UN/CEFACT: READY FOR BUSINESS

The United Nations is dedicated to making international business easier. At the end of its second session the United Nations Centre for Facilitation of Procedures and Practices for Administration, Commerce and Transport (CEFACT) demonstrated that it was assuming its role as the international centre for global trade facilitation. The strategic objective of CEFACT is to support international commerce, transport and administration in the simplification of their business processes and procedures.

Delegations, with strong industry representation, emphasized the importance of CEFACT's simplification and electronic data interchange work to electronic commerce and to small and medium sized enterprise as well as the potential created by CEFACT's cooperation with the private sector in a time of rapid technological change.

Since its establishment earlier this year, the Centre has been working closely with governments and the private sector in order to put in place the organization required to support its strategic objective. At this session, an important step in completing this organization was made with the approval of the first CEFACT permanent working groups. These will cover:

• Business Analysis;
• International Trade Procedures;
• Legal Aspects;
• International Codes;
• Techniques and Methodologies; and
• Electronic Commerce Policy.

Within electronic commerce, an important area of CEFACT's work is UN/EDIFACT (United Nations Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport) where over 1000 experts contribute to the ongoing work. At this session, it was announced that the UN's Economic and Social Council had approved a recommendation to all governments to use UN/EDIFACT.

The unique position of CEFACT is illustrated by the worldwide, active participation in its work by governments, business and trade representatives from ECE and other UN member states as well as by other intergovernmental organizations. To reinforce this, the Centre has also established a network of partnerships between its secretariat, located in the UN Economic Commission for Europe, and the other UN Regional Commissions -- one of the highlights of this session being the appointment of special representatives to CEFACT for the Commissions for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and Western Asia (ESCWA). The Centre is chaired by Mr. Martre of France, President of AFNOR, the French national standards organization and previously Chief Executive Officer of Aerospatiale.

For further information, please contact:

Hans Hansell
Trade Division
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
Palais des Nations, office 442
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Telephone: (+ 41 22) 917 24 57
Fax: (+ 41 22) 917 00 37
E-mail: hans.hansell@unece.org
Internet WWW site: http://www.unece.org/trafix/