G/TBT/GEN/145  
 
10 April 2013  
(13-1864)  Page: 1/5  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
IEC ACTIVITIES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (NOVEMBER 2012 - MARCH 2013) 
This document contains information provided by the IEC at the TBT Committee meeting of 
6-7 March 2013 under Agenda Item 5 (Update by Observers). 
 
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This report to the WTO Technical Barriers to Trade Committee highlights the activities of the 
IEC, its Members and Affiliates, and Regional Centres, related to increasing the participation of developing countries in IEC International Standardization and Conformity Assessment activities. 
1  IEC SUPPORTS ITS MEMBERS 
1.1.  The IEC TISS (Technical Information Support and Services) will use 2013 to further advance 
improvements on the IEC IT tools and services and give national training sessions to the IEC 
National Committees
1 (IEC Members). In January 2013, a survey was circulated to IEC National 
Committees, which will be used for a business analysis on possible improvements of the support IEC offers to its membership. By answering the survey, IEC National Committees can directly 
influence the further development of IEC IT tools and services. Several major projects have been 
prepared such as a Public Commenting Platform giving the possibility to comment on standardization drafts, a Ticketing System for fe edback, web conferencing and improvements in 
the tools for electronic collaboration of IEC Na tional Committees and IEC Technical Committees. 
Thirty national workshops will be conducted by TISS in North and South America, Europe and Asia 
to give state-of-the-art information and training to the stakeholders forming the global IEC community.  
1.2.  In January 2013, a road show was organized in India. Presentations about IEC activities were 
given in New Delhi, Coimbatore and Mumbai. Over 100 participants – mainly engineers and technical librarians using or interested in IEC International Standards – attended the event. The 
outcome was very positive, with a good interaction with the audience. The road show permitted 
the IEC to receive a valuable feedback on the wa y IEC International Standards are used in India, 
from both a practical and a technical point of view. 
2  REGIONAL COLLABORATION IN ASIA-PACIFIC  
2.1  Engaging regulators of electrical and electronic equipment in the Southeast Asia 
region 
2.1.  The IEC-APRC (IEC Asia-Pacific Regional Centre) regularly attends the ACCSQ JSC EEE 
(Association of Southeast Asian Nations Consultative Committee on Standards and Quality Joint 
Sectoral Committee on Electrical and Electronic  Equipment) meeting to share on the latest 
developments in the IEC. At its recent meeting in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in November 2012, the 
IEC shared on its website zone dedicated to Plug s and Sockets and on the White Papers produced 
by the IEC's Market Strategy Board.  
2.2.  One of the objectives of the ACCSQ JSC EEE is to implement the Agreement on the ASEAN 
Harmonized EEE (Electrical and Electronic Equipmen t) Regulatory Regime. In line with the WTO 
TBT Agreement, the ASEAN agreement calls for international standards to be used to demonstrate 
                                               
