WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/W/419
2 November 2000
(00-4610)
General Council Original:  English
EXTERNAL TRANSPARENCY
Communication from Norway
The following communication, dated 1 November 2000, has been received from the
Permanent Mission of Norway.
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1. There has been growing international interest and attention towards the WTO and its work
over the last years. This is both expected and welcome, as part of the globalization process. The
globalization of problems and issues requires global discussions and approaches.
2. A discussion on external transparency within the WTO is therefore both welcome and
necessary.  We need to look into ways and means on how to improve our practices.
3. The starting point in our discussions should be  the intergovernmental character of the WTO.
The WTO is a member-driven organization where representatives act upon instructions from their
respective governments.  It is primarily the res ponsibility of Member governments to inform the
people to whom they are responsible.  In our view, this implies that external transparency first and
foremost is the responsibility of Member governments and that transparency begins at home.
4. We do, however, believe that both the WTO and Member governments would benefit from a
more open dialogue with interested non-governmental parties, while preserving the intergovernmentalcharacter of the WTO.  Inputs from relevant  NGOs with knowledge of the WTO help Member
governments in identifying and evaluating the views of various national interest groups in the process
of reaching national positions.
5. The Norwegian government has generally relied upon a dialogue with national NGOs through
their representation in a set of consultative fora:
• NGOs, including business and social partners are invited to nominate representatives to
advisory boards and working groups handling WTO matters. In this manner relevant NGOsget access to information as well as the opportunity to voice the concerns of their
constituencies.
• Seminars, symposia etc, foster a dialogue with relevant NGOs on topics within their sphere of
competence on the WTO in general and on specific issues with particular relevance at a given
time.
• Inputs from universities and research institutions provide basic analysis of a broader nature on
possible implication of policy changes.WT/GC/W/419
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• Inclusion of NGOs in delegations to Ministerial Conferences has the objective of informing as
well as obtaining advice at any time throughout negotiations.
• Based on presentations by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Norwegian Parliament has in
connection with important developments within the WTO debated the challenges of the WTO.Contacts with parliamentarians is an important element which could also be discussed at the
multilateral level.
6. These processes of information and feedback provide increased predictability when national
WTO policies are formulated. We would favour an exchange of information in the WTO on national
practices as concerns distribution of documents, information methods and involvement of civil society
in national decision-making processes.
7. In order to meet a growing request for dialogue on WTO matters, we believe the system
would benefit from an efficient provision of contacts at the multilateral level as a complement to - notreplacing - national information strategies.  While acknowledging the initiatives taken by the
Director-General and the WTO Secretariat, we would favour an even higher information profile
through participation in international seminars etc.
Symposia and seminars8. Engaging NGOs in considerations on issues such as the relationship between trade and
development as well as environment has allowed for substantive discussions and provided Members
and the Secretariat with valuable information on the positions of various NGOs. A closer and more
regular relationship between the WTO and NGOs, including business and social partners, by way of
seminars or symposia on topics of relevance, would provide the NGO with an in-depth perception ofthe WTO, and should be considered as a further contribution to transparency.
9. One important precondition with respect to interaction with NGOs would be to provide the
means necessary to secure representation from developing countries.
Derestriction of documents10. Norway fully appreciates the need for confidentiality in discussions and negotiations within
intergovernmental organizations. In a multilateral setting, what is sensitive is obviously a matter of
differing opinions. We do, however, believe that by being as open as possible - denying public access
only when documents are deemed to contain sensitive information that is liable to harm the interests
of governments or the WTO, not on a routine basis - we would to a larger extent be able to set theagenda for a debate on WTO matters and contribute to a more constructive and informed exchange of
views.  Norway appreciates the initiative by the Secretariat to give public access to its daily bulletin.
11. In order to provide more comprehensive information on WTO events, the period prior to
consideration for derestriction of minutes of meetings from WTO bodies should be reduced from six
to three months after the date of their circulation. Furthermore, adequate funding for translation of
documents should be provided over the WTO budget in order to secure that rapid availability of
documents in all three languages contributes to improved transparency.
The WTO web site
12. The WTO web site has developed into an important tool for expeditious provision of
information about all the activities in the WTO.  Improved accessibility and user-friendliness through
maximum utilization of technical options available should be a permanent priority.WT/GC/W/419
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13. National web sites on WTO are developed in parallel with the WTO web site, containing
links to relevant parts. Regular exchange of ideas and experience between Members and the
Secretariat could prove helpful in order to develop the most efficient way of providing accurate and
easily accessible information about the WTO, and take stock of how this information is perceived by
the public.
14. In addition, a more interactive Q&A function could be established.
Cooperation with other int ergovernmental organizations
15. One issue that has implications as concerns the perception of the WTO as a closed society is
the continued inability of Members to act on the numerous requests for observer status by
international intergovernmental organizations. At present only seven international intergovernmental
organizations have obtained observer status in the General Council, while close to 30 requests are stillpending, in addition to similar requests to subsidiary bodies. Deblocking this unfortunate situation
would substantially improve WTO external transparency.
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