RESTRICTED  
 
WT/BFA/153  
14 April 2016  
(16-2103)  Page: 1/6  
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration   
 
  REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 3 MARCH 2016 
 
The Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration (CBFA) met on 3 March 2016 under the 
chairmanship of Ambassador Daniel Blockert (Swe den). 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/7 was adopted. 
 
1  REPORT ON OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS FROM MEMBERS AND OBSERVERS - 
WT/BFA/W/383 
1.1.  The Director of the Administration introduced the report on the outstanding contributions 
from Members and Observers. There was a year-on-year decline on 2015 contributions 
(CHF191.1 million), compared to 2014 contribu tions (CHF198.3 million), of 3.6%. The 2015 
contribution rate was 92%. Outstanding contributions from Members and Observers as at 
31 December 2015 totalled CHF 24 million. Twelve Members and four Observers were subject to 
Administrative Measures at the end of 2015. The Secretariat encouraged Members to urge their respective capitals to pay their outstanding contributions. 
1.2.  At the start of each year, the list of Members and Observers was updated with the annual 
assessed contributions. As part of the approv ed procedures, the Committee had notified the 
General Council, in February 2016, of the list of Members and Observers subject to Administrative 
Measures. The number of Members subject to Administrative Measures was higher than in prior 
years at the same date as several Members had not yet settled their 2015 contributions. The 
following 27 Members were subject to Administrative Measures on 15 February 2016: 
Cat. I (12) Cat. II (7) Cat. III (8) 
Bolivia, Plurinational State of Dominica Central African Republic 
Cabo Verde Grenada Chad* 
Cameroon Malawi Djibouti* 
Congo Rwanda The Gambia* 
Dominican Republic Suriname Guinea-Bissau 
Ecuador Vanuatu Mauritania 
Ghana Venezuela, Bolivari an Republic of Niger* 
Madagascar  Sierra Leone* 
Maldives   
Paraguay   
Yemen   
Zambia   
* Members not compliant with payment plan terms. 
 
1.3.  Contributions by Observers for 2015 totalled CH F487k, representing 69% of the amount due 
from them. The cumulative outstanding amount stood at CHF590k (equating to a year-on-year increase of 13%). WT/BFA/153 
- 2 - 
  1.4.  The Following Observers were subject to Administrative Measures on 15 February 2016 
Cat. I (1) Cat. II (3) Cat. III (1) 
Afghanistan Equatorial Guinea Sao Tomé and Principe 
 Libya  
 Sudan  
 
1.5.  After the Committee was informed about the current situation of Members' and Observers' 
Contributions, the Chairman made  the following pronouncement: 
1.6.  The Committee invites the General Council to urge Members and Observers under 
Administrative Measures to liquidate their arrears.  
2  PRELIMINARY BUDGET AND FINANCE REPORT - 4TH QUARTER 2015 - WT/BFA/W/385 
2.1.  A member of the Secretariat presented the provisional budget and finance report considering 
that the WTO accounts were not closed nor audite d yet. The estimated expenditure remained on 
track with an overall expenditure rate of 97% of CHF 191 million. The Secretariat pointed out the 
impact of the International Public Sector Accountin g Standards (IPSAS) on the final financial result 
of the exercise, including the fact that the serv ice cost for the After Service Health Insurance 
(ASHI) and Pension benefits amounted to CHF -36 million. The Secretariat, then explained that the 
final figures would be provided by the consulti ng actuary by the end of March 2016. The member 
of the Secretariat also stressed that the actuaria l values were extremely volatile, as they were 
based on a particular discount rate at the end of the year and could have a significant impact on 
the final cost calculated. 
2.2.  The Secretariat declared that the cash situation was satisfactory and slightly higher than the 
situation at 31 December 2015 than the same period  in 2014. That was mainly due to the higher 
amount of contributions paid in advance at end- year 2015, rather than in 2016. In addition, the 
Secretariat updated the Committee on the financial impact of the negative interest rates. Due to 
intensive negotiations with the WTO's main banks, the negative interest charges were limited to CHF 42,000, for 2015. The member of the Secretariat emphasized that without special conditions 
negotiated by the WTO, the financial impact could have been far beyond CHF 100,000. 
2.3.  Subsequently, the Secretariat updated the Committee on the establishment of the Building 
Renovation Fund (BRF) at end of 2015 that was intended to address the foreseeable costs of 
medium and long term building and infrastructure projects by targeting repairs or replacement of 
major facilities. The WTO would provide the full annual allocation to the BRF which amounted to CHF 1.3 Million per year. The Committee was reminded that the Fund had been replenished with the remaining funds from the Members Transition Operating Fund (MTOF), the remaining 2011 
Surplus and the available funds from the regular budget. 
