RESTRICTED  
  
WT/BFA/161  
 
15 March  2017 
(17-1474) Page 1/6 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration    
 
  
 
REPORT OF THE MEETIN G HELD ON 24 FEBRUARY 2017  
The Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration (CBFA) met on 24 February 2017 under the 
Chairmanship of Ambassador Inga Ernstsone (Latvia). The Terms of Reference and composition of 
the Committee are se t out in document WT/L/44/REV.1.  The Chairperson informed the Committee 
that the Secretariat requested to withdraw  Item E "2017 Salary Survey and Adjustment of the 
WTO Allowances", from the Agenda. The Agenda contained in document WTO/AIR/BFA/1 4/Rev.1  
was adopted.  
1 OPENING REMARKS BY THE D IRECTOR GENERAL  – JOB/BFA/15  
1.1.  The Director General (DG) thanked the C hair, Ambassador Ernstsone, for inviting him to join 
the meeting and congratulated her for the excellence with which she has been steering the 
Committee.  
1.2.  He recognized  that the Committee is crucial to the administrativ e and financial affairs of the 
Organization .  
1.3.  The Director General covered the following subjects: six different areas to present to the 
Committee  as: the WTO Building Renovation Fund; the Di spute Settlement area; the Secretariat 
Structure ; After Service Health Insurance  (ASHI)  Liabilities ; the Office of Internal Oversight  (OIO) ; 
and the upcoming Ministerial Conference (MC11). The Secretariat was to  officially circulate the 
DG's Speech to the Members after the meeting.   
1.4.  The DG thanked the Swiss authorities for their generosity  in passing ownership of the Centre 
William Rappard to the WTO  and its continuous support  in managing the other buildings .  
1.5.  The DG expressed his gratitude to the Chairpers on of the Monitoring  Group on the 
Development of and ASHI Strategy  (MG), the DPR of Ireland, Mr. John Newham.  
1.6.  Members thanked the DG for his presence  and expressed appreciative comments on various  
improvements made within the WTO Secretariat  as well as the transparen t communication with 
Members.  
1.7.  On the ASHI  Liabilities , many Members commended the Secretariat on being advanced in its 
consideration of th is subject.  They applauded  the constructive approach and deliberation s of the 
MG. It was also mentioned th at the Organization would be a model on ASHI for other international 
organizations. A Member expressed the view that the develop ment of  mechanisms to effectively 
control major costs, especially for hospitalization, doctors ' fees and medication  would  contin ue. 
She then said that costs should be shared between the contribution from the WTO budget and the 
participants of the Medical Plan. In conclusion, she suggested that staff should be incentivized to 
use the medical budget more responsibly.  
1.8.  The Director Ge neral stated some initiatives that had been put in pla ce to reduce stress levels 
and improve staff morale . These include giving  the opportunity to  the staff to be coached  and the 
appointment of an internal and external mediator  to assist staff in resolving  issues before they 
became unmanageable .  WT/BFA/161  
 
