외교부

WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE

PROCEDURES REGARDING REGISTRATION AND ATTENDANCE OF

NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS AT THE FIFTH SESSION

OF THE MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE

On 10 February 2003, the General Council agreed on the following procedures for registration and attendance of Non-Governmental Organizations at the Fifth Session of the Ministerial Conference (Cancún, 10 to 14 September 2003):

(i) NGOs would be allowed to attend only the Plenary Sessions of the Conference (without the right to speak);

(ii) applications from NGOs to be registered would be accepted on the basis of Article V, paragraph 2 of the WTO Agreement, i.e. NGOs "concerned with matters related to those of the WTO"; and

(iii) a deadline will be established for the registration of NGOs that wish to attend the Conference.

In light of this, NGOs that want to attend the Cancún Ministerial Conference will be requested to supply, in detail, all the necessary information indicating how they are concerned with matters related to those of the WTO. This procedure is waived for those NGOs which were duly registered for at least two previous Ministerial Conferences. NGOs which qualify are still obliged to officially request registration and are subject to all other procedures and deadlines that apply to NGOs requesting to attend the Fifth Ministerial Conference.

NGOs that want to attend the Cancún Ministerial Conference should submit their requests for registration not later than 30 April. Registration forms will be sent by 31 May to all NGOs which fulfil the registration criteria. The registration forms will have to be returned duly completed by the NGOs to the External Relations Division of the WTO Secretariat not later than 30 June. Based on the information provided, the Secretariat will process a list of registered NGOs. In line with past practice, this list will be circulated to all WTO Members for information during the course of July. Confirmation of registration will be sent to the NGOs as from 1 August.

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Information on the procedures for registration and attendance of NGOs at the Fifth Session of the Ministerial Conference will be made available on the WTO website (www.wto.org).