Working methods of the UNCTAD intergovernmental machinery during COVID-19 related disruptions

The Trade and Development Board,

Cognizant of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to the smooth functioning of the UNCTAD intergovernmental machinery,

Emphasizing the importance of minimizing disruptions to the work of the UNCTAD intergovernmental machinery,

Recognizing that these potential disruptions could be minimized through the adoption of temporary working methods,

Stressing that these temporary working methods are for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis and do not set a precedent for the work of the UNCTAD intergovernmental machinery,

1. Agrees that the following will apply during the COVID-19 pandemic:

Virtual and hybrid meetings

1. Virtual and hybrid meetings should be organized only when it is either not possible or advisable to hold physical meetings. If conditions permit, before considering fully virtual meetings, the secretariat should first consider hybrid meetings (where some delegates would be present in the room and others would connect remotely through a platform). The modalities for hybrid meetings would be the same as for virtual meetings.
    
2. When it is necessary to hold formal, virtual meetings, they should be organized in accordance with the requirements prescribed in the rules of procedure of the Trade and Development Board, or those of the relevant subsidiary body, including the provision of simultaneous interpretation through an adequate platform in the six official languages of the United Nations.
    
3. When necessary, the Trade and Development Board or its subsidiary bodies (through their respective extended bureaux) could organize informal virtual meetings without interpretation through platforms such as webex. When feasible, the proceedings of informal virtual meetings should be broadcast in English as well as other languages when the technology available allows for this at no additional cost, for example, through the Listen Live platform of the United Nations Office at Geneva.
    
4. In organizing informal, virtual meetings, the body in question shall decide in advance whether there will be any outcomes from the meeting. Such outcomes should be referred to the Trade and Development Board for a formal decision, either through a formal meeting (in physical or virtual format) or through a silence procedure.

Modalities for virtual meetings

1. Virtual meetings should begin and finish on time, especially where interpretation is provided.
    
2. Participants should use a uniform naming convention when logging in ("delegation", followed by "first name, last name"), in order to ensure transparency as well as facilitate the conduct of the virtual meeting. Participants who connect without following the established format shall not be given the floor until they have reconnected in accordance with the promulgated format.
    
3. Moderators (the secretariat officials managing the use of the meeting's platform) may begin the virtual meeting with a quick roll call to verify who is participating. When responding to the roll call, participants should also activate their cameras.
    
4. Participants should keep their microphones muted when not speaking. Participants should activate their microphones and cameras when taking the floor.
    
5. The chatbox or raise hand functions should be used for requesting the floor. If raising a point of order, the chatbox should also be used to indicate that the request for the floor is to raise a point of order.

Use of the silence procedure by the Trade and Development Board and its subsidiary bodies

1. The extended Bureau of the Trade and Development Board, or that of the relevant subsidiary body, shall determine whether matters for action should be subjected to silence procedure.
    
2. Matters/issues should only be subject to silence procedure once the necessary preparatory work and consultations have been completed, and there is a high degree of confidence that the silence will not be broken.
    
3. The timeline for matters placed under silence procedure will normally be 72 hours (three working days, excluding weekends). When necessary, the extended bureau of the relevant body may decide on a longer time frame. If the silence is not broken within the defined period, the decision shall be considered adopted.
    
4. Should the silence procedure be broken, the presiding officer shall hold a virtual meeting of the extended bureau of the relevant body on the proposal, with a view to reaching an agreement before submitting it for a new silence procedure.
    
5. The result of the silence procedure should be systematically communicated to member States.
    
6. The Trade and Development Board, or the subsidiary body in question, shall take note of proposals adopted by means of silence procedure at its next formal meeting, whether virtual or physical.

2. Further agrees that these measures will subsist from their approval by the Trade and Development Board through silence procedure, until the conclusion of the COVID-19 pandemic, as determined by the Trade and Development Board. At such time, the Trade and Development Board will adopt a decision terminating the measures contained herein.