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  1.9.  Some Members were interested in the reallocation of resources within the Organization. The 
DG provided some examples of actions taken by the Secretariat to efficiently reallocate resources.  
Examples include areas of work that could be outsourced; and transferring posts from some 
Divisions to the Divisions that deal with Dispute  Settlement.  
1.10.   A few Members underlined the imp ortance of Dispute Settlement. They further enquired 
whether a strategy could be put in place in order to fill vacant posts  more quickly . Another Member  
highlighted the importance for the Committee to be informed on any area or service that could be 
cut or reduced. The DG responded that the Secretariat was achieving more work with less 
resources, c onsidering that staff members are requested to take over other responsibilities as and 
when posts are transferred to other Divisions. He reiterated the outsourced work in some areas.  
1.11.   The Director General then encouraged the Members to alert the Secretaria t if they have the 
sense that some activities are no longer efficient or desirable. Subsequently, he underlined that 
the Secretariat has a 3-year perspective o f the Dispute Settlement area , noting that t he trend is 
going up rather than stabilizing. He unde rlined that the Membership of the WTO was also growing, 
though the budget remains unchanged . The Director General invited the Members to reflect on 
how to maintain the Dispute Settlement work without adversely affecting  the work of other 
Divisions.  
1.12.   The Com mittee took note of the Director General's address. The Chairwoman expressed her 
gratitude  to the Director -General for addressing the Committee.  
2  2017 DRAFT WORK PLAN  FOR THE COMMITTEE ON  BUDGET, FINANCE AND 
ADMINISTRATION – WT/BFA/W/407  
2.1.  The secret ariat pr esented the 2017 draft Work P lan. Due to some comments received from 
the members after circulating the document, the secretariat informed the committee about the 
main changes made in the document and stated that the revised work plan would be circulated 
after the CBFA meeting.  
2.2.  The Director of Administration and General Services informed the Committee that she will 
liaise with the Director of the Development Division to discuss the prospect of an additional 
Committee on Trade and Development meeting being or ganized to present the TA Plan in 
September 2017, prior to the presentation of the Draft 2018 -19 Budget to the CBFA.  
2.3.  The Committee took note of the 2017 Work Plan.  
3  WTO SECRETARIAT STRA TEGY FOR MANAGING TH E WTO MEDICAL PLAN A ND ITS 
ASHI LIABILITIES – WT/BF A/W/406/REV.1  
3.1.  The Chair of the MG presented his report. He indicated that the MG had met at the end of 
January and on the 8th of February to review the latest version s of the Draft ASHI Strategy .  He 
stated that the version presented to the CBFA  clearly ad dressed the primary objectives and 
included some proposed steps towards finding a long -term solution.  
3.2.  The MG recommend ed that the CBFA take s note of the Draft ASHI Strategy and that the 
Secretariat begin work to motivate for an ASHI Reserve Fund. The MG f urther recommended the 
establishment of a working group to monitor the development of an ASHI Reserve Fund proposal , 
including governance aspects. The Chair of the MG warmly thanked the Members of the MG for the 
work achieved and their ongoing interest.  
3.3.  Several Members thanked the Chair of the MG and the Secretariat for their work on this 
subject. A Member expressed appreciation of the positive exercise undertaken to think about the 
staff's health for the long -term.  
3.4.  Another Member stated that the next step s would require even more effort. Sh e also 
indicated that it is important to ensure that there is balance in cost -sharing between Members and 
medical plan participants, on one hand, and between the interests of current and future 
participants, on the other  hand, in order to achieve the successful implementation of the Strategy. 
The same Member supported the creation of the new working group.  WT/BFA/161  
 
