He also indicated that we do not expe ct to solve this issue immediately, but it was 
something that should be faced in several stages. He drew the Committee's attention to the fact 
that a series of contractual conditions would have to be looked at in detail, as they were of interest to both staff and Members. The Committee took note of the report.  
2  UPDATE ON THE ORGANIZATIONAL REVIEW OF THE WTO SECRETARIAT 
(WT/BFA/W/353 AND WT/BFA/W/353/CORR.1) 
2.1.  DDG Brauner updated the committee on the progress of the Strategic Review. On the basis of 
the reports of the working groups the join t recommendation groups (JRG) had drafted 
recommendations on which the Joint Advisory Committee (JAC) had deliberated and given advice to the Director General (DG). The final decision on implementation of new policies lies with the DG. So far the two aforementioned items resulted from this process.  
2.2.  The JAC had already finalised its deliberations on a policy on mediation. This was awaiting the 
final approval of the Director-General. The next item on the agenda of the JAC was the policy on mobility. The promotions policy had not yet reached the JAC. The administration was still working 
on it. WT/BFA/148 
 
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  2.3.  Several Members thanked the Secretariat fo r its update on the Strategic Review progress. 
One member wanted to know if there was a change in the substance of the existing staff rules or 
whether the Secretariat had just implemented the ILO jurisprudence. The DDG answered that the 
new rules and administrative memoranda that so far had entered into force did no more than 
implement the ILO jurisprudence and provided for the clarifications that the staff had demanded. 
2.4.  Another Member showed interest in receiving more details on the establishment of an office 
of internal oversight and its enlarged mandate including investigations and evaluations. The 
Secretariat indicated that this topic was still under discussion with in the administration and 
promised to keep the Committee informed on further developments. 
2.5.  The Chair confirmed that the Committee wanted to be kept informed about developments 
regarding the Organizational Review. The Committee took note of the report. 
3  2014 ANNUAL REPORT ON DIVERSITY IN THE WTO SECRETARIAT (WT/BFA/W/354) 
3.1.  The new Director of Human Resources was introduced to the Committee and then presented 
an overview of the 2014 annual report on diversit y. He detailed data on the current composition of 
WTO staff on the basis of WTO Membership and gend er, and by region, as well as the evolution of 
staff diversity since 1995. He underlined that there was a considerable improvement in the representation of developing countries and least developed countries.  
3.2.  The member of the Secretariat also mentio ned that the Secretariat had been implementing 
and improving diversity within the WTO. The repres entation of professional staff had increased by 
grade and by gender since 1995. The share of pr ofessional staff represented by developing and 
least developed countries had increased from 21.5% to 35.6%, and the proportion of females in 
the professional staff had been steadily increasing from 31.4% in 1995 to 41.7%, in 2014  
3.3.  It was also drawn to the Committee's attention that by enlarging the diversity, there was an 
improvement made in grade 10, representing 36 females and 61 males, totalling 97 staff in this 
grade. He also mentioned the parity showing 58 fe male and 56 male staff members in grade 9, in 
2014. The Secretariat emphasized that there was a considerable number of interns originally from Africa, Asia and Latin America who had taken part in the WTO internship programmes. A high 
percentage of females (50.7%) were also  taking part in the same programme. 
3.4.  It was then indicated that out of the number of the applications received, 16.9% were from 
Africa, 17% from Asia and 14% from Latin America. The short-listed candidates by region, in 2014 were 9% for Africa, 12.4% for Asia and 12% from Latin America. He concluded by mentioning that 
the Secretariat aimed to put in place a targeted campaign for unrepresented countries and create 
a roaster of suitable candidates who could be employed at short notice.  
3.5.  Several delegations welcomed the new Direct or of the Human Resources division and looked 
forward to working with him. They also welcomed the diversity report, which contained a positive 
signal of improvements in diversity in the Secret ariat. Several Members stressed the importance of 
continuing to promote and maintain diversity wh erever possible. A Member also welcomed the 
diversity progress made in the Internship Programme and in the selection of the three new 
Directors' positions. 
3.6.  Members recognized that the WTO Secretariat was progressing in the diversity area. A 
delegation stressed the fact that merit and quality of the staff Member should remain the main 
criteria of recruitment, and that those two import ant elements should not be compromised. Within 
that context, it was acknowledged that diversity co uld be considered. It was pointed out that even 
with the constant evolution and increasing diversity in the staff composition, the highest levels of 
efficiency, integrity and competency had been maintained. 
3.7.  One delegation welcomed the fact that the Director-General, at the last General Council had 
stressed the importance of focussing on merit when recruiting for the Young Professional 
Programme. Another delegate requested that her country's contributions to the Internship 
Programme be reflected in the diversity report.  WT/BFA/148 
 
