The World Trade Organisation (WTO) would, in November this year, convene its first Ministerial conference since the Hong Kong conference in 2005, however, reaching conclusion of the Doha Development Round of negotiations here, was not a likely outcome, said Faizel Ismail, head of the South African delegation to the WTO.

The Ministerial conference was scheduled to take place once every two years, and the organisation was obliged to hold the regular conference from a governing point of view. It would take place in Geneva.

Participants attending the conference were reluctant to commit to reaching agreement on the round, for risk of perceived failure, and would likely focus on the issue of possible systemic reforms within the WTO.

"The agenda for the conference is not yet clarified, but the focus will not be on the Doha round. That will not be the main objective, although it will be an item on the agenda, we won't try to conclude anything," explained Ismail, while in Johannesburg this week.

"We will try to address some of the more systemic issues, and the idea of systemic reform. For instance, India is tabling a proposal this week on some incremental systemic reform towards transparency, and to strengthen the WTO body. Some are looking at more fundamental reforms, for example the rules on accession, or rather the lack of rules on accession," he added.

"I think the Ministerial conference to be held in Geneva provides a good opportunity for Ministers of Trade to debate and advance these reform proposals," noted Ismail.

While WTO DG Pascal Lamy said that there was a need for some incremental reform within the organisation, to make it more development friendly and user friendly, he has argued that there is no need for drastic reform within the WTO.

However, the WTO has come under criticism from nongovernmental organisations for example, which stated that the institution needed a fundamental overhaul and reform as numerous imbalances and inequities exist, which favour industrialised countries.

Critics have also called the decision-making in the WTO complicated, ineffective, unrepresentative and non-inclusive. Member States of the WTO have increased to 153, and represent increasingly diverse interests and objectives, which complicated decision-making, and the process of reaching consensus has often broken down, or stalled.

While a number of organisations have criticised the WTO, not many have come forward with suggestions on how to improve the organisation.

In a draft of his paper, written in his personal capacity, entitled "Reforming the WTO", Ismail proposes that the WTO undertake a number of reforms, the first being to clarify the objectives and goals of the organisation. It has been stated that while the organisational functions of the WTO are clear, its overarching objective, and purpose, needs to be clarified.

The second reform put forward, was that a greater coherence between the WTO, the Bretton Woods institutions, and the United Nations (UN) and its bodies and agencies (particularly the UN Conference on Trade and Development) should be built, in terms of aid and trade through the WTO Trade Policy Review Body.

Improved governance of the WTO was the third suggested reform made by Ismail in his paper. He added that this could be done by strengthening the consensus model of decision making, and avoiding decision making through small exclusive groups based on the principal supplier principle. Adopting a code of conduct for WTO chairs, who facilitate discussions, was also put forward as a way to improve governance.

"These reforms would contribute to transforming the WTO from a mercantilist institution, towards a global public good," added Ismail.

At a discussion on the paper, hosted by the Institute for Global Discussion in Johannesburg, a number of issues following from these reform suggestions were raised, particularly in defining the concept of development, whether or not this should be the overarching objective of the WTO, or if this would merely make it a duplicate of existing development agencies.

Certain delegates attending the discussion argued that the suggested reforms were not radical enough, while others felt that the WTO had achieved significant success, and should perhaps not have development as an all-encompassing objective.

It was also highlighted that, to a certain extent, the equitable success of the Doha round, and reaching agreement on the round, would be more achievable and fair, if the suggested reforms were implemented.