WORLD TRADE G/SPS/GEN/24
9July1997
ORGANIZATION(97-2879)
Original: French Committee onSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures
DECISIONS RELEVANT TOTHE SPSAGREEMENT TAKEN BY
THE OIEINTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE AT
THE 65thGENERAL SESSION
Statement bytheOffice International desEpizooties (OIE)
attheMeeting of1-2July1997
The65thGeneral Session oftheOIEInternational Committee washeldfrom26to30May1997
attheheadquarters oftheOrganisation (Paris, France). Thedecisions taken bytheOIEInternational
Committee during theSession, thatarerelevant totheSPSAgreement, areasfollows:
Agreement between theOffice International desEpizooties andtheWorld Trade Organization
TheOIEInternational Committee approved theterms ofthedraftAgreement, intheformof
anexchange ofletters, between theOIEandtheWTO andempowered theDirector-General tonegotiate
anypossible minor adjustments andtosignthedocument onbehalf oftheOIE.
Election ofmembers oftheOIESpecialist Commissions
Thestatutory termofoffice ofmembers oftheSpecialist Commissions isthreeyears. Asthis
period wasduetoexpire, theInternational Committee conducted newelections. Thelistofmembers
elected orreelected isgiven inanappendix tothisdocument.
Adoption ofaResolution onatechnical item
AResolution wasadopted following theexamination ofatechnical itementitled "Quality control
systems (such astheISO9000 system) forevaluating Veterinary Services within thecontext of
international trade". ThisResolution invites theMember Countries toexamine thepossibility of
organising theirVeterinary Services under quality assurance principles andestablishing quality systems
forthese Services. Italsorecommends thattheOIEcontact ISOwithaviewtodeveloping areference
system adapted toVeterinary Services, andthatitstudy thepossibility ofapplying principles of
accreditation ofVeterinary Services attheinternational level.
Adoption ofnewmeasures fortheInternational Animal Health Code
Additions oramendments onthefollowing subjects were made totheInternational Animal
Health Code (theCode):
1. Definitions forpoultry
2. Principles ofcertification
3. International transfer andlaboratory containment ofanimal pathogens
4. Footandmouth diseaseG/SPS/GEN/24
Page2
5. Highly pathogenic avian influenza
6. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
7. Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia
8. Equine influenza
9. Collection andprocessing ofequine embryos/ova
10. Airtransport ofselected mammalian species
TheInternational Committee continued topayparticular attention tobovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE). TheCode chapter onBSEnowincludes criteria fordetermining thehealth
status ofacountry inregard tothedisease.
Recognition ofthefootandmouth disease status ofMember Countries
TheOIE Foot-and-Mouth Disease andOther Epizootics Commission, which metin
September 1996andJanuary 1997, prepared alistofcountries orzones within national territories which
itconsiders arefreefromfootandmouth disease (FMD), within theterms laiddown inChapter 2.1.1
oftheCode.ThislistwassenttotheMember Countries, whoweregiven aperiod of60daysinwhich
torespond inwriting. Except foronecountry which hadageneral objection, theCentral Bureau received
noobjections totheadoption ofthislist.TheOIEInternational Committee adopted thislistbymeans
ofaResolution.
Through another Resolution, itwasdecided todelegate totheaforementioned Commission
theauthority torecognise thataMember Country hasregained itspreviously recognised FMD status,
following outbreaks thathavebeeneradicated. ThisResolution isdesigned toavoid theeconomic losses
which acountry might sustain asaresult ofalengthy delay inregaining itsfreestatus ifitwereobliged
towaitforaGeneral Session tobeheldinorder forafavourable opinion issued bytheCommission
tocome intoeffect.
TheInternational Committee retains itsprerogative toapprove annually anupdated listofFMD
freecountries andzones.
Epidemiological surveillance systems forcontagious bovine pleuropneumonia
Atthe63rd General Session (May 1995), theOIEInternational Committee adopted the
Recommended Standards forEpidemiological Surveillance forContagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia
developed bytheFoot-and-Mouth Disease andOther Epizootics Commission, butatthesame time
asked theCommission toprepare anAnnex tothistextwhich would allow thetimerequired before
declaration ofprovisional freedom fromthedisease andfrominfection tobereduced totakeintoaccount
theeffectiveness ofacountry 'ssurveillance system. After theAnnex hadbeen prepared, itwas
considered preferable tointegrate these terms intoarevised version ofthestandards. TheOIE
International Committee passed aResolution adopting thesuitably revised Recommended Standards
forEpidemiological Surveillance Systems forContagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia .
AmendmentstotheInternationalAquaticAnimalHealthCodeandDiagnosticManualforAquaticAnimal
Diseases
Atthe64thGeneral Session (May 1996), theOIEInternational Committee wasunable toadopt
theamendments totheInternational Aquatic Animal Health Code andDiagnostic Manual forAquatic
Animal Diseases proposed bytheFishDiseases Commission, duetodelays inthereceipt ofcomments
fromMemberCountries.MeetinginNovember1996,theCommissionagreedtomostofthesuggestionsG/SPS/GEN/24
Page3
contained inthese comments. InMay1997, theOIEInternational Committee wasthusinaposition
toadopt, bymeans ofaResolution, theamendments totheaforementioned Code andManual submitted
bytheFishDiseases Commission. Asaresult, revised editions ofthese twoworks willbepublished
bytheendof1997.G/SPS/GEN/24
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APPENDIX
Election oftheMembers oftheSpecialist Commissions
International Animal Health Code Commission
President: Dr.B.Vallat (France)
Vice-President: Dr.A.B. Thiermann (USA)
Secretary General: Dr.D.Wilson (Australia)
Members: Dr.R.Benaissa (Algeria)
Dr.P.P.Bosman (South Africa)
Dr.A.N. Panin (Russia)
Foot-and-Mouth Disease andOther Epizootics Commission
President: Dr.W.G. Sterritt (Canada)
Vice-President: Dr.G.Thomson (South Africa)
Secretary General: Prof. V.Caporale (Italy)
Standards Commission
President: Prof. M.Truszczynski (Poland)
Vice-President: Dr.J.E.Pearson (USA)
Secretary General: Dr.S.Edwards (United Kingdom)
FishDiseases Commission
President: Prof. T.Hästein (Norway)
Vice-President: Dr.C.Michel (France)
Secretary General: Dr.B.J.Hill(United Kingdom)
Members: Dr.K.Nakajima (Japan)
Dr.J.Winton (USA)