[asia-apec 1189] NGO Registration to attend Seattle WTO Ministerial Conference

[UN-NGLS (NY Office)]

For those NGOs interested in NGO accreditatioin to the WTO 
Ministerial Conference in Seattle, please see the information below 
which describes the necessary procedure.  You may also wish to visit 
the WTO website at <http://www.wto.org>, and click on 
"Non-Governmental Organizations".

______________________________________________________________


NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
FACILITIES PROVIDED TO ATTEND 
THE THIRD WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE


 As time is running and representatives from Non Governmental
 Organizations need to prepare for their attendance at the third
 Ministerial Conference of the WTO to be held in Seattle from 30
 November to 3 December 1999, WTO Members have agreed on 15 June 1999
 to renew the same procedures for registration adopted for the two
 previous Ministerial Conferences held in Singapore (December 1996)
 and in Geneva (May 1998).

 Applications from NGOs to be registered will be accepted on the basis
 of ArticleV, paragraph2 of the WTO Agreement, i.e. such NGOs
 "concerned with matters related to those of the WTO".  

 When addressing their request for registration to attend the Seattle
 Ministerial Conference, NGOs have to supply in detail all the
 necessary information showing how they are concerned with matters
 related to those of the WTO.

 To speed up the process for those NGOs who have been duly registered
 for and attended one of the following meetings:  previous Ministerial
 Conferences (Singapore '96, Geneva '98) or the Symposia organized by
 the Secretariat in March 1999, their requests can be accompanied only
 by a shorter presentation of their activities and how they relate to
 those of the WTO.  The reference of the meeting for which they have
 been granted registration and attended has to be mentioned.

 Requests for registration accompanied by the presentation of the NGO
 activities have to be sent by mail before 16August 1999 to: 

External Relations Division
Centre William Rappard
154 rue de Lausanne
1211 Geneva 21
Switzerland

    Please note that all registration forms are numbered and cannot be
    copied.  They should be returned by mail with all the information
    requested and recent passport size photos attached to the External
    Relations Division as soon as possible and in any case not later
    than 15 September 1999.  Incomplete requests will not be accepted.
     

 Confirmation of registration will be sent to NGOs as from 1 October
 1999 after the list of NGOs having requested registration has been
 circulated to WTO Members.

 Upon confirmation of registration, badges will be made available in
 Seattle for entrance to the Plenary Sessions, entrance to the NGO
 Conference Centre, where facilities will be provided to all
 registered NGOs and participation in social events.












Observer status for international IGOs at the Seattle Ministerial
Conference


 WTO Members have agreed on 15 June to invite International
 Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) as observers to the third WTO
 Ministerial Conference to be held in Seattle from 30November to
 3December 1999 on the basis of the same guidelines adopted for the
 two previous Ministerial Conferences (Singapore '96 and Geneva '98):

(a)	organizations that are observers to the General Council will be
automatically invited;

(b)	organizations that are observers to subsidiary bodies will be
invited if they request to attend;  and

(c)	consultations will be held to determine which other organizations
that are not observers to the WTO and that request attendance at the
Ministerial Conference should be invited.


 As provided in the Rules of Procedure for observer status of IGOs "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".

 Pursuant to this provision all organizations which have attended the
 Singapore and the Geneva Ministerial Conferences will upon request
 automatically be granted observer status at the 1999 Seattle
 Ministerial Conference.  

  .