RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/W/98
19 February 1999
(99-0661)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
CONSIDERATION OF REQUESTS FOR OBSERVER STATUS
Note by the Secretariat
Introduction
1. At present, the following international intergovernmental organizations have regular observer
status in the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures ("SPS Committee"):  F ood and
Agriculture Organization (FAO);  FAO International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC);  FAO/WHO
Joint Codex Alimentarius Commissi on (Codex);  International Organization for Standardization (ISO);
International Trade Centre (ITC);  Office internati onal des épizooties (OIE);  United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development (UNCTAD);  World Hea lth Organization (WHO), the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund (IMF).
2. At the June 1998 meeting of the SPS Committee the Chairman recalled that at its March 1998
meeting the Committee had agreed to hold informal consultations with the aim of identifying criteria
in order to assist Members in reaching decisions on pending requests for observer status in the SPSCommittee.
3. Subsequent to the June 1998 meeting of the SPS Committee, the Secretariat contacted those
international organizations which had requested observer status in the SPS Committee, and requested
them to provide more specific information regardin g their work in this area. The response of the
Organismo Internacional Regional de Sanidad Agropecuaria (OIRSA) was circulated to Members in
October 1998;  those from the Office international de la vigne et du vin (OIV), the European Free
Trade Association (EFTA), the Latin American Economic System (SELA), the European andMediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) and the Inter-American Institute for
Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) were circulated before the September 1998 meeting.
4. At the November 1998 meeting of the SPS Committee, an informal discussion was held
regarding this matter.  At request of the SPS Committee, the following summarizes the issues raised
by Members at that meeting.
General Council Guidelines
5. The existing Guidelines on Observer Status for International Intergovernmental Organizations
in the WTO were adopted by the General Council on 25 July 1996 (see the "General Council
Guidelines", attached to this note).
1  The Secretariat confirmed that while there were requests for
                                                     
1 "Observer Status for International Intergovernmental Organizations in the WTO" [footnote omitted], WT/L/161, adopted by the
General Council on 25 July 1996.G/SPS/W/98
Page 2
observer status pending at the General Council level, the General Council Guidelines allowed for
individual Committees to move ahead on their own.2
Criteria
6. Some Members maintained that the legal decisions already taken under the General Council
were an appropriate basis for developing criteria for dealing with requests for observer status in theSPS Committee.  They noted that it was important for the SPS Committee to develop such criteria
given the growing list of candidates for observer status and the fact that Members would inevitably be
faced with situations where such requests would have to be turned down.  Rejections should be based
on the objectives of the SPS Agreement and the guidelines already approved by the General Council.
7. Suggested criteria for considering requests for observer status included the mandate, scope
and area of work covered by the organization.  Observer status should be granted to organizations
which objectively contributed to the functioning and implementation of the SPS Agreement.3  Another
criteria identified was reciprocity.
8. Some Members were concerned that it must be clear that observers were present only as
representatives of their organizations, otherwise there was a danger of some Members being
represented both through their delegations and also by the observers.  However, it was noted that aninter-governmental organization was naturally made up of governments.  Therefore, even though the
person attending a meeting represented the institution, the institution itself was made up of
governments, who were in most cases also WTO Members.
9. In respect of limitations on the participation of observer organizations and in line with the
General Council Guideline 8, several Members suggested that observers could be permitted only at
regular meetings of the SPS Committee and further that these observers not be allowed to take thefloor unless they were specifically invited to do so by the Chairperson, with agreement from the
Members.  Furthermore, these Members considered that observers did not have the right to circulate
papers or to make proposals and could not participate in the decision-making process.
10. Other Members were concerned about the Committee examining specific criteria for observer
status while the same issue was being discussed at a broader, systemic level.
Ad hoc observer status
11. Given the lack of agreement on pending requests for observer status, some Members
suggested that, as an interim step, such requests could be granted on an ad hoc  basis.  These observers
would be specifically invited, by the Secretariat, to meetings of the SPS Committee either until they
were granted regular observer status or until any Member objected to the presence of the ad hoc
observers at a meeting.  One Member suggested that this approach would permit invitation of any
particular observer only for selected meetings or even only for the consideration of specific items onthe agenda of a particular meeting.
12. Several Members who were not prepared to agree to granting regular observer status as long
as there were issues still pending in the Genera l Council on this matter indicated that they could
consider the possibility of ad hoc  observer status.  However, this was subject to a clear understanding
of how ad hoc  observers would interact with the Committee.  It would be necessary to clarify whether
                                                     
