*{Open Letter on Institutional Reforms in the WTO
October 2001}

*{Introduction}
For several months now, the WTO has been preparing for its first Ministerial meeting since the debacle
in Seattle in 1999. However, current processes and procedures illustrate that the systemic inequalities and
imbalances — which were so graphically exposed in Seattle — remain to be acted upon. WTO processes
and negotiations are dominated by a few powerful countries, many delegations continue to be excluded
from informal consultations, and not much has been done to level the playing field. The treatment of
transparency issues in the draft Ministerial Declaration for Doha is totally inadequate. In addition,
restrictions on the number of civil society representatives allowed to attend the Doha Ministerial Meeting
has reinforced the widespread perception that the WTO is closed to public scrutiny and participation.
As WTO members meet for the final stretch of negotiations on the draft Ministerial declaration before
Doha, the undersigned NGOs urge them to seriously address the systemic inequalities and imbalances,
which have prevented them from making meaningful progress on key substantial issues and continue to
cast doubts on the legitimacy and transparency of the multilateral trading system. This open-letter
focuses on issues and concerns related to internal and external transparency.

*partie=titre Internal Transparency *partie=nil 
Imbalances in the WTO system prevent developing countries from adequately participating and
influencing international trade and their negotiations. Concerns include the following:
· Informal processes of consensus building have placed developing countries at a disadvantage.
Problematic practices include a lack of transparency in the agenda setting of small open-ended group
meetings and the tendency to rely on the Chairperson as mediator and facilitator of negotiations in
the absence of clear rules on procedure. The small group meetings are viewed by some WTO
member delegates as a mere exercise in public relations which does not lead to any of their views
being taken on board.

· The average size of a developing country WTO mission in Geneva is 3.51 compared to 7.38 for
developed countries. This affects their capacity to promote their national interests. In addition,
twenty least developed and developing members, as well as eleven observer countries and those in
the process of accession, have no permanent mission in Geneva.
· The number and frequency of the open-ended meetings, which have increased in the context of ongoing
negotiations, have also negatively affected the participation of developing countries, and have
not been matched by greater technical and/or financial assistance. There are far too many meetings
with overlapping schedules.

· The lack of transparency around the selection of Chairs for committees has also become an issue for
some WTO members.
· Recently, the way in which the Director General and some staff of the secretariat have pushed the trade
liberalisation agenda and the idea of launching a new trade round at Doha, despite opposition from
many developing country members, has raised questions on the consistency and “neutrality” of the
WTO secretariat in this so-called “member-driven” organisation. Some delegates have even referred to
the “Anglo Saxon” atmosphere of the WTO, in part the result of the very weak representation of
developing countries in the composition of the Secretariat staff. Of the current 512 staff, 410 are from
developed countries compared to 94 from developing countries.

*partie=titre External Transparency *partie=nil 
Trade policy cannot be left in the hands of a few to decide for the majority. Trade ministers in many cases
represent or listen only to certain segments of business interests. This often results in policy outcomes that
are unbalanced or otherwise lack legitimacy. It is crucial to ensure that those affected by trade and its
effects, such as farmers, women producers, parliamentarians, and ordinary citizens, have a say in
developing trade rules and policies.

Rebalancing policy-making has major benefits to the multilateral trading system. It lends legitimacy,
provides better rules and more importantly better substantive outcomes in terms of maximising the
contribution of trade rules to the welfare of the people and communities it is supposed to serve.
Nonprofit public interest nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) groups have a major role to play in
rebalancing trade policy, to ensure that it serves the poor and the environment. WTO members should
continue to harness the creativity and support of civil society. Failure to engage with NGOs has already
proved problematic for the WTO. Increasing protests against powerful economic institutions demonstrate
public suspicion and mistrust of these institutions. This mistrust must be addressed through open
discussion, information sharing and subjecting decisions to public scrutiny at both the multilateral and
national levels.

