Jul 16, 1992

UN-GATT STAND-OFF OVER INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTRE.

GENEVA, JULY 15 (TWN) – The efforts of the GATT to resolve its differences with the United Nations over the appointment of a new Executive Director for the International Trade Centre have not so far produced any results and at the moment it is a standoff, GATT sources said Wednesday.

The ITC is run jointly by the United Nations (through UNCTAD) and the GATT, with the two sharing the costs of the administrative budget. The ITC, which provides technical assistance to developing countries and their enterprises in export promotion activities, runs these multimillion dollar programmes on the basis of voluntary contributions from the donor countries of whom the Nordics are major contributors.

After he took office in January, UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali has trimmed down posts in the UN Secretariat and has sought to apply this to the ITC too, though it is an autonomous body run jointly with the GATT. Boutros-Ghali refused to appoint a person, who had been selected last year by the UN and GATT jointly to head ITC and who was to have had the rank of an Assistant Secretary-General. Instead Boutros-Ghali insisted on an appointment at the level of a Director and that too on a one-year term. The individual selected declined the terms and the post remains, vacant, since the beginning of this year, with an ITC director holding the post temporarily as office-in-charge.

At the instance of the GATT Contracting Parties, the Chairman of the GATT CPs, Amb. Lars Anell of Sweden, and Chairman of the GATT Council, Amb. Balkrishan Zutshi of India had sought in April to meet Boutros-Ghali but did not succeed, even though Boutros-Ghali proclaimed that his doors were always open. The Chairman of the GATT CPs, said at that time that "never had a door remained more closed than this".

Since then, the two have been trying to meet with the UN Secretary-General and find a solution.

According to GATT sources, they have not been able to meet with the Under-Secretary-General Thornburgh, a U.S. national who has been put in charge of the UN administration. Even Thornburgh's deputy reportedly has been unavailable.

In reporting on the state of affairs to the Council Tuesday, Zutshi reportedly said there had been no further developments on this issue since his last report to the Council. The GATT deputy director-general Carlyle (a U.S. national) had tried to speak personally to the UN under-secretary-general Thornburgh, but so far this had not been successful. But a member of Thornburgh's staff had informed Carlyle that there was no change in the UN's position. While the outlook was "not promising", he would wait for a short while to see if the UN and the GATT could reach an accommodation, Zutshi said.

GATT sources said that several of the donors funding the ITC had said that if the UN would not change its view, the GATT should end the agreement with the UN to run the ITC and take it over completely.