RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/BFA/116 
12 July 2010 
 (10-3807) 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration  
  
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 25 MAY 2010 
 
 1. The WTO Committee on Budget, Finance and Ad ministration met on 25 May 2010 under the 
chairmanship of Mr. Pasi-Heikki Vaaranmaa (Finla nd).  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/3561 was adopted. 
I. ADMINISTRATIVE UP-DATES AND PROG RESS REPORTS AS AT 30 APRIL 2010 
A. WTO
 BUDGET AND FINANCE REPORT (CRP(10)05) 
2. A member of the Secretariat presented the situation regarding Members' contributions as at 
30 April 2010 showing that CHF 116 million of th e assessed CHF 188 million had been received and 
that 63 Members or 41 per cent of the Membership had no outstanding balance.  Payments received from Observers represented 51 per cent of th e total assessment of CHF 0.9 million.   
3. The cash situation showed that the WTO held CHF 119 million on its bank accounts, 
including the working capital fund and extra-budgetary funds.  It could be considered as adequate and 
an improvement on the situation at the same time th e previous year.  However, the interest rates on 
Swiss francs were currently very low. 
4. The budget performance as at 30 April 2010 was ge nerally on track.  However, two areas of 
risk could be identified.  In the area of dispute settlement, a higher level of activity than originally 
foreseen could be observed, resulting in a greater  need for temporary assi stance to support panel 
work.  At the same time, the activ ity level in the Appellate Body S ecretariat is expected to remain 
calm until the middle of the year when the activity could also start rising rapidly and remain very 
tense for the following twelve months.  The Secret ariat will make the necessary adjustments to meet 
any surge in the financial requirements in the area of dispute settlement.  The second area of risk was 
related  to the building project, whose size and comp lexity could give rise to financial risks for the 
Secretariat. 
B. E
XTRA -BUDGETARY FUNDS REPORT (CRP(10)06) 
5. The Committee was inform ed that, as at 30 April 2010, total funds available in the Doha 
Development Agenda Global Trust Fund ( DDAGTF) stood at CHF 16.7 million. Further 
contributions totalling CHF 5.1 million were expected  to be received shortly.  Expenditure amounted 
to CHF 16 million, leaving an av ailable balance of CHF 0.7 million.  These figures already included 
commitments of CHF 11.3 million for activities planned from May to December. 
6. It was further reported that 13 new interns ha d taken up their assignment for ten months with 
the Internship Programme for Selected Missions and another 13 interns with the Netherlands Trainee 
Programme.  With respect to the Trust Fund for the Trade Facilitation National Needs Assessment, 
three more needs assessment s workshops were held thus far in 2010 and new requests were still being 
received.  The Trust Fund to Facilitate the Participat ion of Capital-based Officials in the Meetings of WT/BFA/116 
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  the Negotiation Group on Trade Facilitation, establis hed in 2008 in order to assist African and 
Least-Developed Countries to participate more eff ectively in the WTO trade facilitation negotiations, 
would allow the participation of capital-based o fficials in the May and July 2010 meetings and – 
funds permitting – in three other meetings beyond July. 
C. H
UMAN RESOURCES REPORT  
7. A Member of the Secretariat presented an overview of the Human Resources Division by 
funding source, showing that 93 per cent of the staff were funded by regular budget and 7 per cent 
from extra-budgetary funds.  An overview of the distribution of temporary staff by division for regular budget and extra-budgetary funds was also provided.  The Committee was also informed that 
the 2010 salary survey had not resulted in an adjust ment of the WTO salary scale, and that it was the 
first time since the introduction of the current salary methodology in 2004 that the annual salary 
survey had resulted in a non-adjustment. 
8. With respect to internal mobility, it was repor ted that six staff movements had already been 
effected in 2010 and that 21 further requests from staff members were under review.  The exercise 
was scheduled to be completed in early June.  Th e Committee was also provided with an overview of 
the learning programme, which was mainly focu sed on management training, personal skills 
development and language courses as well as technical training and external speaker series.  Two new 
internal courses in 'trade law for non-lawyers' and 'trade economics for non-economists' had also been 
introduced, with the aim of enhancing the ability of staff to collaborate effectively with Secretariat 
colleagues from other disciplinary backgrounds. 
D. WTO
 PENSION PLAN REPORT (CRP(10)07) 
9. The Secretary to the WTO Pension Plan reporte d that, with respect to the coverage of 
in-service death and disability risks, the Manageme nt Board had examined the call for tenders and 
agreed on the choice of an insurance provider, subj ect to the negotiation of a satisfactory contract.  
The new coverage arrangements should enter into force in July 2010. 
