A/HRC/33/40 Annex IV WTO Secretariat replies to the questionnaire of the Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and international order Priorities of the WTO Question 1 • When WTO Members adopted the Nairobi Ministerial declarationa by consensus on 19 December 2015, they set the priorities for the WTO. The Ministerial Declaration recognizes that differences do exist on the way forward and recognizes that “Many Members want to carry out the work on the basis of the Doha structure, while some want to explore new architectures” (parag. 32 of the Ministerial Declaration). • The Declaration highlights an important element in its paragraph 34, when it says that “any decision to launch negotiations multilaterally on such issues would need to be agreed by all Members. • In Paragraph 34 also, our Members have tasked officials to work towards finding ways to advance negotiations and requested the Director-General to report regularly to the General Council on these efforts. Question 2 • WTO Members have never discussed nor adopted any specific measures to mainstream human rights into WTO activities, including in relation to dispute settlement. • However, WTO rules do not prevent governments from implementing human rights obligations. • The WTO recognizes the benefits of sustainable development as one of its goals. WTO agreements include sufficient policy space to allow governments to pursue legitimate objectives other than trade, including human rights. Impact Assessments and other measures Question 3 • All WTO bodies serve as a forum for Members to discuss specific issues and share experiences on trade and trade-related matters. • WTO Members within the framework of these committees often request WTO Secretariat to produce analysis and factual reports on specific issues pertinent to the work of these committees. • Given the member-driven nature of the organization, stakeholder consultations are the primary responsibility of each individual member of the WTO; For information a GE.16-11938 https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/mc10_e/mindecision_e.htm. 29