Report on the 21st session of the UNECE Working Party on Regulatory Cooperation and

Standardization Policies

Lorenza Jachia

7 November 2012

Highlights of the 21st session

• Approval of three recommendations :

– “Risk Management Tools in Regulatory Systems”,

– “Crisis Management in Regulatory Systems”

– “Good Market Surveillance Policies & Practices”.

• Launch of the Glossary of Market Surveillance Terms

• Launch of database on “Market Surveillance Authorities”

• A workshop "Traceability: a tool for managing risks"

• A Panel discussion on "Standards and regulations as a tool for promoting sustainable development”.

Item III: Matters arising

At the 21st session

- The secretariat informed members about the ongoing review of the UNECE

- Update was made by Secretariat and by the Belarus delegation about the «Needs assessment study» undertaken by the CT

- Note was taken of offers for inkind assistance from delegations

Present session: Discussions on these issues will continue this afternoon

Item IV Workshop on

Traceability At the 21st session:

– Presentations of existing traceability tools by Governments, standards-setting bodies, business community

– Lively discussions: some participants expressed concern on the burden that traceability requirements may add on lawful companies while others thought that they may contribute to address the problem of rogue producers, if combined with effective controls + address consumers/regulators requirements

Intersessionally: – Discussions by the Committee on Trade and the Working Party on

Agricultural Quality Standards

– Resources permitting we plan to continue to work towards «developing guidelines and common principles to facilitate the establishment of national and int’l registries»

Item VIII: Market Surveillance

At the 20th session:

– Discussions on a possible revision of recommendation M – Updates on the market surveillance model initiative

Intersessionally:

- Meeting of the MARS Group in Slovakia - Development of the database continued - Presentations made at the ISO/COPOLCO workshop «Do

consumers know what they are getting», and at the OECD workshop in Tel Aviv on Product Risk Assessment.

- Participation in the work of ICPHSO At the 21st session: Item 9

Item V:Risk Management

At the 21st session:

– Discussion and approval of the 2 recommendations with amendments

Intersessionally:

- the Secretariat finalized the publication & maintained liaison member of ISO/PC 262 on Risk Management

- the GRM continued its work by electronic means

At the present session: this item will be discussed this afternoon

Item VI: Regulatory Cooperation

At the 21st session:

– Updates from ongoing sectoral projects: Telecom, Earth-Moving, the Equipment for Explosive Environments

– Proposal for an initiative on medical equipment Intersessionally:

- Meeting of the Rapporteurs of the Sectoral Initiatives in Geneva as part of the Annual Planning Meeting

- Follow up work on all four initiatives - Worked within the Task Force on Technical Regulations (TF 8)

of the EU-Russia Industrialists’ Round Table (IRT) to elaborate recommendations on review of EU and CU legislation in the sector of equipment for explosive environments

- Coorganized with IECEx in Dubai a conference on Equipment and Services in Explosive Atmospheres

At the present session: Item 6

Item VIII: Standardization & regulatory practice

At the 21st session:

– Update on the EU Standardization Package – Discussion on participation by NGOs and authorities in standardization

activities – Panel discussion on the role of standards in sustainable development with

presentations by main standardization bodies, UNFCC, EURAS, etc Intersessionally:

- the Secretariat maintains contacts with main standardization bodies - a liaison member of ISO/PC 262 on Risk Management (Item V) - acts as the secretariat of the DCMAS network (Network on Metrology,

Accreditation and Standardization for Developing Countries) - participate in the meetings of the CIS Interstate Council on

Standardization, Metrology, and Certification - participates in the meetings of the ISO/CASCO STAR Group

At the present session: Item VII

Item IX: Conformity assessment

and accreditation At the 20th session:

– Panel session on Regulatory Cooperation in Conformity Assessment with presentations of the issues of concerns by countries with economies in transition/developing countries

At the 21st session:

- Request to revise recommendations F, G, and L - No input from delegations

At the present session: Item 8

DCMAS Network Meeting

April 2012, Palais des Nations, Geneva

DCMAS

• Network on Metrology, Accreditation and Standardization for Developing Countries (DCMAS network)

• Serves as a network to exchange information on ongoing technical assistance projects

Members

• Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM)

• International Accreditation Forum (IAF)

• International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)

• International Laboratory Accreditation Co-operation (ILAC)

• International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

• International Trade Centre – UNCTAD / WTO (ITC)

• Telecommunication Standardization Sector of ITU (ITU-T)

• International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML)

• United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

• United Nations European Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)

Meeting of April 2012

• UNECE served as the secretariat and hosted the meeting at the Palais des Nations

• There was an update from each member on current TA activities

• UNECE presented the model programme on education for standards-related issues and received comments