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  3.8.  The Chairman thanked the Members and th e Secretariat for their valuable exchanges and 
welcomed the efforts of the Secretariat in the area  of diversity. The Chairman accepted that the 
Secretariat should reflect the contribution of donor countries to the Internship Programme in any subsequent diversity reports. He concluded by encouraging the Secretariat to pursue recruitment 
in accordance with the established recruitment poli cy of the WTO. The Committee took note of the 
report. 
4   2015 SALARY SCALE ADJUSTMENT (WT/BFA/W/356)  
4.1.  A member of the Secretariat updated the Committee on the WTO salary scale for 2015. He 
mentioned that the annual survey had been carried out comparing the WTO salaries to the United Nations and Coordinated Organizations' salaries . The salary survey showed that the 2014 WTO 
salaries were 0.5% behind the comparators. Accordingly, an equal grade-weighted average 
adjustment should be applied to the staff who had joined the WTO after the 1
st January 2013. This 
adjustment would not concern staff recruited before 1st January 2012, as the applicable salary 
were not surpassed by the salary levels of the comparators.  
4.2.  A delegation requested what would represent the cash impact for 2015 and the number of 
staff who would benefit from the 0.5% adjustment. The Secretariat answered that less than 30 staff members would be concerned by that positive adjustment, amounting to approximatively 
CHF 20,000 for 2015. The Committee took note of the report. 
5  STAFF LEARNING DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME INCLUDING STANDARDS OF CONDUCT 
(WT/BFA/W/355) 
5.1.  Further to a request from a delegation, the Secretariat provided information on the staff 
learning development programme, also including the WTO Standards of Conduct contained in the 
International Civil Service Advisory Board (1954) document. 
5.2.  The member of the Secretariat reminded th ose present of the core values, contained in the 
WTO Staff Regulations, which WTO staff members should incorporate in their professional lives: 
integrity, diversity, independence and impartiality.  
5.3.  The Committee was also informed that a training manual had been launched in 2012, 
reflecting the core values as stated in the Standard of Conduct. Various training workshops to 
include sessions on core values were conducted for managers. The Secretariat ensured that staff members received guidance to integrate the organization's core values and managers were reminded of the importance of being exemplary in their behaviour.  
5.4.  The member of the Secretariat then briefed the Committee on the Secretariat's 2015 
development programme. She drew the Committee's attention to the fact that the Director-General emphasised the importance of enhancing the Secretariat's people and 
performance management capability and as such, a number of learning initiatives were being 
implemented for those in managerial positions. She stated that training will also be provided for 
staff interested in undertaking a managerial role  in the future. In addition, staff were also 
encouraged to take ownership for their careers. 
5.5.  A Member expressed his sincere appreciation and thanked the Secretariat for its initiative to 
develop the training programme at WTO, including the Standard of Conduct. He looked forward to 
receiving the results of the 2015 development programme. This would be discussed at a further 
meeting. 
5.6.  The Chairman thanked the Secretariat and agreed to discuss further the results of the 2015 
development programme as requested by a delegation. The Committee took note of the report.  
6  BUDGET AND FINANCE REPORT – 4
TH QUARTER (WT/BFA/W/357) 
6.1.  A member of the Secretariat presented the financial situation of contributions received from 
Members. The amount received in December 2014 was slightly lower than in December 2013. 
There were 104 Members (94%) and 15 Observers (71%) with no outstanding balance. 
Respectively, 27 Members and six Observers were subject to administrative measures. The WT/BFA/148 
 