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  3.5.  A Member drew the Committee's attention to the engagement that the Members should take 
to adopt decisions with regard  to ASHI and underlined that the preparatory work for these 
decisions had to start early in order for them to be taken into consideration during the discussions 
on the budget for the upcoming biennium. Subsequently, he made reference to T able 2 in the 
Draft ASHI Strategy , suggesting that the WTO approach should be ali gned with the OECD 
benchmarks. He then requested the Secretariat to quantify the savings foreseen, into a reliable 
figure. The same Member added that his delegation supported the participation of the WTO Staff in 
the financing of the Fund. He concluded that his delegation rejects the reallocation of budget 
surpluses to the ASHI Reserve Fund as well as a potential supplementary Members' contributions 
to finance the Fund.  
3.6.  One Member indicated that  further work on actuarial monitoring, hospitalisation and other 
aspects is expected in order to make the anticipated reports to Members sufficiently thorough and 
put the ASHI on a more sustainable footing.  
3.7.  Another Member indicated that it will continue t o reflect on whether WTO M embers ought to 
follow the cost side of ASHI more closely than what is anticipated so far. To that Member it will 
therefore be important that the reports to CBFA will be sufficiently thorough for Members to get a 
clear view of fur ther improvements in cost control be it in terms of eligibility for participation in the 
WTO’s medical plan, general elements of coverage, hospitalization or adjustments to specific 
benefits. The Member also expect to be updated about developments in cost sharing and 
prevention in addition to actuarial projections, demographic and budget trends as well as relevant 
key performance indicators.  
3.8.  Another Member stated that the WTO was a trailblazer on this topic, relative to other 
international organizations. It  was mentioned that though the United Nations had also started the 
work on the ASHI before the WTO, it had not progressed as far as the WTO. The Member 
expressed interest in further specifications, particularly regarding  the balance in the cost sharing 
between the beneficiaries and the Members. Referring to paragraph 1.12 of the Draft Strategy , the 
Member asked for confirmation that the savings referred to therein were those o f the medical plan. 
The Secretariat confirmed  that the savings mentioned in the S trategy were cost savings from the 
Medical Plan and not cost savings from other elements of the budget.  
3.9.  The Secretariat thanked the Members for their constructive collaboration and for the positive 
comments regarding the Draft ASHI Strategy. It was confirme d that actuarial services would be 
necessary to determine certain complex elements . The Secretariat stated that although the new 
provider of medical insurance offered lower prices, the cost drivers were still the same and will not 
disappear, moreover they will rise. On this matter, the Secretariat representatives assured the 
Committee that they will always work to control costs. The Deputy Director General thanked the 
MG and its Chair and appreciated the fact that they had taken a long -term perspective on t he 
matter and for their active participation in the discussions.  
3.10.   The Chair woman suggested that Members address any questions they may have on this 
subject to the Secretariat. The Chairwoman then informed the Committee on consultations that 
she had held with several Members to identify a Chairperson for the Working Group  to be 
established to consider an ASHI Reserve Fund . Ms. Eunice Huang , from the Singapore Delegation 
was proposed by a number of Members and she , in turn, accepted  this appointment.  It was 
indicated that the draft proposal  pertaining to an  ASHI Reserve Fund would be submitted to the 
Committee before the Summer break.  
3.11.   The Committee  took note of the report and confirmed the appointment of Ms. Eunice Huang 
as the Chairperson of the Working Group . 
4  OFFICE OF INTERNAL O VERSIGHT – REPORT ON THE ACTIVI TY PLAN FOR 2017 -2018  
– WT/BFA/W/408  
4.1.  The Head of the Office of Internal Oversight (OIO) presen ted his report on the Activity P lan 
for 2017 -2018, indicating the priorities and the internal oversight Plan established for the coming 
two years. He stressed the fact that the Annual Report of the OIO will be presented to the 
Committee in July  2017.  WT/BFA/161  
 
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  4.2.  The Head of the OIO confirmed the independence of the OIO to the Committee. He also 
thanked the Members and assure d them of his good collaboration with the WTO staff. He extended 
his gratitude to the Director General, the Senior Management and the Chairwoman of the CBFA for 
their commitment and continuous support.  
4.3.  It was stated that the OIO has its own operational bud get to reinforce its independence. The 
budget will be reviewed every year and adapted according to the needs of the OIO. On this issue, 
the Head of the OIO  outlined that the OIO budget may not be reduc ed during the tenure of the 
Head of the OIO, unless oth erwise agreed to by the Director General, the Chairs of the General 
Council and of the CBFA, and the Head of the OIO.  
4.4.  The Committee was informed that the OIO was composed of  two members of staff and that 
one professional staff (grade 6) would be hired dur ing the course of the year, if deemed 
necessary, taking into account the activit ies for 2017.  
4.5.  The Head of the OIO indicated that the Activity Plan for 2017-2018 was prepared based on 
the risk -based approach, and was discussed with the external auditors in  order to ensure 
coordination and complementarity. The following four main objectives of the OIO were presented: 
1) solidify OIO's foundations; 2) complete the assignments included in the internal audit plan; 3) 
conduct internal investigations ; and 4) prov ide other support and advice to management, staff and 
other stakeholders.  
4.6.  The Members thanked the Head of the OIO for his presentation and appreciated the 
clarification of the independence of the OIO as well as the clear presentation of the Activity Plan.  
Members recognized the importance of the OIO's work and expressed their support for the proper 
staffing and funding of the Office. Members welcomed future collaboration and communication. 
They also supported the intention to hire one more specialist, ackn owledging that sufficient 
staffing is important. The Head of the OIO will report annually to the CBFA on the adequacy of 
OIO's staffing.  
4.7.  Some Members enquired whether some documents could be made available to them e.g. the 
Internal Oversight Charter. The Head of the OIO stated that he would upload relevant documents 
on the WTO's website.  
4.8.  Another Member raised a question about the risk -based approach and how to deal with risks 
that have not been tackled. The Head of the OIO indicated that risks remain unde r Managers' 
responsibility. Expounding by saying that t he role of the OIO is not to manage risks, but rather to 
provide support to Managers for identifyi ng and mitigating their risks. The Member enquired if any 
plans were in place  in order to implement the  ISO standard 27001 and what the current situation 
in the Organization was regarding the safety of documents. The Head of the OIO answered that 
the objective of the audit will be to identify the existing gaps for implementing the ISO 27001 at 
the WTO.  
4.9.  One Member expressed his satisfaction that the OIO was now launched and running 
appropriately. He then enquired whether the activities of the OIO and the External Audit ors 
overlap. He concluded by asking whether any criteria of distributing  tasks between inte rnal and 
external auditors exist. The Head of the OIO answered that distribution of areas of review between 
internal and external auditors was made following consultation, ensuring that available resources 
are used in the most efficient way.  
4.10.   Another Member  noted with appreciation that recommendations made in the external 
evaluation of Trade -Related -Technical Assistance will be followed up by the OIO.  
4.11.   Another Member expressed gratitude for the balanced Activity Plan and hoped for further 
efficiency on monit oring the Organization's processes with the help of both internal and external 
auditors. He then underlined that the Head of the OIO should express concerns to the Committee , 
if need be. In addition, it was indicated that performance audits were undertaken  by the External 
Auditors and that the Activity Plan could be changed, according to the needs of the Organization.  
4.12.   The Committee took note of the report. The Chairwoman indicated that the discussion will 
continue when the annual report is presented in July . WT/BFA/161  
 
