In a paper submitted to the WTO in February this year, India, China, South Africa and Venezuela said self-declaration of developing member status had been a long-standing practice and best serves the WTO objectives. The paper said the persistence of the enormous development divide between the developing and developed members of the WTO is reflected on a wide range of indicators such as levels of economic development, GDP per capita, poverty levels, levels of under-nourishment, production and employment in the agriculture sector, among others.