Multilateral trade talks under the auspices of the World Trade Organization (WTO) directly affect the lives of millions of people all over the world. The importance of this intergovernmental rules-setting and dispute-settlement body extends well beyond the sphere of international trade per se. This is why the Inter-Parliamentary Union has long since been advocating the view that the exceptional powers of the WTO should be matched by equally high standards in terms of its transparency and accountability.
Parliamentarians, as elected representatives of the people, have both the legitimacy and the responsibility to oversee government action in the field of multilateral trade negotiations. Since 2002, the IPU and the European Parliament have been engaged in a joint endeavor now known as the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO - a permanent mechanism of parliamentary oversight of and interaction with the WTO, its de facto parliamentary dimension. Sessions of the Parliamentary Conference, held once a year and on the occasion of WTO Ministerial Conferences, invariably bring together hundreds of parliamentarians specializing in international trade.
The body ensuring the smooth running of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO is its Steering Committee, composed of representatives of some twenty-five national parliaments, regional parliamentary assemblies and international organizations, as well the IPU and WTO Secretariats. On 22 and 23 June 2006, the Committee held its 12th meeting in Geneva, the main purpose of which was to launch preparations for the next session of the Parliamentary Conference.
 |
The Committee started its work by a question-and-answer session with the participation of the WTO Director-General, Mr. Pascal Lamy, who briefed parliamentarians on the current state of WTO talks. In his words, a failure of the Doha Round would be first and foremost a loss for the developing world, which fought hard to launch a trade negotiation that would set the trade record straight. Government negotiators now have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to correct the imbalances in multilateral trade. The hope is that they will not waste it.
The WTO Director-General viewed the role of parliamentarians in international trade as having three different dimensions. First, it is an oversight role, whereby members of parliament monitor the actions of their governments and ensure their accountability. Second, they play a role in ratifying international treaties that are presented to parliaments. And, third, parliamentarians play a role in developing and implementing legislation for international treaties, and seeing them through. This three-dimensional role makes parliamentarians crucial partners of the WTO.
Inspired by the words of the WTO Director-General, the Steering Committee adopted a statement in support of efforts to unblock WTO negotiations. The full text of the statement is available on the IPU web site. As it transpired a few days after the Steering Committee meeting, no progress was made at the most recent series of WTO consultations. The stalemate remains, and with it the need to mobilize political will in order to save the Doha Development Round.
The Committee decided that the next session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO would be held at the International Conference Center (CICG) in Geneva on 1 and 2 December 2006. As on past occasions, the session will bring together members of parliament and top WTO negotiators in a direct dialogue focused on ways to advance the ongoing multilateral trade talks and enhance transparency and accountability of the WTO. The session's agenda and programme will be communicated to all national parliaments in the next couple of months.