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  5  E-REGISTRATION PROJECT  – WT/BFA/W/412  
5.1.  The Director of the IT Solution s Division reported that the new e -Registration application will 
be released within the next few weeks. e-registration is needed: 1) for security reasons, 
introduction of 1 ID and 1 pas sword for each individual instead of one for each delegation; and 2) 
to provide new digital individualised services where delegates can register their own personal 
preferences, like e -Subscription.  
5.2.  The Director indicated that to avoid the issue s encounter ed with the MC10 registration 
application, some changes were implemented , namely : active engagement of delegations before 
the launch ; more flexibility on who can update a delegate 's profile ; and upload of legacy data to 
facilitate the launch. The applicati on was demonstrated to the delegate coordinators on 
8th February and they provided positive feedback. They were subsequently invited to try the 
application and provide  additional  feedback.  
5.3.  The Director specified that minor amendments are expected and that the e -Registration 
application would be launched soon after.  
5.4.  Some Members thanked the Secretariat for the presentation. One Member was keen to know 
whether the new application had a function which allows selecting whether a Member would 
choose receiving paper or electronic copies of documents. The same Member pointed out the 
importance of reducing the paper wastage and printing costs and suggested that the Secretariat 
should take the opportunity while developing the application to introduce such a function.  
5.5.  Other Members supported the idea of reducing use of paper, informing the Committee that 
for some delegations, although they notified the Secretariat to no longer distribute papers to their 
delegation, they kept receiving them. Another Member noted that du e to the increase of security 
issues, he encountered problems when attempting to open links received by email and asked 
whether it was possible to receive PDF files instead. DDG Shark responded that e -Subscription 
would not be the primary way of distribut ing documentation  and that  the current documents online 
service will continue.  He welcomed Members' interest in red ucing the utilization of paper.  He 
advised that with the soon to come deployment of e-Subscriptions, the Secretariat intends to work 
with Memb ers to reduce , as much as possible , the need to prov ide paper copies of documents.  
5.6.  A Member asked if they had to follow a procedure to stop receiving hard copies. DDG Shark 
advised that he would have a contact point sent to Members that they can use to add ress 
unwanted paper copies.  If difficulties persisted, he invited them to contact him.   
5.7.  Another Member wished to clarify the dates of the launch of e -Subscription. On this matter, 
the Director indicated that the exact date could not be provided at the mo ment, noting that it will 
only take a few weeks after the launch of e:Registration.  
5.8.  DDG shark  stated that the Secretariat remained at Members' disposal for any initiative 
related to the reduction of the distribution of paper copies of documents.  
5.9.  The Commi ttee took note of the report.  
6  STATUS REPORT ON THE  LDCS TRUST FUND FOR PARTICIPATION IN MIN ISTERIAL 
CONFERENCES – WT/BFA/W/411  
6.1.  DDG Shark presented a status report on the LDCs Trust Fund. This Trust Fund aims to 
facilitate the participation of Least  Develop ed Countries (LDCs) in Ministerial Conferences. The 
Committee was informed that during the last Ministerial Conference in Nairobi, the contributions 
received amounted to CHF500,000 and according to projection this year, the expenses would 
approximate  CHF840,000. DDG Shark stressed that the main reason for th e increase the air ticket 
costs due to the fact that unlike for MC10 the flights for African LDCs will be intercontinental rather 
than regional.   He then reminded the Committee that Members and Observers  subject to 
Administrative Measures in Categories II and III are not eligible for funding.  
6.2.  In addition, DDG Shark informed the Committee that, as of now, only one delegation ha d 
made a commitment to contribute to this Fund.  WT/BFA/161  
 