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  preliminary budget outcome for 2014 disclosed a budgetary saving of some 14 MCHF realized 
primarily on staff costs due to vacant posts and on the careful control of administrative costs (e.g. due to renegotiated service contracts). However, the financial result of the exercise 2014 was estimated to be negative by some 20 MCHF, after consideration of the service costs for the 
pension and ASHI benefits, according to IPSAS. Th e Secretariat was still waiting for the final 
figures from the actuary, and therefore this wa s only a projection. The final and detailed budget 
situation would be presented in the audited 2014 Financial Performance Report which would be 
released in the coming months. 
6.2.  The Secretariat reminded the Committee to take action as soon as possible to facilitate the 
participation of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to the Ministerial Conference (MC10) taking place at the end of 2015. The Secretariat drew the attention of the Committee to the fact that no 
funds had been received so far, knowing that CHF 800 000 were urgently needed to be collected.  
6.3.  The Chairman concluded by urging the Member s to contribute to the LDCs Fund as soon as 
possible to enable LDCs to participate in MC10. The Committee took note of the report. 
7  INFORMATION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF NEGATIVE INTERE ST RATES ON WTO 
BANK ACCOUNTS (WT/BFA/W/358) 
7.1.  The Secretariat informed the Committee that a meeting had taken place recently between 
the Secretariat and the main banking partners. At that session, the bank informed the Secretariat, 
that as from the 1
st April 2015, the bank would introduce a negative interest of -0.75% on the 
WTO's bank accounts in Swiss Francs (CHF) for account balances above a certain threshold. The Secretariat reported that the situation remained unpredictable and that negative interest could 
evolve in the future, which could lead to uncertainty in the financial markets.  
7.2.  The Secretariat examined further a strategy  based on three elements: optimizing the bank 
balance by maintaining the thresholds established by the bank; optimizing the cash receipts by 
determining the payment date of contributions rece ived by the largest contributors, and optimizing 
payments by anticipating major payments with selected partners. Those strategies would aim to reduce the impact of negative interest rates on the WTO bank account balance. The Secretariat 
concluded that the Committee would be informed about the evolution of the situation.  
7.3.  A Member asked if the Secretariat would optimize the WTO cash balance between the three 
existing bank accounts, rather than expanding to  other banking partners. He made reference to 
the revised Financial Regulations regarding the selection of banking partners, which should be kept 
in mind while considering this issue. The Secretariat replied that that issue would be further 
examined and the Committee would be updated in due course. 
7.4.  The Chairman agreed that due to the uncer tainty of the situation and until the situation 
became clearer, the Committee should   be update d periodically on that item by the Secretariat 
The Committee took note of the report.  
8  PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH A BUILDI NG RENOVATION FUND (WT/BFA/W/359) 
8.1.  A member of the Secretariat provided th e Committee with additional information on the 
proposal to establish a Renovation Fund. He explained that there were two distinct aspects of building expenses. First, the routine maintenance for current expenditures funded by the regular budget, based on current repairs. Second, major repair and replacement projects due to the 
deterioration of facilities over time. The establishment of the Renovation Fund, would be intended 
to address the second type of building expenditur es by targeting repairs or replacement of major 
facilities.  
8.2.  The Secretariat reported to the Committee that it had met with FIPOI, the Swiss Institution 
managing several International Organization' s buildings in Geneva. The Committee was pleased to learn that the FIPOI, based on their long experi ence and expertise would assist the Secretariat 
with the calculation of the yearly amount needed to establish the Renovation Fund, and would be 
willing to present to the Committee further elements  on this topic. The Secretariat concluded that 
for any expenditure provided from the Renovation F und, it would have to seek prior approval from 
Members.  WT/BFA/148 
 
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  8.3.  Several delegations welcomed the report which provided additional and useful information. 
They expressed a keen interest in further examin ing the situation and encouraged the Secretariat 
to continue consulting with the experts in th at field. Some Members also agreed that the 
Renovation Fund should concentrate on a long-term maintenance financing and should be used to 
finance major projects. A delegation pointed out that based on questions posed by the Committee 
in that respect, the Committee, before issuing a decision, would encourage the Secretariat to invite experts from FIPOI.  
8.4.  A Member sought clarifications on the operating mode of the Appellate Body Fund. The 
Secretariat explained that the operating mode of the Renovation Fund would be rather related to the Members Transition Operating Fund (MTOF), as the project expenditures would need the 
Committee's approval. The Secretariat pointed out that the 1.7 MCHF remaining from the MTOF 
could be used to establish the Renovation Fund.  
8.5.  Some Members questioned the Secretaria t about the governance of the Fund and the 
determined amount that would need to be set aside. Another delegation suggested that the 
Secretariat elaborate a plan to enable the Committee to approve the renovation projects. In 
addition, it was also suggested that a minimum th reshold expenditure be determined to draw on 
the Renovation Fund.  
8.6.  The Secretariat emphasized that the FIPOI would continue to inject 1 MCHF in the regular 
maintenance funding the CWR building expenditures. It was also pointed out that this amount had to be spent on a yearly basis without the possibility of carrying overbalances to the next year.  
8.7.  Two Members mentioned that the budgetary su rplus, as an option to partially finance the 
Renovation Fund, as proposed by the Secretariat, should be further discussed by the Committee. 
Some Members indicated support for the idea to ensure the maintenance of the existing facilities, but they noted that they expected more in-depth  details to further discuss the establishment of 
the Building Renovation Fund.  
8.8.  The Chairman underlined that based on the exchange of views during the meeting, there was 
a need to convene an informal meeting with FIPO I experts providing more expert information on 
that topic. The Committee took note of the report.  
9  ELECTION OF THE CHAIRPERSON  9.1.  The Chair recalled that the General Council, at its meeting in March, had taken note of a slate 
of names of officers for the various WTO standing bodies. On the basis of the understanding 
reached, he proposed that the Committee formally elect Ambassador Daniel Blockert as new chair 
of the Committee by acclamation. The Committee so agreed.  
9.2.  The outgoing Chair expressed his thanks to the Senior Management and to the members of 
the Secretariat for assisting him during his mandate. He then extended his thanks to the Members 
for their professionalism and cooperation. The new Chair, Ambassador Daniel Blockert assumed the Chairmanship and congratulated the outgoing Chair. He mentioned that it was an honour for 
him to assume that role.  
9.3.  The Secretariat, on behalf of the Director -General, thanked the outgoing Chair for his overall 
work. He also wished him the best in all his futu re endeavours. He then, welcomed the new Chair. 
 
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