2.4.  A Member thanked the Secretariat for having included the Building Renovation Fund item in 
the quarterly report. The delegate noticed that CH F 1.3 million were budgeted for the maintenance 
of the building.  The delegate further noted that according to the "Fondation Internationale pour 
les Organisations Internationales" (FIPOI) model,  which the Committee agreed to use as a reference, the estimated amount required to be set aside for similar exercises is CHF 2.5 million 
per annum. He wished to know whether the CHF 1.2 million allocated annually for maintenance 
and renovation work by the Swiss Authorities, through FIPOI, would be used in 2016 to reach the total amount of CHF 2.5 million. Additionally th e same delegate requested to know, according to 
the Building Renovation Fund guidelines, whether a maintenance plan had been established by the 
Secretariat and whether that plan could be shared with the Committee. 
2.5.  A member of the Secretariat answered that a draft list of projects was currently being 
developed in close cooperation with FIPOI. He did not foresee a problem in fully utilizing the Swiss 
contribution in 2016 and the coming years. He then reminded the Committee that the FIPOI would 
continue to inject CHF 1 million in the extraordinary maintenance works of the CWR building and an additional CHF 260,000 primarily for the security  perimeter. That amount remained under the 
FIPOI responsibility. However the WTO did express its requirements about works that need to be 
realised under CHF 1 million given by FIPOI, which has to be spent on a yearly basis without the WT/BFA/153 
- 3 - 
  possibility of carrying overbalances to the next ye ar. He listed some areas where work should be 
considered as, heavy rain leak problems on the CWR roof, electricity, heating and ventilation matters. Those works would then require the FIPOI approval. 
2.6.  To conclude, the Deputy Director-General suggested to organize a WTO facilities guided tour 
and invited Members who were interested in joining the group to indicate this interest to the 
Secretariat. 
2.7.  The Chair proposed that the Secretariat provide a tentative list to the Committee, then the 
Committee took note of the report. 
3  EXTRA-BUDGETARY FUNDS REPORT - 4TH QUARTER 2015 - WT/BFA/W/384 
3.1.  A member of the Secretariat reviewed the situation with trust funds and in particular the DDA 
Global Trust Fund (DDAGTF) as of the end of 20 15, amounted to CHF 9.1 million. He then listed 
the following contributions received, in the last quarter, from France, Japan, Korea, The 
Netherlands and Norway. The Secretariat stated that the Fund remained balanced in comparison with 2014. 
3.2.  On the activity level side, the Secretariat declared that in 2015 the overall level of 
implemented activities matched quite well the pl anned level of activities. The MC10 Fund had 
sufficient funding to permit the participation of the Least Developed Country delegations at the 
Ministerial Conference. The Secretariat concluded by pointing out that the other Trust Funds were 
in stable positions except for the STDF which would shortly need additional contributions to continue the approval of new projects. 
3.3.  A Member thanked the Secretariat for quoting her country's name on the activity that was 
partially funded. Another Member enquired whether there was money taken from the DDAGTF to 
the STDF or the Trade Facilitation. The Secretaria t answered that those Funds were not related to 
each other. 
3.4.  The Committee took note of the report. 
4  WORKING GROUP ON AFTER SERVICE HEALTH INSURANCE (ASHI) STRATEGY 
DEVELOPMENT 
4.1.  The Chair of the Working Group on After Service Health Insurance (ASHI) Strategy 
development updated the Committee on the progress of the Working Group. He first reminded the 
Committee of the work accomplished by the initial Working Group on ASHI and some recommendations contained in the official repo rt of the Working Group and approved by the 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration. Through that official report it had been 
recommended that a monitoring group would be established to oversee the development and the 
implementation of a strategy that would, once implemented address the expansion of the liability. 
4.2.  The Chair drew the Committee's attention to the fact that there were currently one and a half 
active staff members for each one retiree. Whereas, only 0.7 staff would be active when the number of retirees would reach 1 000. In terms of future costs, there would be a growing liability. 
The current estimated ASHI liability amounted to CHF 343 million, based on 2014 data, 
considering that if nothing changed, that liability  could rise to roughly CHF 1.4 billion by 2050. 
4.3.  The Chair added that the annual budget cost for medical insurance plan would increase by 5, 
which would represent CHF 62 million, in 2050. Of this, CHF 36 million would be borne by the WTO 
budget whereas, CHF 26 million would have to come from staff and retirees' contributions. 