2 General Council Guideline 4: "Requests for observer status shall be considered on a case-by-case basis by  each WTO body to
which such a request is addressed ...". [emphasis added]
3 The position of the European Communities is developed in greater detail in document G/SPS/W/95, "International Observer
Organizations", circulated on 23 November 1998.G/SPS/W/98
Page 3
the basis for participation of ad hoc observers was the same as for the current, regular observers to the
SPS Committee.  Most important, in their view, was avoiding such a large number of ad hoc
observers that the orderly working of the Committee was made difficult.
Regional Organizations
13. One Member stressed  that regional organizations were particularly important for many
developing countries in that they facilitated their member governments' understanding and
implementation of WTO Agreements.
14. Several Members argued that the regional plant protection organizations should be considered
as a special case.  The regional organizations operating within the framework of the IPPC were
specifically referred to in the SPS Agreement4 and thus fell within the scope of the General Council
Guidelines.  These Members maintained that although these organizations did not have a global
membership, their work within the IPPC umbrella meant that they should be granted observer status.These organizations had to be given special attention considering their particular structure and
working procedures, and the need to develop plant protection standards on a regional basis due to the
major effect geography and climatic factors had on plants.
15. Other Members noted that the regional plant protection organizations were constituent parts
of the IPPC.  As such, they could be invited by the IPPC to attend SPS Committee meetings as part of
the IPPC's delegation.  Since the IPPC itself was a regular observer in the SPS Committee, there was
no need for its constituent organizations to be invited separately.
Further consideration by the SPS Committee
16. Some Members suggested that at its next meeting in March 1999, the SPS Committee should
reach agreement on how to handle pending and new requests for observer status.  Failing this, a fulldiscussion of the subject should be permitted in the formal meeting so that Members' positions were
appropriately recorded.  The usefulness of Members' submitting positions on the matter in writing was
also stressed.
                                                     
4  The preamble of the SPS Agreement (6th indent) states:
"Desiring  to further the use of harmonized sanitary and phytosanitary measures between
Members, on the basis of international standards, guidelines and recommendations developed
by the relevant international organizations, including the  Codex Alimentarius Commission, the
International Office of Epizootics, and the relevant international and regional organizations
operating within the framework of the International Plant Protection Convention, without
requiring Members to change their appropriate level of protection of human, animal or plantlife or health;" [underlining added]
These organizations are also mentioned in Article 3.4, Article 12.3 and Annex A (para. 3) of the SPS Agreement.G/SPS/W/98
Page 4
Attachment 1
(WT/L/161, 25 July 1996, Annex 3, pp. 16-17)
OBSERVER STATUS FOR INTERNATIONAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATIONS IN THE WTO1
1. The purpose of observer status for international intergovernmental organizations (hereinafter referred to as
"organizations") in the WTO is to enable these organizations to  follow discussions therein on matters of direct interest to the m.
2. Requests for observer status shall accordingly be considered from organizations which have competence and a direct
interest in trade policy matters, or which, pursuant to paragraph V:1 of the WTO Agreement, have responsibilities related to
those of the WTO.
3. Requests for observer status shall be made in writing to the WTO body in which such status is sought, and shall
indicate the nature of the work of the organization and the reasons for its interest in being accorded such status.  Requests f or
observer status from organizations shall not, however, be considered for meetings  of the Committee on Budget, Finance and
Administration or of the Dispute Settlement Body.2
4. Requests for observer status shall be considered on a case-by-case basis by each WTO body to which such a request is
addressed, taking into account such factors as the nature of work of the organization concerned, the nature of its membership,
the number of WTO Members in the organization, reciprocity with respect to access to proceedings, documents and other
aspects of observership, and whether the organization has been associated in the past with the work of the CONTRACTING
PARTIES to GATT 1947.
5. In addition to organizations that request, and are granted,  observer status, other organizations may attend meetings of
the Ministerial Conference, the General Council or subsidiary bodies on the specific invitation of the Ministerial Conference, the
General Council or the subsidiary body concerned, as the case may be.  Invitations may also be extended, as appropriate and on
a case-by-case basis, to specific organizations to follow particular issues within a body in an observer capacity.
6. Organizations with which the WTO has entered into a formal arrangement for cooperation and consultation shall be
accorded observer status in such bodies as may be determined by that arrangement.
7. Organizations accorded observer status in a particular WTO body shall not automatically be accorded such status in
other WTO bodies.
8. Representatives of organizations accorded observer status may be invited to speak at meetings of the bodies to which
they are observers normally after Members of that body have spoken.  The right to speak does not include the right to circulate
papers or to make proposals, unless an organization is specifically invited to do so, nor to participate in decision-making.
9. Observer organizations shall receive copies of the main WTO documents series and of other documents series relating
to the work of the subsidiary bodies which they attend as observers.  They may receive such additional documents as may be
specified by the terms of any formal arrangements for cooperation between them and the WTO.
10. If for any one-year period after the date of the grant of observer status, there has been no attendance by the observer
organization, such status shall cease.  In the case of sessions of the Ministerial Conference, this period shall be two years.
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1  These guidelines shall apply also to other organizations referred to by name in the WTO Agreement.
2  In the case of the IMF and the World Bank, their requests for attendance as observers to the DSB will be acted upon in accord ance with the
arrangements to be concluded between the WTO and these two organizations
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