SUPPLEMENTARY MEMORANDUM SUBMITTED BY
OXFAM
The WTO is facing a crisis of legitimacy.
In the aftermath of Seattle, the one point on which most WTO members
appear to have reached consensus is that the Organisation's method
of operation has become fundamentally unworkable. Even those WTO
Members most in favour of a new Round concede that the WTO's shadowy
processes are more "medieval" than Millennial.
If the WTO is to produce decisions that are
both effective and legitimate, its institutional arrangements
must be reformed to reflect its increasing membership, and the
broadening scope and complexity of the issues that it covers.
Proposals for institutional reform must begin by addressing
demands for greater transparency and participation, particularly
from developing country members, but also from representatives
of civil society.
AGENDA-SETTING
AND DECISION-MAKING
In Seattle, African, Caribbean and some Latin
American member countries took unprecedented steps publicly to
register their frustration at being excluded from the decision-making
process. Their crucial concern is representation in policy-making
processes. The paper considers:
— different models by which economically
and politically weaker developing country members could use formal
or informal constituency groups to ensure that the huge numbers
of people they represent have a voice at the WTO.
WTO DISPUTE SETTLEMENT
SYSTEM
Making use of the Dispute Settlement System
(DSS) is another crucial requirement for developing countries'
effective participation in the WTO. In theory, this system should
strengthen and protect the interests of economically weaker WTO
members which are less capable of exercising informal, diplomatic
means for ensuring enforcement of trade rules. It is, however,
clear that participating in the DSS requires significant human
and technical resources that are beyond the means of many developing
country members. Options for reform include:
— the adoption of more specific special
and differential treatment with regard to the timing of filings
and the implementation of rulings involving developing countries;
— the provision of more technical
assistance for developing countries, and particularly least-developed
countries, in bringing and defending WTO disputes.
EXTERNAL TRANSPARENCY
Experience from the GATT and other international
organisations show that constructive and open debates are essential
to achieve successful negotiating outcomes. Options for reform
that would improve the external transparency of the WTO
and help to increase public confidence that decisions taken there
reflect the widest possible range of affected interests include:
— de-restricting WTO documentation
to provide real-time public access;
— increasing national parliamentary
scrutiny of WTO policy-making;
— establishing an accreditation
scheme for and increasing the level of informal dialogue with
civil society groups;
— allowing civil society representatives
to contribute arguments relevant to WTO disputes.
GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
The Seattle talks re-emphasised tensions between
WTO rules and international conventions and treaties on human
rights and the environment. WTO Members should consider how best
to ensure that WTO rules contribute to other international commitments
such as the 2015 human development targets. This may require:
— reforming the WTO mandate
to make explicit that trade is not an end in itself;
— more effective co-ordination
between the WTO and other international institutions;
— establishing mechanisms to improve
understanding of the linkages between international trade
policy and equally important non-trade objectives, for example
by expanding the scope of the Trade Policy Review Mechanism;
— establishing mechanisms to monitor
the poverty impact of WTO sanctions.
CONCLUSIONS
The current period of reflection must produce
WTO reforms that address demands for greater transparency and
participation, particularly from developing country Members, but
also from representatives of civil society. This will be essential
for the WTO to overcome its current crisis of legitimacy and,
ultimately, for the achievement of a more equitable international
trading regime.
Oxfam
April 2000
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