4.4.  The Chair mentioned some informal discussions with various Members of the WTO Secretariat 
before convening the first meeting of the Working Group on Strategy Development that took place 
on 23 February 2016. The Working Group agreed to  align its future meetings with the CBFA 
meetings in order to liaise with the Secretariat to obtain a draft schedule on the progress made to the various recommendations of the initial Working Group. The next meeting would take place on 
the 5
th of April. WT/BFA/153 
- 4 - 
  4.5.  The Chair of the Working Group specified that he had been informed by the Secretariat on 
the developments related to a new management contract for the medical plan, including an advisory function to the Secretariat by any new service provider. The Chair envisaged that the Secretariat could develop its strategy by October 2016. He concluded by inviting any Member to 
take part in that Working Group. 
4.6.  The Chairman was very thankful to the Chair of the Working Group for having accepted to 
continue chairing the second Working Group on ASHI Strategy development. The Committee took 
note of the report. 
5  WORKING GROUP CONCERNING AN AUDIT COMMITTEE 
5.1.  A Member was delegated to present the progress report on behalf of the Chair of the Working 
Group concerning an Audit Committee (WG). The WG met for the first time on the 5
th of February 
and discussed the establishment of an action plan . The WG agreed to conduct research into the 
approach that other International Organizations have taken with respect to audit committees and to consult with WTO staff that would be affected by the establishment of an Audit Committee. The 
delegate also indicated that the WG would seek ad ditional information from the External Auditors 
who would be present at the WTO in April 2016. The WG expects to be able to conclude its work by the end of June 2016. 
5.2.  A Member welcomed the progress made and said that the Working Group could look at the 
current situation, in light of departure of the former Internal Auditor. 
5.3.  The Chairman thanked the Chair for the work of the Working Group concerning an Audit 
Committee. He then said that the Committee would continue its discussion on this matter and he 
reminded the Committee that both Working Groups remained open to all Members. The Committee 
took note of the report. 
6  ACCESSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN - WT/BFA/W/379 
6.1.  A member of the Secretariat introduced the document regarding the assessed contribution of 
the Republic of Kazakhstan following its accession. The Committee took note of the report. 
7  VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTION TO RESTORE AN  HERITAGE CEILING - WT/BFA/W/380 
7.1.  A member of the Secretariat updated the Committee on the project that the WTO would like 
to carry regarding the restoration of an historic ceiling within the Centre William Rappard. That ceiling would be installed in two meetings Rooms (V and N). Originally that ceiling had been the property of the GATT but had been first sold to a Hotel in Geneva, then to a private citizen. 
7.2.  The former owner had contacted the Organization to sell the ceiling back. Due to budget 
constraint, the Secretariat had been in contact with the Canton of Geneva and the "Loterie Romande" who had offered to finance to the reinstallation to the tune of CHF 76,000. In 
accordance with Annex C of the WTO Financial Regulations, concerning donations from 
non-Government Entities, the Secretariat requested the Committee' to grant approval to the Director General to accept this donation. 
7.3.  Members welcomed the initiative. One Member was concerned about potential cost overruns 
and wished to know whether there would be an y effect on the WTO budget. The Secretariat 
affirmed that the amount offered by the "Loterie Romande" would be sufficient and that no additional resources would be required. Another Member required if the "Loterie Romande" would 
expect any public acknowledgment after work asse ssment. The Secretariat declared that there has 
been a discussion about this matter and that a "pla que", with discrete mention of the donor, would 
be put in one of the rooms. 
7.4.  The Committee approved the proposed donation and its intended use. WT/BFA/153 
- 5 - 
  8  WRITE-OFF REQUEST FOR UNCOLLECTIBLE CONTRIBUTIONS - WT/BFA/W/382 
8.1.  A member of the Secretariat presented the paper on the planned write-off of contributions 
outstanding from Former Yugoslavia , highlighting that this state was comprised of a Federation of 
six countries and no longer exists. Emphasis was placed on the fact that 3 of the former members 
of the federation are members of the WTO while th e other three are not. This write-off emanates 
from a recommendation from the WTO's External Auditors, in accordance with the IPSAS requirement that evidently uncollectible debts should be written-off. A Member enquired whether 
the Secretariat had been in contact with the Standing Joint Committee for succession issues, 
established in 2001 in Vienna. This Committee was mandated to determine ways of addressing the outstanding arrears from Former Yugoslavia insofa r as they related to the United Nations. He 
added that the United Nations had taken several acti ons in the past to approach the Standing Joint 
Committee. He then advised the Secretariat to follow the same path. 
8.2.  The Secretariat took note of the remark and pointed out the Secretariat would investigate the 
United Nations experience. Additionally, the Secretariat informed the Committee that based on 
previous attempts, that approach was not straightforward and might imply a long-term process. 
8.3.  A Member raised a concern that a precedent may be created for other Members who have 
arrears. The Secretariat stated that this country was no longer in existence so the probability of 
collection was very low. This was the distinguishing factor from other countries with arrears. 