E. BUILDING PROJECT REPORT  
10. A member of the Secretariat reported that the cantonal law changing the zoning of the area 
from non-constructible into construc tible had been approved and that there had not been any call for a 
referendum at the cantonal level.  Furthermore, an  appeal by some NGOs on the nullification of the 
result of the referendum had been rejected by the Federal Tribunal.  The request for a listing of the 
CWR and its surroundings as a historic monument ha d also been withdrawn, following the unilateral 
commitment of the WTO with the federal authorities to preserve the works of art and some 
architectural elements of the building.  Conseque ntly, the building permit had been issued for the 
intra-muros project by the cantonal authorities and the financial resources had been voted by the 
federal authorities.  With respect to the future  underground car park beneath the Japan Tobacco 
International building in the Sécheron area, the Committee was informed that there was a 
disagreement between the city of Geneva and th e canton of Geneva regarding the granting of a 
construction permit for the Park & Ride (P+R) facilit y next to the Avenue de France.  Therefore, 
delays in the finalization of the project might be expected. 
11. The Committee also had a presentation of the sel ection process for the General Contractor for 
the intra- and the extra-muros projects.  Regard ing the intra-muros project, 33 companies of the 
Geneva region had been invited, ni ne had visited the WTO site and 4 companies had submitted a bid. 
Out of the four bids received, only two competitive offers could be selected.  The final most 
competitive offer amounted to CHF 17 million.  Nego tiations were still ongoing for the finalisation of 
the contract.  The same companies had been asked to bid for the extra-muros project.  Three offers  WT/BFA/116 
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  had been received by the deadlin e.  The final most competitive offer amounted to CHF 39 million and 
had been submitted by a company other than the co mpany in charge of the intra-muros project.  
Negotiations for the finalisation of  the contract were still ongoing. 
12. The Committee was also briefed on the work of the Common Facilities Team responsible for 
the furnishing and equipment of all common fac ilities in the renovated and new premises, including 
all facilities other than individual offices and small m eeting rooms, i.e. conference rooms, restaurant, 
library, press facilities, delegate facilities, training rooms etc.  The construction budget included no 
provision for these facilities, and these items had, ther efore, to be financed separately.  Apart from 
furniture, meeting rooms would also need to be equipped with sound systems, interpretation 
equipment, audio visual equipment, lighting and electrical installations in addition to the project cost.  
Presently, some 20 common facility projects had been  identified.  The very preliminary budget 
estimate for common facility projects amounted to some CHF 15 million.  Funding resources were currently available in the amount of CHF 8 million from the Members' Transition Operating Fund. The remaining balance would need to be financed from the regular budget over the next three to four 
years.  There might also be a possibility to finance parts of the project through voluntary contributions 
and/or sponsorships. 
II. REPORT BY THE OFFICE OF INTERNAL AUDIT (WT/BFA/W/193) 
13. The Head of the Office of Internal Audit (OIA) reported that the main activities of the OIA  
between March 2008 and July 2009 had included the issu ance of an audit charter, a risk-based annual 
plan for 2008 carried forward to 2009, audit reports  on procurement and mission travel, a global desk 
review of the existing authority and approval leve ls, a draft internal audit Policy and Procedure 
Manual and two follow-up audits to verify the im plementation of the audit recommendations of the 
procurement audit. 
14. The procurement audit was undertaken in light of the then upcoming significant procurement 
activity linked to the CWR renovation and building project and potential risks due to the absence of  a Chief of  procurement  for a duration of six m onths during which period  the post had remained 
vacant.  The procurement audit showed that there were financial, compliance, operational and system 
risks posed by the procurement activity.  As of  30 April 2010, 57 per cent of the recommendations 
had been implemented and closed, with  work in  progress for 29 per cent and 14 per cent still open.  
The audit on mission travel revealed weaknesses in inte rnal control, inadequate content and clarity in 
the mission travel policy guidelines leaving room  for non-compliance and misinterpretation and 
inadequate accountability in the travel activity.  A follow-up audit was scheduled for May 2010 and 
was ongoing.   
15. The Committee was further informed that a draf t report on payroll activities had been sent to 
relevant staff for review in May 2010 after whic h a final report would be issued. A more detailed 
delegation of authority audit was in progress with the ultimate objective of having a global delegation 
of authority matrix to be accessed by all staff. 
16. The audit plan for 2010 would commence in the third quarter of 2010 and would focus on 
ITTC logistics, outsourced services in the area of security and cleaning, follow up audits on procurement and mission travel and time allowing,  drafting a fraud policy for the Organization.  
17. Members generally welcomed the first annua l audit report and found it useful.  Some 
Members enquired if the annual report for 2010 could be available at an earlier date than the report 
2008/2009 and sought information on the audit risk a pproach notably the level of risk of the audit 
observations.  In response, the Head OIA informed the Committee that the reporting cycle would be 
improved with the next annual report and that co mmencing with the year 2010, the audits being 
conducted would indicate the level/significance of risks. WT/BFA/116 
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  III. ADMINISTRATIVE MEASURES FOR INACTIVE MEMBERS 
A. I
NACTIVE MEMBERS (WT/BFA/W/201) 
18. A member of the Secretariat recalled that the Membership had established a number of 
Administrative Measures for Members that had one full year or more of assessed contributions remaining outstanding at the end of the fina ncial year.  With r espect to Members under 
Administrative Measures, it was reported that 23 Members were under Administrative Measures at 
the end of April, comprising three in Category I,  three in Category II, two in Category III and 15 
Members in Category IV (Inactive).  Since the last meeting of the Committee, two Members, El Salvador and Kenya, who had previously been in Category II, had paid up their arrears and had 
been taken off the list of administrative measures.  Côte d'Ivoire (previously in Category IV) had 
accepted a payment plan.  In May, payments from Honduras (Category II), Mauritania, Burundi, 
Djibouti and Central African Republic (all four Category IV) had been received.  
