Editing UN/CEFACT (section)

==Structure==
In view of the global character of its work on trade facilitation and electronic business standards, UN/CEFACT is open to representatives of all UN member states and all organisations recognized by the [[United Nations Economic and Social Council]] ([[ECOSOC]]). The participation of developing countries and countries in transition in standards development processes is strongly encouraged.

The highest authority regarding all aspects of UN/CEFACT's work is the intergovernmental Plenary which meets once a year in Geneva. Delegations to the Plenary include UN member states, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) recognized by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC). Only UN member states have the right to vote at Plenary meetings – all other members are observers.

The Plenary elects the UN/CEFACT Bureau which consists of a chair and at least four vice-chairs. The Bureau acts in the name of the Plenary between sessions and meets physically an average of four times per year and more frequently through virtual conference calls.

Each UN member state may nominate a permanent Head of Delegation (HOD) to UN/CEFACT. HODs participate in the Plenary, are consulted by the bureau on key strategic issues, and are responsible for nominating experts to participate in UN/CEFACT activities.

The technical work to develop UN/CEFACT standards and recommendations is done by over 200 volunteer experts from around the world, nominated by HODs. The experts come from both the public and the private sectors, forming a public-private partnership in support of trade facilitation and electronic business. They participate as independent volunteer experts in their own right, without representing any special interests of their countries or institutions. The experts are representatives from:

* Governments 
* Private companies 
* Intergovernmental organizations 
* Industry associations (representing large collective groups of private-sector companies) 
* Academia

UN/CEFACT experts meet physically in UN/CEFACT Forums, which are held twice a year (one in Geneva and one hosted by a UN member state) in order to coordinate their work. The vast majority of the work is done virtually between forums.

UNECE provides secretarial support to UN/CEFACT in order that the Centre may implement its programme of work. Annually, the UN/CEFACT Bureau (acting on behalf of the Plenary) and the UNECE Secretariat plan for the implementation of UN/CEFACT's programme of work, taking into account the resources available from both the United Nations and externally. The secretariat takes responsibility for supporting the work of UN/CEFACT including supporting the maintenance of Recommendations and standards; and handles the administrative functions related to UN/CEFACT, including UN oversight, organizing meetings and preparing official documents and papers. The technical work of standards development is undertaken by the UN/CEFACT experts.

Some important users of UN/CEFACT norms, standards and recommendations
* Governments of Australia, Canada, France and New Zealand: for agricultural trade certificates
* Government of Canada: for its air cargo security initiative
* Government of France: for {{Proper name|eArchiving}}, the transfer of digital records and public procurement (all under current development)
* Government of India: for its ports management system
* Government of the Republic of Korea: for public procurement services
* Government of the United States of America: for defence contract compliance reporting and for material safety data sheets (the latter being used in transport of [[dangerous goods]])
* Governments of Central Asian and South East European (SEE) countries: for Single Window capacity-building and implementation
* Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation and Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Government of India: for development of electronic trade documents
* Southeast European countries: for work on customs corridors
* World Customs Organization and numerous national Customs administrations, S.W.I.F.T and ISO 20022 (Finance): for data formats and definitions
* World Trade Organization negotiators on trade facilitation: as examples of relevant standards and recommendations particularly for aligned documents and Single Windows
* Global Standards 1 (GS1): for all trade messages (with approximately 110,000 companies having implemented these)
* International insurance industry: for coverage and claims
* European gas and electricity industries: for information exchange
* Japanese construction industry: for e-tendering
* Japanese tourism industry: for rental of small-scale lodging houses
* European transport companies: for the exchange of short sea-transport information
* Numerous Governments in both developed and developing countries: for aligned documents
* Most shipping companies, container operators, terminal operators and others in the maritime shipping industry: for almost all maritime shipping messages through EDIFACT messages.