1 http://www.iec.ch/dyn/www/f?p=103:5:0  G/TBT/GEN/145 
 
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  that the regulated product complies with the ASEAN Essential Requirements for EEE. IEC 
International Standards feature very significantly in the list of standards that are recognized. 
2.2  2012 international symposium in Seoul 2.3.  The IEC participated at the symposium which was organized by the Electricity Regulatory 
Commission of Korea in Seoul on 28 November 2012. In particular, the IEC shared two examples 
of the future electricity grid and electrical energy efficiency as new areas where it is important for regulators to be involved in the development of international standards and the use of IEC 
Conformity Assessment Systems. The symposium attracted 150 participants who were largely 
engineers and managers of the local utilities and related organizations. 
2.3  10 years of collaboration with JISC to support the Asia-Pacific region 2.4.  The 11th JISC (Japanese Industrial Standards Committee)/IEC/APSG (Asia Pacific Steering 
Group) Human Resource Development Seminar was held in Singapore on 3-4 December 2012. It 
was a milestone event as it has been held annually since the establishment of the IEC-APRC, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2012. The theme of the seminar was on Standards for a Green 
Society and focused on the IEC's work relating to electrical energy efficiency of white goods, brown 
goods, IT equipment and surge arrestors. Previous collaborations with JISC have seen IEC National Committees in the region becoming more active and taking part as P-Members (participating) in 
IEC TC/SCs. Forty delegates from 11 countries of the Asia-Pacific region participated in the 
seminar. 
3  IEC CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES  3.1  IECEE welcomes the Islamic Republic of Iran and Viet Nam as its 55th and 56th 
Member State  
3.1.  The IECEE community welcomed two IEC Member countries as its Member States. The 
Islamic Republic of Iran, represented by ISIRI (Ins titute of Standards and Industrial Research of 
Iran), joined in November 2012, and Viet Nam, represented by STAMEQ (Directorate for 
Standards, Metrology and Quality) in December 2012. 
3.2  Information Session on IECEE at IEC Central Office 
3.2.  In November 2012, six Affiliate Countries – Burkina Faso, Côte D'Ivoire, DRC, Gabon, Guinea 
and Togo – visited the IEC Central Office. The pres entation on IECEE (IEC System of Conformity 
Assessment Schemes for Electrotechnical Equipment and Components) was followed by a discussion and questions particularly on how to control and ensure the safety and quality of 
imported electrical goods. IECEE is planning to or ganize a regional event for Africa in collaboration 
with AFSEC, the African Electrotechnical Standardization Commission, in 2013. More information will be communicated in our next report in June. 
3.3  IECEx-AFSEC International Seminar in Abidjan 
3.3.  IECEx (IEC System for Certification to Standards Relating to Equipment for Use in Explosive 
Atmospheres) and AFSEC in collaboration with AF REC (African Energy Co mmission), UPDEA (Union 
of Producers, Transporters and Distributors of El ectric Power in Africa), CODINORM (Côte D'Ivoire 
Normalisation), in partnership with the electrical utilities CIE (Compagnie Ivoirienne d'Electricité) and CIPREL (Compagnie Ivoirienne de Production d'Electricité), organized an international event 
for the benefit of Africa. The seminar took place in Abidjan, Côte D'Ivoire, 28-30 November 2012, 
and brought together 40 participants from 9 African countries (Cameroon, Côte D'Ivoire, DRC, 
Ghana, Kenya, Mali, South Africa, Tunisia and Zimb abwe). They attended a three-day course given 
by two IECEx international experts in French and in English. The seminar addressed professionals 
from different sectors: oil (6), gas (6), electricity (9), standardization (8), hospital (3), ministerial 
agencies (2), building and development (3), tele communications (1), ABB (2). Both trainers are 
involved with the work of IEC Technical Comm ittee 31: Equipment for explosive atmospheres. 
They shared their worldwide expertise and gave the participants a theoretical approach of the 
implementation of IEC International St andards 60079-14, 60079-17 and 60079-10-1 on 
classification of areas. This was followed by inspection of the CIE and CIPREL sites, with G/TBT/GEN/145 
 
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  explanation of the findings in classroom. The prac tical exercises through the site inspection were 
valued and both utilities provided good case studies. It is the first time IEC organizes such an event and the experience in Abidjan is encouraging to continue, providing countries are ready to open their sites for inspection by international participants. 
4  IEC AFFILIATE COUNTRY PROGRAMME  
4.1  About the Programme 4.1.  The IEC Affiliate Country Programme is aimed at developing countries that do not yet have 
the necessary infrastructure and technical expertise to participate in IEC activities as a member. 
Participants join the Programme free of charge on invitation by the IEC General Secretary. 
4.2  Questionnaire on conformity asse ssment needs in IEC Affiliate Countries 
4.2.  During the 76th IEC General Meeting held in Oslo, Norway in October 2012, the Affiliate 
Leader addressed CAB, the IEC management boar d for conformity assessment, to express the 
urgent need of action to support IEC Affiliate Co untries. The Affiliate team and CAB then met to 
discuss ways to identify CA (Conformity Assessment)  needs in each Affiliate Country in order to 
support and find concrete and adapted solutions to their requests. In November, all main Affiliate 
contacts, as well as their NECs (National Electrotechnical Committees), received a survey on CA needs in developing countries. Fifty-two countries replied to the questionnaire: 50% in Africa, 29% 
in Latin America and 21% in the Asia Pacific. Even though almost all reported having a national 
regulatory authority (90%), the majority admitted that the testing of electrical and electronic 
goods was a real challenge in their respective countries, due to the lack of infrastructure and not enough expertise. Thirty-four countries reported to be aware of IEC three CA Systems but needed 
support to learn to use them and benefit from what the IEC has to offer. According to their replies, 
webinars (48%) and mentoring (46%), as well as e-learning (44%) seem to be the most appropriate supports for capacity building. The IEC Affiliate Country Programme Secretariat and 
CAB are now working to offer developing countries an appropriate approach to address key issues 
such as safety of electrical appliances, el ectrical energy efficiency and counterfeit. 
4.3  Assessing needs for mentor ing in IEC Affiliate Countries 
4.3.  In his second year of mandate, the IEC Affiliate Leader is now able to identify the fields to be 
improved, explored and supported by the IEC co mmunity. During the IEC SMB (Standardization 
Management Board) meeting in Oslo, he reiterated the urgent need for a mentoring approach from IEC Member countries. The Affiliate team and IEC Regional Officers from Singapore and São Paulo 
met in Oslo to set up a framework for a mentoring scheme. A questionnaire was circulated in 
November to understand the situation and specific needs of each country. Once the compilation is 
finalized, the IEC Affiliate Secretariat will anal yse the results and draw conclusions in order to 
activate mentoring for Affiliates with the suppo rt of IEC Regional Centres – IEC-APRC and IEC-
LARC – and IEC Technical Committees. 
4.4  Webinars 
4.4.  As the IEC is working 100% in an electronic  environment, one of the main objectives is to 
provide virtual trainings to IEC Affiliate Countries via webinars. Since we last reported to the TBT Committee, two new countries have benefited of this  service: Afghanistan (to develop the capacity 
of the newly established NEC members) and DRC (to help setting the NEC). The training was 
conducted by the IEC Affiliate Secretariat from the IEC Central Office in Geneva, in English for 
Afghanistan and in French for DRC. 
5  MORE NATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMITTEES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 
5.1.  Since the previous TBT Committee meeting in  November 2012, we are happy to report that 
the following countries have established their NEC: 
a. Bhutan: the IEC Affiliate Leader reported th at his home country has established its NEC 
and adopted its first batch of IEC International Standards. The NEC members come 
mainly from the public sector (Department of Energy, Bhutan Electricity Authority, G/TBT/GEN/145 
 