At the international level, to increase its openness and accountability, the WTO should initiate discussion
on the following reforms:
· Creation of an accreditation system for non-profit and public-interest organisations. The undersigned
NGOs and others express our willingness to work with the WTO and its members to identify
appropriate guidelines for such NGO accreditation system that are based on other existing models for
NGO accreditation and participation in other international intergovernmental bodies (such as those
established in the UN Economic and Social Council). Participation of nonprofit public interest NGOs
from developing countries in the development of accreditation and consultation systems and guidelines
should be actively sought.

· Development of a more effective system of consultations with other International Organisations such
as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Human Rights Bodies.
At the national level, a number of specific reforms could be considered :
· Development of guidelines for national consultation with relevant stakeholders, and particularly, the
marginalised sectors in trade policy making. In addition, the WTO embodies many procedures to
ensure transparency in the implementation of its rules. This is done for example in transparency
obligations in the TBT Agreement (Art 14.3 and Annex 2). There is no reason why its members should
not agree on basic rules to ensure transparency in formulation of WTO-related policies at the national
as well as at the international level.

· Creation of additional national parliamentary scrutiny of developments at the WTO to ensure that they
Joint NGO Open Letter October 2001 Page 3
are consistent with, and do not undermine, parliamentary prerogatives, and the interests of sub-national
bodies.

· Provision of support to developing countries and particularly the least developing countries in the
conduct of national consultations. Such assistance must be focused on building capacity rather than
promoting a trade liberalisation agenda. Such consultations must be broad-based and participatory and
be made available also to local civil society groups.

The undersigned NGOs acknowledge that the solutions to the systemic problems need to be strategically
planned and implemented in a series of manageable steps. However, it is urgent that this process begins at
the Fourth Ministerial Meeting. In this context, the undersigned NGOs call for:
A decision by Ministers at the Ministerial Conference to instruct the General Council at
its first meeting, to develop a comprehensive work program on Institutional Reform,
covering both internal issues (capacity building, meetings, decision-making, reform of
dispute settlement measures) and external issues (NGO accreditation, cooperation
mechanisms with IGOs, parliamentary oversight, national consultation guidelines). The
General Council should develop recommendations for reform and report back to
Ministers at the Fifth Ministerial.

In considering the above proposals, there is a need to recognise the concerns of developing countries that
wider public participation in the WTO will play into the hands of Northern economic interests. This
would disadvantage the weaker members of the system, and further imbalance the policy-making process,
which increased participation, is supposed to correct. We therefore urge developing countries to put
forward proposals to advance discussions on institutional reform and systemic issues in consultation with
civil society groups in their countries.

*{Conclusions}
The WTO is facing a fundamental crisis of legitimacy. Systemic inequalities and imbalances mean that the
WTO has not effectively lived up to its developmental mandate. This calls into question not only how its
institutional structure addresses development concerns, but also the very premise of the trade rules and
processes that the institution is responsible for managing. The lack of external oversight as well as internal
accountability to the majority of its members have given a few WTO members disproportionate control in
determining the direction and progress of global trade policy without taking into account and effectively
addressing the negative impacts that implementation of such global trade policy through trade
liberalisation has had on people and the environment.

The legitimacy of the WTO depends not on the economic interests represented by transnational
corporations and the governments of major developed countries, but rather on how its actions and policies
contribute to improving the lives of poor communities, particularly in the South. WTO rules and policies
need to respect and reflect the development needs, goals and priorities of the poor and the impacts of trade
related economic activities on the local, national and global environment.

WTO members need to act decisively to protect the integrity and legitimacy of the multilateral trading
system. Absent the significant reforms proposed above, support for the WTO will further diminish, both
among its members and the public at large. WTO needs to show leadership and to demonstrate that it is
institutionally capable of accepting the challenges it faces. The upcoming Ministerial conference provides
WTO members with a clear opportunity for acting on institutional reform concerns.