8.4.  The Committee took note of the report. 
9  PROPOSED CBFA WORK PLAN FOR 2016 - WT/BFA/W/381 
9.1.  The Committee examined the proposed CBFA wo rk plan for 2016. The Secretariat informed 
the Committee that, in line with the Financial Regulations 37, the quarterly financial reports should 
be presented six weeks following the end of the period. However, as that would imply an August meeting of the CBFA, to discuss the Q2 reports, the Secretariat asked for a concession to have to 
present the reports at the first meeting following the Summer break. The Committee consented to 
this request. The work plan received several positive comments. One Member welcomed the presentation of the Office of the Internal Oversight Report in April pointing out that due to staff 
turnover, no report had been recently presented. The Committee took note of the report. 
10  UPDATE ON THE ORGANIZATIONAL REVIEW OF THE WTO SECRETARIAT 
10.1.  The Deputy Director-General (DDG Brauner) presented a progress report made on the 
Organizational Review of the WTO. He first reminded Members of the background information 
previously shared with the Committee. DDG Braune r declared that two Administrative Memoranda 
on Promotion had been circulated to Secretariat staff. One covered promotions through vacancy notices and the other pertained to performance-based promotions. The Secretariat would 
distribute those two memoranda to the Membership after the meeting. The Senior Management 
stressed that these new proposals were the result of a bottom-up process starting with a working group composed of staff only, followed by a join t recommendation group comprising directors and 
the Staff Council. Subsequently, the Administration submitted the outcome of that extensive work 
to the Joint Advisory Committee (JAC). Once the JAC had reviewed the recommendations, they had been then submitted to the Director-General w h o  u s e d  t h e m  t o  i n f o r m  h i s  i s s u a n c e  o f  t h e  
promotions policies. 
10.2.  The Secretariat explained the key changes incorporated in both memoranda. For instance, 
on recruitments area, new developments, such as  remote testing, were now used to interview 
people; the composition of the selection panel would be targeted at having people from different 
Divisions since the focus will be on recruiting people who can be versatile enough to work in other 
WTO Divisions as opposed to being suited specifically to any given Division. 
10.3.  On the performance-based promotions, the Secret ariat recalled that a moratorium had been 
put on promotions since 2011. The Director-General  wished to reinstate promotions within the 
Organization to keep the staff motivated and give  them an opportunity to develop their careers. 
The Members were informed of the criteria for candidature as well as the assessment process for applications. WT/BFA/153 
- 6 - 
  10.4.  The Director-General was conscious of addressing the inverted pyramid within the WTO 
Secretariat and would thus stay true to this in determining the number of promotions to allocate for each grade. 
10.5.  The Senior Management indicated that the number of promotions would remain modest and 
that high grades were being replaced by lower grades as people retired and their replacements 
recruited. DDG Brauner stressed that grade 10 staff had been reduced considerably to 86, as of today compared to 118 at the peak. He stated that the Director-General aimed to gradually follow 
the path to the approved Structure displaying 63 at grade 10. It was underlined that the 
incremental cost of promotions would be funded from the current staff cost budget. 
10.6.  A Member expressed his concern about the reintroduction of in situ promotions before the 
job profile description exercise, recommended by th e former external auditor, has been completed. 
He asked the Secretariat to submit a new time schedule for the completion of the exercise and 
recommended that the current External Auditor would look into the issue. The Secretariat answered that it aimed to modernize the Performa nce Evaluation System and align it to the job 
profile system to organize the classification of posts across the Organization. However, the process 
would take some time.  
10.7.  Members expressed the importance for the Co mmittee to closely follow up and monitor 
progress made by the Secretariat on this topic. The Chairman agreed to continue the discussion at 
a next Committee meeting and the Committee took note of the report. 
11  APPOINTMENT OF THE CBFA CHAIRPERSON 
11.1.  The Chair recalled that the General Council, at its meeting in February, had taken note of a 
slate of names of appointees to lead the vari ous WTO standing Committees. On the basis of the 
understanding reached, he proposed that the Committee formally elect Her Excellency Ambassador Inga Ernstsone as new Chairperson of the Commi ttee by acclamation. The Committee so agreed. 
11.2.  The outgoing Chair expressed his thanks to the Senior Management and to the members of 
the Secretariat for assisting him during his mandate. He also extended his thanks to the Members for their cooperation throughout his tenure. 
11.3.  The new Chair, Her Excellency Ambassador Inga Ernstsone, assumed her role, declaring that 
she felt honoured by the trust being vested in her, and congratulated the outgoing Chair for his excellent work. 
11.4.  The Secretariat thanked the outgoing Chair for leadership. 
__________