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  Thimphu City Corporation, etc.) but also from private firms and Bhutan Bureau of 
Standards, the national standardization organization. 
b. Burundi: the NEC brings together representatives from REGIDESO (the national water 
and electricity production and distribution company), BBN (the national standardization 
organization), metallurgical industry, university, telecommunications, consumer 
association, ministry of commerce, and many other stakeholders. 
c. Cambodia: the NEC named National Technical Committee for Electric and Electronic 
Equipment is mainly responsible for selecting IEC International Standards that will be 
adopted as national ones by the National Standards Council. It will also follow the work of the IEC.  
d. Ethiopia: with the establishment of a NEC and the adoption of 197 IEC International 
Standards, Ethiopia was granted the status of Affiliate Plus in November 2012. The 
Ethiopian NEC officers come from the Ministry of Water and Energy (President), Electric Power Corporation (Vice-President) and ESA (Ethiopian Standards Agency).  
5.2.  This brings to 39 the number of IEC Affiliate Countries that have established a NEC, having 
now the appropriate infrastructure to use the IE C Affiliate Country Programme to its full extent. 
6  INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIO N FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES  
6.1  Workshop "Gaps and Needs in Standardization for Renewable Energy" 
6.1.  IEC participated in a workshop on the Gaps and Needs in Standardization for Renewable 
Energy in Bonn, Germany, on 24 October 2012. The workshop was organized by IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency), in coll aboration with UNIDO (United Nations Industrial 
Development Organization) and ICTSD (International Centre for Trade and Sustainable 
Development). They brought together a group of in ternational experts to discuss the priority needs 
and gaps concerning standardization for renewable energy technologies. The objectives were to 
establish a stakeholders' network and to translate th e identified needs into concrete actions. Eight 
keynote speakers provided presentations on the topic, and IEC dealt with helping project developers and policy-makers in standard development. During the workshop, IEC shared its 
experience in the participation of developing  countries in the elaboration process of IEC 
International Standards, through the IEC Affiliate Country Programme and the IEC Associate Membership status. IEC recommended the crea tion of NECs (National Electrotechnical 
Committees) to involve experts from both public and private sectors to participate in the 
development process of international standards. One of the conclusions was that the development 
of the required capacity in developing countries  to promote the best use of standards should 
include the awareness in countries of the existing  mechanisms to support their participation (e.g. 
ISO-DEVCO or the IEC Affiliate Country Programme and Associate Membership). 
6.2  Collaboration with UNIDO in establishi ng electrical laboratories in developing 
countries 
6.2.  In December 2012, the IEC Affiliate Secretariat sent all Affiliate main contacts a hard copy of 
the brochure published by UNIDO in collaboration with the IEC. The electronic version can be downloaded from the IEC website.  
6.3  UN Foundation - SE4ALL Practitioners Network  
6.3.  UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, is leading a global initiative on SE4ALL (Sustainable 
Energy for All) to mobilize action from all sectors of society in support of three interlinked objectives to be achieved by 2030: providing universal access to modern energy services; doubling 
the global rate of improvement in energy efficien cy; and doubling the share of renewable energy in 
the global energy mix. In September-October 2012, the IEC Affiliate Executive Secretary was approached by IEC TC 82 to liaise with the UN Foundation regarding the global SE4ALL initiative. 
This project brings together the United Nations and private stakeholders to focus on addressing 
global poverty, energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions across all emerging markets. The 
UN Foundation Energy and Climate section leads a Practitioner Network to address market barriers G/TBT/GEN/145 
 
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  to achieve universal energy access and works closely with other international organizations as the 
World Bank, UNIDO, IRENA, IFC (International Finance Corporation), etc., and many other organizations from the private and public sectors that are part of the Practitioners Network. The 
IEC participates in the Network monthly Standards Working Group through its Affiliate Secretariat. 
IEC has updated the group on its Affiliate Country Programme benefits and is looking for ways to 
facilitate more access to relevant IEC Inte rnational Standards for developing countries. 
 
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