Some Observations About the Relationship Between the UNCLOS, Precautionary Principle-Based Multilateral Environmental Treaties & the WTO NOT Discussed

http://www.unep.org/gc/gc24/docs/S2R2.FINALdoc.pdf

World Trade Organization

TN/TE/S/2/Rev.2
16 January 2007

Committee on Trade and Environment

Special Session

Existing forms of cooperation and Information exchange
Between UNEP/MEAs and the WTO

Note by the Secretariat

Revision

This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own responsibility and without prejudice to the positions of Members and to their rights and obligations under the WTO

1. In Paragraph 31(ii) of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, Ministers agreed to negotiations, without prejudging their outcome, on "procedures for regular information exchange between MEA Secretariats and the relevant WTO committees, and the criteria for the granting of observer status."[1] Moreover, the Doha Ministerial Declaration contains a number of references to the importance of cooperation and information exchange. In the Preamble, Ministers welcomed "the WTO's continued cooperation with UNEP and other inter-governmental environmental organizations. [They encouraged] efforts to promote cooperation between the WTO and relevant international environmental and developmental organizations, especially in the lead-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in September 2002."

2. At the launch of the negotiations in 2002, the Secretariat was requested to prepare a note informing the participants of existing information exchange practices between the WTO and MEAs to assist the CTESS discussions on the information exchange component of paragraph 31(ii) mandate.[2] The note entitled "Existing Forms of Cooperation and Information Exchange between the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)/Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and the WTO" was prepared in response to that request. This present paper is the recent update of that note.[3]

3. The note addresses the following topics: (i) existing forms of cooperation between UNEP/MEAs and the WTO: arrangement between the WTO and UNEP Secretariats (pages 2-3); (ii) existing forms of information exchange Between UNEP/MEAs and the WTO: MEA Information Sessions in the CTE; and WTO side events in MEAs (pages 3-6); (iii) respective Secretariats' technical cooperation activities: WTO trade and environment regional seminars; and UNEP-UNCTAD Capacity Building Task Force (CBTF) and UNEP meetings back-to-back with the CTE (pages 6-9); (iv) background notes on MEAs (page 9); and (v) observer status: MEA observership in the WTO; and WTO observership in UNEP and MEAs (pages10-11).


A. Arrangement between the WTO and UNEP secretariats

4. On 29 November 1999, a cooperation arrangement between the WTO and UNEP Secretariats was concluded and its elements detailed in the following press release:

Elements of Cooperation between the WTO and UNEP

Press Release – Press/154 – 29 November 1999

A global arrangement between the Secretariat of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations as a whole was agreed between the two Secretariats in an exchange of letters between the Director‑General of the WTO and the Secretary-General of the United Nations on 29 September 1995. In accordance with the mandate given to the Secretariat of the WTO and the mandate given to the Secretariat of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), recognition is given to the importance of cooperation and collaboration between the two Secretariats with respect to their work on issues of mutual interest.

Recalling the commitment of Members to continue to improve efforts towards the objective of sustainable development, the WTO and UNEP Secretariats have elaborated the following elements of cooperation between their respective organizations. This cooperation will take place in the context of our respective mandates and within our respective resources.

Building on the global arrangement between the UN and the WTO, consultations have been held between the Director-General of the WTO and the Executive-Director of UNEP to further effective cooperation between the two Secretariats in areas of mutual interest and to help achieve the aims of the Rio Declaration. It is understood that cooperation between the WTO and UNEP Secretariats should encompass practical measures which could assist in the smooth and efficient functioning of both organizations in areas where interaction could be of mutual benefit. The goal is to improve the working relationship at all levels in the two Secretariats, including with respect to technical cooperation and research initiatives.

Cooperation between the WTO and UNEP Secretariats will thus include the provision and exchange of relevant non-confidential information, including access to trade-related environmental databases, and reciprocal representation at meetings of a non‑confidential nature, in accordance with the decisions of the competent bodies of the respective organizations. With respect to participation and representation, it is noted that the WTO Secretariat is an observer of the Governing Council of UNEP, and UNEP is an observer of the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment.

Building on past practice, the Secretariats of the two organizations will also continue, as appropriate, their cooperation and collaboration, in particular through informal staff meetings and information sessions, including where feasible with the participation of the Secretariats of Multilateral Environmental Agreements.

Capacity building for developing countries and countries with economies in transition is another form of cooperative activity between the two Secretariats which could usefully be continued and further strengthened, thus contributing to raising awareness on the linkages between trade, environment and sustainable development and the development of policies which integrate sustainable development considerations with trade policies. We agree to work for complementarity in technical cooperation with the aim of improving cooperation across the board and making better use of available resources.

