G/SPS/GEN/1596/Rev.1  
 
21 February  2018 
(18-1142) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures    
 
SPS COMMITTEE THEMAT IC SESSION ON PEST -FREE AREAS  
TUESDAY, 27 FEBRUARY  2018  
WTO, CENTRE WILLIAM RAPPARD, GENEVA  
PROGRAMME  
Revision  
The SPS Committee agreed, at its November  2017 meeting, to hold a thematic session on pest-
free areas  immediately preceding its March 2018  meeting, based on a proposal submitted by the 
United States .1 The session will provide an opportunity for WTO Members to increase their 
awareness of IPPC stan dards on pest -free areas, and share experiences about the challenges, as 
well as the benefits, of implementing pest -free areas in practice. This, in turn, should contribute to 
building confidence among trading partners when recognizing or seeking recogniti on of their pest-
free areas .  
The session will focus on plant pests  and allow for the discussion of the implementation of the 
pest-free area  concept from the perspective of an importing , as well as an exporting party . 
The thematic session will be held in G eneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday, 27 February 2018 , 
beginning at 10 a.m.  and continuing in the afternoon at 3 p.m. , as necessary.  
 
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Chairperson : Mr Marcial E spínola 
1  INTERNATIONAL RULES AND GUIDELINES  
Provisions of the SPS Agreement on pest-free areas  (Article 6) and relevant guidelines 
(G/SPS/ 48) 
Speaker:  Ms Anneke Hamilton , WTO Secretariat   
Relevant jurisprudence on pest-free areas  (Article 6)  
Speaker:  Mr Miguel Villamizar and Mr Ahsan Ali, WTO Secretariat   
IPPC standards on pest-free areas  
Speaker:  Ms Ketevan Lomsadze, Implementation Facilitation Officer, International Plant 
Protection Convention  (IPPC)  
Followed by Q&A session  
  
                                                
1 G/SPS/GEN/159 3/Rev.1 . G/SPS/GEN/1596/Rev.1  
 
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2  SHARING OF REGIONAL, INTERNATIO NAL AND NATIONAL EXPERIENCES  
Part 1: Experiences from Regional and International Organizations   
Speakers:  
 Mr Carlos Lobos,  Agricultural Engineer, National Supervisor of the Fruit Fly Programme, 
Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) , Chile , Southern Cone Plant Health 
Committee  (COSAVE ) 
Importance of the use of the concept of pest -free areas for COSAVE  
 Dr Walther R. Enkerlin, Entomologist, Insect Pest Control Section, Joint FAO/IAEA 
Division, International Atomic Energy Agency   
Sterile insect technologies  
Followed by Q&A session  
Part 2: Members' Experiences  
Speakers:  
 Mr Gonzalo R íos, Head, International Negotiations Department, Agricultural and 
Livestock Service (SAG), Ministry of Agriculture, Chile  
Chile's experience in applying  the regionalization principle in the plant health area  
 Mr Harry Arijs, Deputy Head of Unit G1 – Plant Health, Directorate General for Health 
and Food Safety, European Commission, European Union  
Regionalization for plant health within the EU  
 Mr Carlos Soto Litera, Executive Director, MOSCAMED Programme, Guatem ala  
MOSCAMED programme and Pest -Free Areas  
 Mr Tang-Kai Wang, Specialist, Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and 
Quarantine, Chinese Taipei  
Experiences in establishing pest -free status  
 Mr Emigdio Gómez , Director, Plant Health Department, Ministry of Agriculture, 
Dominican Republic   
Dominican Republic: Experiences in the eradication of an outbreak of Mediterranean 
fruit fly and declaration of a pest -free area  
Followed by Q&A session  
3  GENERAL DISCUSSION  
 
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