The Sustainable and Digital Trade Facilitation Week, will be held in-person at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland from 8 to 12 July 2024.
It will feature the 42nd UNEFACT Forum on 8-10 July 2024 and the 30th UN/CEFACT Plenary on 11-12 July 2024.
The mandate of the current Chair of the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) ends at the 30th Plenary on 11 July 2024 at which time the UN Member States who are physically present at the Plenary meeting will elect the Chair for the period 2024-2027.
Who to nominate
Each UN Member State may nominate one candidate of its choice to run as Chair. It is at the country’s discretion if they nominate a person from the government or from the private sector. The candidate must be a member of the country’s delegation and each country may only nominate one candidate using its own criteria for selection, taking into account: expertise, leadership, ability, willingness to work, geographical balance and gender balance.
Necessary forms
The following documents should be submitted for the candidate. This information must be sent directly from the Permanent Mission in Geneva to the UNECE Secretariat.
Requirements of the UN/CEFACT Chair
The Candidate will be expected to actively participate in at least four physical meetings per year:
Candidates will also be expected to participate in all official UN/CEFACT Bureau conference calls (there are currently calls every month for around two hours each).
The Chair is responsible for the organization and leading the Bureau calls, the Plenary meetings, the Forums and all UN/CEFACT meetings. Additionally, the UN/CEFACT Chair is responsible to ensure that procedures are being applied correctly, to oversee all UN/CEFACT projects and prepare strategic documentation such as the Programme of Work. It is appreciated if the Chair assists the UNECE Secretariat in representing UN/CEFACT at official meetings and events as well as assist with communication.
For more details, please consult the Consolidated UN/CEFACT Mandate and Terms of Reference (ECE/TRADE/C/CEFACT/2017/15).
The mandate of the current Chair of the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) ends at the 30th Plenary on 11 July 2024 at which time the UN Member States who are physically present at the Plenary meeting will elect the Chair for the period 2024-2027.
Who to nominate
Each UN Member State may nominate one candidate of its choice to run as Chair. It is at the country’s discretion if they nominate a person from the government or from the private sector. The candidate must be a member of the country’s delegation and each country may only nominate one candidate using its own criteria for selection, taking into account: expertise, leadership, ability, willingness to work, geographical balance and gender balance.
Necessary forms
The following documents should be submitted for the candidate. This information must be sent directly from the Permanent Mission in Geneva to the UNECE Secretariat.
Requirements of the UN/CEFACT Chair
The Candidate will be expected to actively participate in at least four physical meetings per year:
Candidates will also be expected to participate in all official UN/CEFACT Bureau conference calls (there are currently calls every month for around two hours each).
The Chair is responsible for the organization and leading the Bureau calls, the Plenary meetings, the Forums and all UN/CEFACT meetings. Additionally, the UN/CEFACT Chair is responsible to ensure that procedures are being applied correctly, to oversee all UN/CEFACT projects and prepare strategic documentation such as the Programme of Work. It is appreciated if the Chair assists the UNECE Secretariat in representing UN/CEFACT at official meetings and events as well as assist with communication.
For more details, please consult the Consolidated UN/CEFACT Mandate and Terms of Reference (ECE/TRADE/C/CEFACT/2017/15).
The mandate of the current Chair of the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) ends at the 30th Plenary on 11 July 2024 at which time the UN Member States who are physically present at the Plenary meeting will elect the Chair for the period 2024-2027.
Who to nominate
Each UN Member State may nominate one candidate of its choice to run as Chair. It is at the country’s discretion if they nominate a person from the government or from the private sector. The candidate must be a member of the country’s delegation and each country may only nominate one candidate using its own criteria for selection, taking into account: expertise, leadership, ability, willingness to work, geographical balance and gender balance.
Necessary forms
The following documents should be submitted for the candidate. This information must be sent directly from the Permanent Mission in Geneva to the UNECE Secretariat.
Requirements of the UN/CEFACT Chair
The Candidate will be expected to actively participate in at least four physical meetings per year:
Candidates will also be expected to participate in all official UN/CEFACT Bureau conference calls (there are currently calls every month for around two hours each).
The Chair is responsible for the organization and leading the Bureau calls, the Plenary meetings, the Forums and all UN/CEFACT meetings. Additionally, the UN/CEFACT Chair is responsible to ensure that procedures are being applied correctly, to oversee all UN/CEFACT projects and prepare strategic documentation such as the Programme of Work. It is appreciated if the Chair assists the UNECE Secretariat in representing UN/CEFACT at official meetings and events as well as assist with communication.
For more details, please consult the Consolidated UN/CEFACT Mandate and Terms of Reference (ECE/TRADE/C/CEFACT/2017/15).
The discussion will be informed by findings and recommendations emerging from the 2023 edition of the UN Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation as well as the ECE and SPECA regional reports on digital and sustainable trade facilitation.
The Plenary will have before it the Draft Recommendation No.49: Transparency at Scale, for discussion. This recommendation is undergoing a public review from 19 April until 19 June 2024 and the project team will share highlights from the feedback received during the consultation process as well as outline the next steps towards finalization of the document. The recommendation will be slated for adoption at the thirty-first Plenary in 2025.
Furthermore, the secretariat will present a short note outlining the key recommendations from the policy guidance on the implementation of traceability and transparency at scale through digital tools such as digital product passports and verifiable credentials. It will also share progress on the development of the implementation guidance material. These solutions will include the United Nations Transparency Protocol (UNTP), which will be designed to ensure interoperability, and the United Nations Digital Product Passport (UN DPP), which will be designed to meet disclosure requirements and to carry conformity credentials, sustainability information and other data about goods exchanged in value chain transactions.
The above deliverables are presented to the Plenary for information and delegations will have an opportunity to clarify questions and provide comments on these documents.
The Plenary will have before it the following Business Requirement Specifications (BRSs) for noting, and delegations will have an opportunity to discuss these. An updated list of BRSs is available at Business Requirement Specifications (BRS) | UNECE
All UN/CEFACT e-business context files, schemas, and OpenAPI specifications on:
Delegates will be briefed on the activities of international organizations, standard-setting bodies, and other ECE bodies on matters of potential interest to UN/CEFACT. Representatives from partner organizations will be invited to highlight synergies and discuss current and future activities of relevance with the aim to enhance cooperation and further coordinate efforts in advancing sustainable and digital trade facilitation.
The Plenary will have before it the UN/CEFACT Programme of Work 2025-2026 (ECE/TRADE/C/CEFACT/2024/7) for decision. The programme of work is closely aligned with ECE cross-cutting priority themes focusing on the circular economy, sustainable use of natural resources and the digital and green transformations for sustainable development. It outlines priorities for the coming years, including the focus on sustainable, transparent and resilient value chains as a driver for green and digital transformation. It stresses the importance of maintenance and development of UN/CEFACT outputs and explores opportunities for measurement of their impact and relevance.
Delegations will have an opportunity to clarify questions and provide comments on the document.
In 2022, the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services evaluated the relevance, effectiveness, coherence, sustainability, and integration of cross-cutting issues in ECE Subprogramme 4: Economic Cooperation and Integration, and Subprogramme 6: Trade of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe for the period 2018-2021. The evaluation was part of the UN secretariat’s regular program periodically evaluating selected aspects of its operations. Delegates will be briefed on the progress of implementing the recommendations of the evaluation as they pertain to Subprogramme 6.
Delegations will be invited to raise other issues not previously addressed during the session.