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  6.3.  In conclusion, he strongly enc ouraged the Members to liaise with their authorities to consider 
making contributions in order to facilitate participation of LDC Members in the 11th Ministerial 
Conference , as soon as possible , in order to make it possible to secure flights before prices rise.   
6.4.  One Member, as a regular donor, stated that pending final approval authorities in her country  
were working to make a possible new  contribution . The Chair warmly welcomed this information.  
6.5.  The Committee  took note of the report.  
7  REVIEW OF OUTSTANDIN G CONTRIBUTIONS FROM M EMBERS AND OBSERVERS  – 
WT/BFA/W/410  
7.1.  The Secretariat presented an overview of the situation with respect to Members' and 
Observers' contributions as at 31 December 2016. It was indicated that the rate of contribution  in 
2016 was the hi ghest during the last seven years. The Secretariat added that this was mainly due 
to the fact that one of the Top 5 Members contributed a significantly higher amount than in 
previous years. Furthermore, the Secretariat informed the Committee that the outst anding 
Members' contributions amounted to 16.5 MCHF, representing 67 Members.   
7.2.  As at 21st February, 33 Members were subject to Administrative Measures , for a total 
amount outstanding of 11.1 MCHF. 18 Members were subject to Category I, four Members to 
Category II and eleven Members to Category III. The Secretariat demonstrated the difference 
between the list at year end and as at end of February, showing an increase from 13 to 33 
Members under Administrative Measures. This increase was mainly due to the fa ct that the year 
was only just beginning  and 2017 contributions were still coming in  at a slower pace than 
throughout the year . 
7.3.  On the Observers' side, it was reported that the receipt of contributions was in line with the 
outstanding contributions over p revious years. 9 Observers had an outstanding balance at the end 
of 2016. The same number of Observers had outstanding balances in 2015 and 2014.  
7.4.  The Secretariat reported that the outstanding Observers' contributions amounted to 
CHF 582,231 at the end of 2 016, a decrease  of 1.5% compared to the previous year. It was stated 
that as at 31 December 2016, 3 Observers were subject to Administrative Measures for a total 
amount outstanding of CHF 483,648, representing 83% of the total amount outstanding . 
1 Observe r was subject to Category I, 1 Observer to Category II and 1 Observer to Category III. 
According to the updated list dated 21st February 2017, 5 Observers were subject to 
Administrative Measures: 2 in Category I, 1 in Category II and 2 in Category III.  
7.5.  The Committee took note of the report and made the following recommendation:  
7.6.  The Committee invites the General Council to urge Members and Observers under 
Administrative Measures to liquidate their arrears.  
8  SUSPENSION OF ADMINI STRATIVE MEASURES FO R THE REPUBL IC OF GUINEA -
BISSAU – WTO/BFA/W/409  
8.1.  The Secretariat presented the document based on the Republic of Guinea -Bissau's request for 
a revision of the terms established for it to liquidate its arrears. The Committee made the following 
recommendation:  
8.2.  In accorda nce with the decision of the General Council of 15 November 2012, the 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration recommends that the General Council 
suspend the application of administrative measures for the Republic of Guinea -Bissau 
which agrees to a nd undertakes to abide by a schedule of instalment payments aimed at 
liquidating all arrears over a period of 30 years. The payments must be received no later 
than 31 December of each year, failing which the administrative measures will be 
reinstated.  
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