A. MEA Information Sessions in the CTE

5. The CTE has invited a number of MEA Secretariats to participate in a total of eight Information Sessions from 1997 to date. MEA Secretariats presented background notes on their respective MEAs and responded to questions from Members on the trade-related aspects of their agreements. Since 1997, the following MEAs have participated in CTE Information Sessions:[4] (see Table 1 below)

1. The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (Basel Convention)

2. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its Biosafety Protocol

3. The Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR)

4. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

5. The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)

6. The Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF)

7. The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO)

8. The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Montreal Protocol)

9. The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade

10. The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

11. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

12. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

13. The United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (UN Fish Stocks)

14. The United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF)

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[1] WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1, 20 November 2001.
[2] Summary Report on the First Meeting of the CTE Special Session (TN/TE/R/1, 19 April 2002).
[3] The previous update was made on 17 February 2005 (TN/TE/S/2/Rev.1).
[4] While not MEAs per se, the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol have also participated.

Table 1: MEA Information Sessions in the CTE

Date	MEAs Participating	Documents Crculated by MEAs
22-24 September 1997 (WT/CTE/M/15)	Basel Convention CBD CITES GEF Montreal Protocol Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol UNCLOS UNEP Chemicals on PIC and POPS Conventions UNEP	Basel Convention (W/CTE/W/55) CBD (WT/CTE/W/64) CITES (WT/CTE/W/63) GEF (WT/CTE/W/58) Montreal Protocol (WT/CTE/W/57) Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol (WT/CTE/W/60) UNCLOS (WT/CTE/W/62) UNEP Chemicals on PIC and POPS Conventions (WT/CTE/W59) UNFCCC (WT/CTE/W/61)
23-24 July 1998 (WT/CTE/M/18)	Basel Convention CBD ECE POPS Protocol ICCAT IFF ITTO UNEP Chemicals on PIC and POPS Conventions UNFCCC UNEP	Basel Convention (WT/CTE/W/90) CBD (WT/CTE/W/92) ECE POPS Protocol (WT/CTE/W/88) ICCAT (WT/CTE/W/87) IFF (WT/CTE/W/84) ITTO (WT/CTE/W/89) UNEP Chemicals on PIC and POPS Conventions (WT/CTE/W/91) UNFCCC (WT/CTE/W/74) UNEP (WT/CTE/W/94)
29-30 June 1999 (PRESS/TE/029)	CITES IFF ITTO Montreal Protocol UNFCCC	CCAMLR (WT/CTE/W/113 and CORR.1) CBD (WT/CTE/W/116) CITES (WT/CTE/W/119) IFF (WT/CTE/W/122) ITTO (WT/CTE/W/120) Montreal Protocol (WT/CTE/W/115) UNFCCC (WT/CTE/W/123)
5-6 July 2000 (WT/CTE/M/24)	CBD ICCAT Montreal Protocol UNFCCC UNEP	CBD (WT/CTE/W/149 and WT/CTE/W/136) CCAMLR (WT/CTE/W/148) ICCAT (WT/CTE/W/152) Montreal Protocol (WT/CTE/W/142) UNFCCC (WT/CTE/W/153) UNEP (WT/CTE/W/155)
24-25 October 2000 (WT/CTE/M/25) [1]	Basel Convention CBD CITES IFF UNEP chemicals on PIC and POPS Conventions UNFCCC UNEP	Basel Convention (WT/CTE/W/163 and CORR.1) CITES (WT/CTE/W/165) IFF (WT/CTE/W/164) ITTO (WT/CTE/W/169) UNEP Chemicals on PIC and POPS Conventions (WT/CTE/W/166) UNFCCC (WT/CTE/W/174) UNEP (WT/CTE/W/179)
27-28 June 2001 (WT/CTE/M/27)	Basel Convention Biosafety Protocol CBD CITES Montreal Protocol UNEP Chemicals on PIC and POPS Conventions UNFCCC UN Fish Stocks UNEP	The following MEAs contributed to a background paper jointly prepared by the WTO and UNEP Secretariats on Compliance and Dispute Settlement Provisions in the WTO and in MEAs – Note by the WTO and UNEP Secretariats (WT/CTE/W/191): Basel Convention Biosafety Protocol CBD CCAMLR CITES ICCAT Montreal Protocol UNEP Chemicals on PIC and POPS Conventions UNFCCC UN Fish Stocks
13 June 2002 (WT/CTE/M/30)	UNEP CITES PIC POPS UNFCCC CBD Basel Convention ITTO UNFF UN Fish Stocks UNCLOS	The following MEAs contributed to a background paper prepared for this Information Session on Technical Assistance, Capacity Building and Enhancing Information Exchange (WT/CTE/W/209): UNEP CITES Basel Convention UNFCCC CBD ITTO UNCLOS Other documents: UNEP (WT/CTE/W/213)
12 November 2002 (TN/TE/R/4)	UNFCCC CBD UNEP PIC POPS ITTO UNFF Basel Convention	UNEP (TN/TE/INF/2 AND 3)

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[1] Opening statements were made by the Director-General of the WTO, Mr. Mike Moore (WT/CTE/W/178) and the Executive Director of UNEP, Dr. Klaus Töpfer (WT/CTE/W/179) at this Information Session.

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS ON MEAS CIRCULATED IN THE CTE

11. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

Symbol	Date Issued	Topic
WT/CTE/W/62	16 September 1997	The 1994 Agreement Relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea – Communication from the UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea