The WTO General Council on Tuesday decided to convene its seventh Ministerial Conference in Geneva from 30 November to 2 December 2009, nearly four years after its last conference in Hong Kong-China in 2005.

The Marrakesh treaty establishing the WTO mandates a regular Ministerial Conference at least once in two years. The sixth WTO Ministerial Conference was held in Hong Kong-China in 2005, and another should have been held in 2007, but was not, presumably because WTO members feared another failure of the Doha negotiations.

The general theme for discussion at the seventh Ministerial Conference shall be «The WTO, the Multilateral Trading System and the Current Global Economic Environment.» According to the Chair of the General Council, Amb. Mario Matus of Chile, the conference is not intended to be a negotiating session. The Doha Development Agenda negotiations are said to be on a separate track. The intention is simply to fulfil the rules of procedure agreed for sessions of the Ministerial Conference adopted by the General Council in January 1995, he said.

Civil society doubts about this ministerial not putting «Doha» on its agenda. It's the most critical matter for the WTO's prestige, and negotiations cannot continue without an end of the Doha issue.

Global civil society is to meet at Geneva for campaigning activities, and to continue their journey to the United Nations Climate Conference in Copenhague, which will take place from dec 7 to dec 18 2009.