19. Under the Administrative Measures, a Member wa s declared as an Inactive Member if more 
than three full years of assessed contributions remained  outstanding at the end of the financial year.  
The Administrative Measures also required that: "t he list of Inactive Members be notified to the 
General Council by the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration at the beginning of each 
calendar year with a recommendation that these Me mbers be urged to liquidate their arrears". 
20. The Committee therefore recommends to the General Council that the following 
Members be urged to liquidate their arrears:  
Burundi  
Chad  
Democratic Republic of the Congo  
Djibouti  
Dominica  
Gambia  
Guinea  
Guinea-Bissau  
Mauritania  
Nicaragua  
Niger  
Sierra Leone  
Togo  
 
21. The Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic have agreed on payment 
schemes to liquidate their arrears. Recommendations  to suspend the application of administrative 
measures are  presented as part of this report. 
B. ADMINISTRATIVE MEASURES FOR THE REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO  (WT/BFA/W/202) 
22. The Committee was informed th at the Republic of the Congo had accepted a payment scheme 
to liquidate its outstanding contributions over a pe riod of 5 years, starting in 2010.  The outstanding 
balance after the deduction due to the application of  the specific payment mechanism for arrears prior 
to 1988 as at 31 March 2010 of CHF 878,197 would be cleared through five annual and equal 
instalments of CHF 163,140.  The Chair congrat ulated the Republic of the Congo for their 
commitment to clear their outstanding contributions.  The Committee approved the following 
recommendation:  WT/BFA/116 
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  23. In accordance with the decision of the General Council of 15 May 2006, the Committee 
on Budget, Finance and Administration recomm ends that the General Council suspend the 
application of Administrative Measures for th e Republic of the Congo, which agrees to, and 
undertakes to abide by, a schedule of instalment payments aimed at liquidating all arrears over 
a period of five years starting on 1 January 2010 .  The payments must be received no later than 
31 December of each year, failing which the Administrative Measures will be reinstated.  
C. ADMINISTRATIVE MEASURES FOR THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC  (WT/BFA/W/203) 
24. The Committee was also informed that the Ce ntral African Republic had accepted a payment 
scheme over 30 years in order to liquidate its arrears of 31 years. The outstanding balance after the deduction due to the application of the specific payment mechanism for arrears prior to 1988 as at 
31 March 2010 of CHF 828,105 would be cleared through 30 annual and equal instalments of 
CHF 26,657.  The Chair congratulated the Central African Republic for their commitment to clear 
their arrears.  The Committee approved the following recommendation: 
25. In accordance with the decision of the General Council of 15 May 2006, the Committee 
on Budget, Finance and Administration recomm ends that the General Council suspend the 
application of administrative measures for th e Central African Republic, which agrees to, and 
undertakes to abide by, a schedule of instalment payments aimed at liquidating all arrears over 
a period of thirty years starting on 1 January 2010.  The payments must be received no later 
than 31 December of each year, failing which the administrative measures will be reinstated . 
IV. REPORT ON DIVERSITY IN THE WT O SECRETARIAT  (WT/BFA/W/198 AND 
WT/BFA/W/204) 
26. A member of the Secretariat presented the r esponse of the Secretariat to the measures 
proposed in a joint statement by several Members.  It was recalled that the WTO Staff Regulations 
were firmly based on the principles of merit and equal opportunity for all,  with merit being the 
principal selection criterion. When candidates were equal on merit, diversity needs were taken into 
account and reflected in the final selection decision.  In order to increase th e awareness of diversity, 
the Secretariat would take forward several measures:  (i) implement diversity training in the 
Secretariat, (ii) increase outreach and communicati on in order to increase the pool of diverse, 
qualified applications from all Members,  (iii) a dd a short text on the Secretariat's commitment to 
merit and diversity in future vacancy notices;  a nd (iv) provide informati on on the WTO recruitment 
criteria during trade-related assistance activities.  A regular update on diversity would also be provided by the Secretariat. 
27. Several Members agreed to the fact that divers ity could be achieved by putting merit first.  
Several other Members welcomed the outreach activiti es already carried out by the Secretariat.  One 
Member expressed the concern that, by adding the paragraph on merit and diversity, qualified 
candidates from well-represented countries could be discouraged. 
28. The next meeting is scheduled for 12 July 2010. 
 
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