WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/W/217 
20 February 2008 
 (08-0773) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures  
  
 
 
PROPOSAL FOR A "MENTORING" SYSTEM OF ASSISTANCE 
RELATING TO THE TRANSPARENCY PR OVISIONS OF THE SPS AGREEMENT 
 
Note by the Secretariat
1 
 
 1. At the special Workshop on Transparency and at the subsequent meeting of the SPS 
Committee in October 2007, the Committee gave fa vourable consideration to a proposal by New 
Zealand for the establishment of a "mentoring" syst em to assist developing country Members in the 
operation of their SPS National Notification Aut hority (NNA) and their National Enquiry Point 
(NEP).
2  This document proposes a possible mechanism for the operation of such a system.  
2. This voluntary procedure is being established w ith the objective of assisting Members, and in 
particular developing country Members, to im plement their obligations with respect to the 
transparency provisions of the SPS Agreement and to benefit as fully as possible from these 
provisions.  Mentoring is the development of an informal, ad hoc supporti ve relationship between 
Officials with similar responsibilities, so as to provide  the opportunity for an Official to seek advice 
and assistance from their counterpart in the NNA and/or NEP of another Member, based on that 
Official's knowledge and experience.  Members who are willing to serve as Mentors would commit 
themselves to provide advice when requested on any practical issues which their partner Member may 
face with respect to the transparency provisions.   
3. A Member who has offered to serve as a Mentor may provide support through, inter alia ,: 
(a) providing information and assistance via e-mail/phone on specific issues; 
(b) procedural/operational guidance (for example, on how to adapt the recommended 
procedures when faced with a lack of comput er access or lack of reliable internet, or 
when NEP and NNA responsibilities are split across government departments); 
(c) legislative guidance;  
(d) assistance with resources;  
(e) assistance with translations; 
(f) hands-on workshops;  and 
(g) in-house training. 
4. This system does not imply any commitment to provide financial or other types of assistance, 
nor is it meant to replace other forms of technical assistance.3  In light of the decision by the General 
                                                      
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights or obligations under the WTO. 
2 See G/SPS/W/214, paragraphs 6 though 11, and G/SPS/R/47, paragraph 39.   
3 Members may identify specifi c technical assistance needs inter alia  by responding to the 
Questionnaire on Technical Assistance (G/SPS/W/113). G/SPS/W/217 
Page 2  
 
  Council regarding measures to assist small econom ies in meeting their obligations under the SPS 
Agreement
4, Members may request that the mentoring assistance be provided via a relevant 
international secretariat. 
5. Developed and developing country Members w ith experience in the operation of an SPS 
NNA and/or NEP are invited to volunteer to serve as Mentors.  Likewise, any Member may indicate 
their interest in seeking the assistance of a releva nt Official in another Member's NNA and/or NEP, 
based on that Official's knowledge and experience. 
6. Members who are interested in participating in th is procedure, either to provide assistance or 
to receive it, are invited to register with the WT O Secretariat.  On the basis of the information 
provided, the Secretariat will seek to match those requesting assistance with t hose prepared to offer 
such assistance. 
7. For this purpose, Members who would like to request assistance from another Member 
through the mentoring procedure are requested to complete Attachment 1 and to submit it to the Secretariat. 
8. Those Members who are willing to provide ment oring assistance are requested to complete 
Attachment 2 and submit it to the Secretariat. 
9. The information provided on the attachments w ill be used by the Secretariat to match 
Members requesting assistance with those offering to serve as Mentors, taking into account identified 
needs, expertise, working languages, and any other relevant constraints.  Upon identification of a 
possible Mentor, the Secretariat will contact both Members concerned to ascertain their willingness and availability to develop a mentoring relations hip.  If both Members are in agreement, the 
Secretariat will provide to each of them the contac t details of the other.  It is for the Members 
involved to subsequently contact each othe r and establish the mentoring relationship. 
10. The Secretariat will prepare an annual report on the functioning of the mentoring procedure.  
This will be based on the mentoring requests and offe rs registered and responses to a questionnaire by 
Members participating in the procedure. 
11. In order to launch this mechanism, interested  Members are invited to register with the 
Secretariat by submitting the relevant attachment by 15 May 2008
 at the latest.  Subsequently, the 
Secretariat will solicit requests and offers fo r mentoring assistance on an annual basis. 
                                                      
4 WT/COMTD/SE/5 and WT/COMTD/SE/W/16.  G/SPS/W/217 
 Page 3 
 
 
  ATTACHMENT 1 
 
MEMBER REQUESTING ASSISTANCE 
 
1 .  M e m b e r :        
2. Name of relevant Official:       
3. Functional title/role of Official: 
 National Notification Authority  
  National Enquiry Point   
  Other (specify)       
4. Type of assistance needed: 
(Be as specific as possible, e.g. development of an internal process to ensure that all relevant draft 
measures are notified in a timely manner;  comple tion of notification formats;  receipt and screening 
of notifications by other Members;  circulation of  notifications received to national stakeholders;  
preparation and submission of comments on notifica tions, establishment of a national website;  
raising awareness among stakeholders;  development of a training programme, etc.) 
 
      
 5. Preferred language(s):       
6. Other working language(s):       7. Preferred contact means (check all that apply):   E-mail 
 
  Fax   
  Telephone  
8. Any other relevant information: 
(e.g, regions from which Member would prefer to  receive assistance;  constraints on receiving 
assistance from specific Members,  dura tion of need for assistance,  etc.) 
      
 G/SPS/W/217 
Page 4  
 
  9. Full contact details of relevant Official: 
  N a m e :           Mailing address:          E-mail address:          Telephone number (include country code):        
  Fax number (include country code):        
  
Send the completed form to:
 
 Ms Gretchen H. Stanton 
 Secretary, SPS Committee 
  E-mail:  gretchen.stanton@wto.org 
  Fax:  + (41) 22 739 5760 
    G/SPS/W/217 
 Page 5 
 
 
  ATTACHMENT 2 
MEMBER OFFERING MENTORING ASSISTANCE 
 
1 .  M e m b e r :        2. Name of relevant Official:       
3. Functional title/role of Official: 
 National Notification Authority 
 
  National Enquiry Point   
  Other (specify)        
4. Type of assistance and/or expertise that can be provided : 
(Be as specific as possible, e.g. development of an internal process to ensure that all relevant draft 
measures are notified in a timely manner;  comple tion of notification formats;  receipt and screening 
of notifications by other Members;  circulation of  notifications received to national stakeholders;  
preparation and submission of comments on notifica tions, establishment of a national website;  
raising awareness among stakeholders;  development of a training programme, etc.) 
       
 
5. Preferred language(s):        
6. Other working language(s):        
7. Preferred contact means (check all that apply):   E-mail 
 
  Fax   
  Telephone  
8. Any other relevant information: 
(e.g, regions to which Member would prefer to offer assistance;  constraints on offering assistance to 
specific Members;   duration of assistance that can be offered, etc.) 
      
 G/SPS/W/217 
Page 6  
 
  9. Full contact details of relevant Official: 
  N a m e :           Mailing address:          E-mail address:          Telephone number (include country code):        
  Fax number (include country code):        
 
Send the completed form to:
 
 Ms Gretchen H. Stanton 
 Secretary, SPS Committee 
  E-mail:  gretchen.stanton@wto.org 
  Fax:  + (41) 22 739 5760 
__________