G/TBT/W/525  
 
24 April 2018  
(18-2588) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
 
PENDING REQUESTS FOR  OBSERVER STATUS IN T HE TBT COMMITTEE  
STATEMENT BY SOUTH AFRICA  
This document contains information provided by South Africa  at the TBT Committee meeting of  21-
22 March 2018  under Agenda Item 5 (Observers).   
 
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1.  South Africa welcomes the efforts of the Secretariat and specifically Mr. Aik Hoe Lim, Director 
of the WTO Trade and Environment Division, to consult with the organisations whose observer 
requests have been pending for a long time on their respective reque sts. South Africa is very 
pleased that our proposal for the Eight h Triennial Review of the TBT Agreement on the operation of 
the Committee circulated in document G/TBT/W/452 of 24 October 2017 led to the initiation of this 
action.  
2.  Mr. Chairman, as Members  know, the Rules of Procedure for the Meetings of the WTO 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade and Guidelines for Observer Status for Governments and 
International Intergovernmental Organizations adopted in 1995, contains in its Annex B, 
Guidelines for  Observer Status for International Intergovernmental Organizations in the WTO.  
3.  However, there are questions whether ILAC and IAF are indeed Intergovernmental 
Organisations.  
4.  With regard to "Relations with Other Organizations ", Article V.2 (5.2) of the Agre ement 
Establishing the World Trade Organization states that; "the General Council may make appropriate 
arrangements for consultation and cooperation with non -governmental organizations concerned 
with matters related to those of the WTO ". 
5.  Furthermore, Parag raph 5 of the Guidelines for Observer Status for International 
Intergovernmental Organizations in the WTO states: "In addition to organizations that request, 
and are granted, observer status, other organizations may attend meetings of the Ministerial 
Confe rence, the General Council or subsidiary bodies on the specific invitation of the Ministerial 
Conference, the General Council or the subsidiary body concerned, as the case may be. Invitations 
may also be extended, as appropriate and on a case -by-case basis , to specific organizations to 
follow particular issues within a body in an observer capacity ". 
6.  The definitions that apply to the TBT Agreement as provided in Annex 1 of the Agreement 
states in the explanatory note for conformity assessment procedures that  "Conformity assessment 
procedures include, inter alia, procedures for sampling, testing and  inspection; evaluation, 
verification and assurance of conformity; registration, accreditation  and approval as well as their 
combinations ". 
7.  Furthermore, for the tec hnical competence and confidence in the continued reliability of 
conformity assessment results of conformity assessment procedures, Article 6.1.  of the TBT 
Agreement, recognises verified compliance, through accreditation, in terms of relevant guides or 
recommendations issued by international standardizing bodies.  G/TBT/W/525  
 
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  8.  Although the TBT Agreement does not specifically mention ILAC and IAF, accreditation is 
recognised as an integral part of conformity assessment procedures.  
9.  Since, international organisations direc tly linked to the work of the TBT Committee such as, 
Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM), International Electrotechnical Commission 
(IEC). International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML), International Organization for 
Standardization (IS O), and, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) among others, already 
have TBT Committee observer status, there is a question why international organisations such as 
ILAC and IAF directly involved with the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies  could not 
have TBT Committee observer status?  
10.  South Africa would therefore, request the Committee to agree in terms of the provisions of 
paragraph 5 of the Guidelines for Observer Status for International Intergovernmental 
Organizations in the WTO to inv ite ILAC and IAF to attend meetings of the Committee as 
observers.  
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