1. Recognizing the interests and concerns expressed relating to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) by different sectors of society, and consistent with the principle of transparency in the FTAA negotiating process, Ministers Responsible for Trade of the Hemisphere, as agreed in the San José Ministerial Declaration, noted the contribution of "business and other sectors of production, labour, environmental, and academic groups", and encouraged "these and other sectors of civil societies to present their views on trade matters in a constructive manner." For this purpose, they established a Committee of Government Representatives on the Participation of Civil Society with the objective of receiving, analyzing and presenting the range of views of civil society for their consideration.

2. The Committee extends an invitation to civil society to submit their views, as of November 1, 1998, in writing, by mail, fax, electronic mail or courier service.

3. Each submission will:

• Identify the person and/or organization, with their address, presenting the point of view;
• refer to trade matters related to the FTAA process, using the San José Ministerial Declaration as the frame of reference;
• be in concise written form, in one of the official FTAA languages (Spanish, English, French, Portuguese);
• contain an executive summary of not more than two pages, including reference to the trade matters it refers to and the way the views contribute to the FTAA process, as stipulated in the San José Ministerial Declaraton;
• be sent directly to the Chairman of the Committee of Government Representatives on Civil Society Participation, at the following address:

c/o Tripartite Committee (Ref. Civil Society)
United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
1825 K St. NW, Suite 1120
Washington, D.C. 20006
Fax: (202) 296-0826
E-Mail: eclac@tmn.com

4. The deadline for the receipt of submissions is March 31, 1999, in preparation for the Ministerial meeting in October 1999 in Canada.

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