WORLD TRADE G/SPS/GN/10
15November 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-4849)
Original:English/French/Spanish Committee onSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures
DECISIONS RELATING TOTHE SPSAGREEMENT TAKEN BY
THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OFTHE OIE
ATITS64thGENERAL SESSION
The64thGeneralSessionoftheInternationalCommitteeoftheOfficeInternationaldesEpizooties
(OIE) washeldattheheadquarters oftheOrganisation inParis (France) from 20to24May1996.
Thedecisions taken bytheInternational Committee oftheOIEduring thisSession having
implications fortheSPSAgreement areasfollows:
Adoption ofaResolution onatechnical item
AResolution wasadopted after study ofthetechnical item entitled: "The useofOIE
recommendations andprocedures byMember Countries forinternational tradeinrelation totheWorld
Trade Organization".
ThisResolution commits theOIEtomaintaining itsefforts toassist itsMember Countries to
appreciate theirrolesandresponsibilities inthecontext oftheSPSAgreement, andinstructs theOIE
Central Bureau tocontinue tocollaborate withtheWTO Secretariat. Italsorecommends thatcountries
settle theirdifferences rapidly bymeans oftheprocedure provided intheOIEInternational Animal
Health Code.
Adoption ofnewmeasures fortheInternational Animal Health Code
Additions andamendments were made totheInternational Animal Health Code (theCode)
onthefollowing subjects:
1. Definition ofalaboratory
2. Principles ofcertification
3. Footandmouth disease
4. Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia
5. Equine viralarteritis
6. Enzootic bovine leukosis
7. Protection ofanimals during international transport
8. Disinfection ofaircraft
9. Laboratory rodent andrabbit embryos/ova
10. Artificial insemination centres -small ruminant semen
11. Trichinellosis
12. Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR/IPV).
TheInternational Committee alsopaidparticular attention totheproblem ofbovine spongiform
encephalopathy, andmade substantial amendments totheCode chapter relating tothisdisease, with
aviewtoimproving thetextbytaking intoaccount thelatest scientific research.G/SPS/GN/10
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Adoption oftheManual ofStandards forDiagnostic Tests andVaccines
Thethirdedition oftheManual ofStandards forDiagnostic Tests andVaccines (theManual )
hasbeenconsiderably expanded bytheaddition ofintroductory chapters andchapters forindividual
animal diseases. Italsoincorporates apreliminary chapter onbiotechnology. Thecontents oftheManual
havebeenstudied byreviewers, OIEexperts andspecialists inMember Countries.
TheOIEInternational Committee adopted thethird edition oftheManual bymeans ofa
Resolution.
Recognition oftheFMD status ofMember Countries
TheOIEFootandMouth Disease andOther Epizootics Commission, during itsmeetings in
September 1995 andJanuary 1996, compiled alistofcountries thatitconsiders tobecompletely or
inpartFMD freewithout vaccination, inaccordance withtheconditions laiddown inChapter 2.1.1
oftheCode.ThislistwassenttoallMember Countries, whoweregiven aperiod of60daysinwhich
tosubmit written responses. Nosuchcomments werereceived bytheCentral Bureau fromanyMember
Countries.
TheOIEInternational Committee adopted thislistintheform ofaResolution.
AmendmentstotheInternationalAquaticAnimalHealthCodeandDiagnosticManualforAquaticAnimal
Diseases
Duetodelays inreceipt ofcomments fromMember Countries onacertain number ofproposed
amendments totheInternational Aquatic Animal Health CodeandDiagnostic Manual forAquatic Animal
Diseases prepared bytheOIEFishDiseases Commission, theCommission decided thatitwaspreferable
todefer anydecision untilthefollowing year.
AResolution wasnonetheless adopted relating tosome additions tothetwoworks referred to
above onthesubject ofgyrodactylosis (salmonid disease) andwhite spotdisease.
Strategic planning
Attheinitiative oftheDirector General oftheOIE, aSecond Strategic Planning Group met
inDecember 1995 andJanuary 1996 toverify thattheactivities oftheOIEarefullyinaccord with
itsmissions andtodefine theareasinwhich efforts should bemaintained, intensified or,onthecontrary,
abandoned.
TheGroup summarised itsrecommendations asfollows:
"(a) Theplandoesnotpresent aradical departure from theOIE’scurrent course orcall
forexpansion ofactivities intonewareas.
(b) TheOIEshould intensify itsactions infewer rather thanmore areas.
(c) TheOIEshouldgiveprioritytoitsinformationstrategyandthedevelopmentofstandards.
Thisislargely inresponse toitsnewroleasascientific reference organisation foranimal health
decisions inregard toworld trade.
(d) TheOIEshould alsoassume responsibility forsetting standards forepidemiological
surveillance, disease control anderadication.G/SPS/GN/10
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(e) TheOIEshould continue towork withNational Veterinary Services around those
priorities andcontinue itsstrong network forscientific andresearch work. "
These recommendations should beimplemented byanintensification ofthenormative activities
(frequency ofmeetings, consultation ofexperts, etc.)ofthefourSpecialist Commissions oftheOIE,
strengthening ofthedissemination ofinformation (animal health data,standards, etc.), andtheprovision
ofscientific andtechnical assistance foranimal disease control programmes setupbyMember Countries
onaregional basis(Asia: footandmouth disease; Middle East: brucellosis; Africa: contagious bovine
pleuropneumonia andbovine tuberculosis).
Thecomplete textsoftheResolutions referred tointhepresent document andthereport prepared
onthetechnical itemrelating tointernational trade were transmitted totheWTO Secretariat on
29May1996.