PARLIAMENTARY SESSION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE WTO PUBLIC FORUM 2014 1 October 2014, WTO Headquarters, Room S3
	Organized jointly by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the European Parliament

	Over recent years, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has established a tradition of holding annual public events where participants from government, parliament, civil society, the business sector, academia and the media jointly reflect upon the functioning of the multilateral trading system and analyse the institutional state of the WTO. The Inter-Parliamentary Union and the European Parliament have been associated with WTO public forums on a number of occasions, having jointly organized parliamentary events within the overall programme of such fora. WTO Public Forum 2014 will be held on WTO premises in Geneva (Centre William Rappard) from 1 to 3 October, under the overall theme Why trade matters to everyone. As part of the Forum's programme, which includes a great number of separate events, the IPU and the European Parliament will organize a Parliamentary Session entitled Post-Bali agenda: where does parliamentary oversight fit in? Through various institutional mechanisms, parliaments are responsible for providing effective democratic oversight of the multilateral trading system as embodied by the WTO. They oversee international trade negotiations and scrutinize implementation of the commitments entered into by governments. As representatives of the people, parliamentarians are well-placed to listen to and convey to the WTO the concerns and aspirations of citizens, businesses and other stakeholders. At the same time, legislators bear their own share of responsibility for ensuring that the benefits of trade are distributed in a fair way and contribute to the reduction of poverty and inequality. As the WTO is advancing in the preparation of the post-Bali work programme, it is necessary to instil new energy into the parliamentary dimension of the WTO as well. The Parliamentary Session will be an opportunity to consider different policy responses to meet this challenge. The Parliamentary Session will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, 1 October in Room S3 at WTO Headquarters. The Session will be open to all parliamentarians and other participants duly accredited to the WTO Forum, subject to the limits of the room's seating capacity. Interpretation into English, French and Spanish will be provided by the WTO Secretariat. Important notice: All participants in the WTO Public Forum are responsible for their own visa, travel arrangements and accommodation in Geneva. For practical reasons, the IPU Secretariat is not in a position to help parliamentary delegates with accommodation and other practical arrangements in Geneva, which remain the sole responsibility of each delegate. Participants are required to register by 21 September 2014 at the latest, using the on-line registration facility to be found on the WTO website. No on-the-spot registration will be possible. Registration is handled by the WTO Secretarait.

Updated on 27 October 2014

DOCUMENTS AND LINKS

	Report	[English] [French]
	Information note about the Parliamentary Session	[English] [French]
	WTO Public Forum 2014 (main page)	[English] [French]
	On-line registration for WTO Public Forum 2014	[English] [French]
	Bali session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO	[English] [French]
	Parliamentary Panel "Trade in natural resources - curse or blessing? A parliamentary perspective" (WTO Public Forum 2011)	[English] [French]
	Parliamentary Panel "Can the existing multilateral trading system cope with the emerging challenges?" (WTO Public Forum 2010)	[English] [French]
	Parliamentary Panel "Can protectionism protect trade? The legislator's perspective" (WTO Public Forum 2009)	[English] [French]
	Parliamentary Panel "Trade and climate change: Is trade killing our planet?" (WTO Public Forum 2007)	[English] [French]
	Parliamentary Panel "The perceived loss of "sovereignty" due to WTO accords: should parliamentarians be concerned?"(WTO Public Symposium 2005)	[English] [French]
	Parliamentary Panel "Parliaments and the WTO" (WTO Public Symposium 2003)	[English] [French]
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Updated on 23 September 2014
PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME
WEDNESDAY, 1 OCTOBER 2014
15:00 - 17:00 WTO Headquarters Room S3		PARLIAMENTARY SESSION Post-Bali agenda: where does parliamentary oversight fit in?
		Moderator: Mr. Ravi Kanth Devarakonda, Inter Press Service correspondent in Geneva
		Panelists: Mr. Ablassé Ouedraogo, Member of the National Assembly, Burkina Faso Mr. Kil Jeong-woo, Member of the National Assembly, Republic of Korea Mr. Bernd Lange, Member of the European Parliament, Chairman of the Committee on International Trade Mr. Helmut Scholz, Member of the European Parliament Ms. Arancha González, Executive Director, International Trade Centre