WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/SPS/GEN/121/Add.14 
7 October 2011 
 (11-4872) 
Committee in Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  
  
 
APPLICANTS FOR OBSERVER STATUS 
 
Note by the Secretariat
1 
 
Addendum 
  1. An application for observer status in the SPS Committee was received on 13 September 2011 
from the African Union (AU).  Information from the official website of the AU is summarized below. 
1. Membership (54) 
                                                      
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights or obligations under the WTO. Algeria 
Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi 
Cameroon 
Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros 
Congo, Rep. of  
Cote d'Ivoire Dem. Rep. of Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea 
Eritrea 
Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana 
Guinea  
Guinea-Bissau Kenya Lesotho  Liberia 
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania 
Mauritius 
Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria 
Rwanda 
Republic Arab Saharawi Sao Tome Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone 
Somalia 
South Africa South Sudan Sudan Tanzania 
Tunisia 
Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
 
 G/SPS/GEN/121/Add.14 
Page 2  
 
  2. Mandate, scope and area of work 
2. The AU was established under the Constitutive Act of  the African Union, adopted in 2000 at 
the Lomé Summit in Togo.  It entered into force in 2001.  The objectives of AU include, inter alia: 
 To accelerate the political and socio-economic inte gration of the continent and to promote and 
defend African common positions on issues of inte rest to the continent and its peoples;  
 To encourage international cooperation, taki ng due account of the Charter of the United 
Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; 
 To establish the necessary conditions which enable th e continent to play its rightful role in the 
global economy and in in ternational negotiations; 
 To promote sustainable development at the economic, social and cultural levels as well as the 
integration of African economies; 
 To promote cooperation in all fields of human ac tivity to raise the living standards of African 
peoples;  
 To coordinate and harmonize the policies betw een the existing and future Regional Economic 
Communities for the gradual attainment of the objectives of the Union; 
 To advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all fields, in particular 
in science and technology; 
 And to work with relevant international partne rs in the eradication of preventable diseases and 
the promotion of good health on the continent.  
The ultimate objective of AU is to enable all memb er states to adopt coordinated positions on matters 
of common concern to the continent in interna tional fora and defend the interests of Africa 
effectively. 
3. The AU has observer status in Codex, IPPC, OIE and an ad hoc observer status on a meeting-
by-meeting basis in the Committee on Trade and Development at the WTO. 
4. Having observer status in the WTO SPS Committee would enable the AU Commission to 
provide effective support and guidance to the participating AU member states and the African 
Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in the affair s of the Committee.  It will also enhance the 
significant role of the AU Commission in providing support to its member states in their participation 
in the affairs of the WTO. 
5. The AU Commission, through the Participation of African Nations in the International 
Standard-Setting Organizations (PANSPSO) Project , is already supporting the RECs to acquire 
observer status, not only in the WTO, but also in the OIE, the CAC and the IPPC.  It would, therefore, 
be appropriate for the AU Commission to effectively participate in these fora. 
6. The AU, through its African Union Inter-Africa n Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) 
and the African Union Inter-African Phytosanitary  Council (AU-IAPSC), has several activities that 
relate to SPS matters.  G/SPS/GEN/121/Add.14 
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  Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (IBAR) 
 
7. The functions of the AU Inter-African Bur eau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) are 
summarized as follows: 
(a) Improve public and animal health through the control and possible eradication of 
transboundary animal diseases and zoonoses; 
(b) Improve the management of animal resources and the natural resource bases on 
which they depend; 
(c) Explore investment options and enhance competitiveness of African animal products; 
(d) Contribute to the development of relevant  standards and regul ations and enhance 
compliance by member states; 
(e) Strengthen institutional capac ity and support policy devel opment and harmonization; 
(f) Disseminate information and knowledge on animal resources to member states, 
Regional Economic Communities and ot her relevant institutions; and 
(g) Provide essential support to member states with special needs or in emergency 
situations. 
8. AU-IBAR coordinates capacity development to  set and comply with essential production and 
trade standards relevant for animals and animal products, and to strengthen the capacities of public 
and private institutions to effectively perform thei r core roles, in order to transform the animal 
resources sector for greater impact on poverty allevia tion.  These efforts will be intensified through 
the provision of timely and reliable up-to-date data , information and knowledge on animal resources 
to support planning and decision-making. 
9. AU-IBAR has organized its projects under its st rategic plan 2010 - 2014 into six strategic 
programmes: 
 Programme 1:  Reducing the impact of transboundary animal diseases and zoonoses on 
livelihoods and public health in Africa; 
 Programme 2:  Enhancing Africa’s capacity to conserve and sustainably use its animal 
resources and their natural resource base; 
 Programme 3:  Improving investment opportun ities and competitiveness of animal resources 
in Africa; 
 Programme 4:  Promoting development of, a nd compliance with, standards and regulations; 
 Programme 5:  Improving knowledge management in animal resources to facilitate informed 
and timely decision-making; 
 Programme 6:  Facilitating development of po licies and institutional capacities for improved 
utilization of animal resources in Africa. 
10. AU-IBAR recognizes the reality for partnership bu ilding and will adapt the most efficient and 
effective arrangements to get things done.  Opera tionally, these projects will be implemented in close 
collaboration with the RECs and member states.  Technically, key partners like FAO, OIE and WHO 
will be engaged as and when required w ithin the framework of One Health. G/SPS/GEN/121/Add.14 
Page 4  
 
  Inter-African Phytosanitary Council (IAPSC) 
 
11. The AU Inter-African Phytosanitary Council ( AU-IAPSC) is a project purposely built to 
ensure effective control systems against harmful organisms on plants and plant products based on 
standard procedures and quality management syst ems, through the whole phytosanitary sector of 
African countries, so as to enhance crop production and trade.  It aims at strengthening the procedures 
and standardizes the work at the Phytosanitary Ad ministration of African countries, and its work 
includes: 
(a) enhancing phytosanitary capacity evaluation; 
(b) promoting pest surveillance; 
(c) risk analysis; 
(d) laboratories for diagnostics and phytosanitary inspection at borders entry points that 
apply to general phytosanitary actions by bringing them to comply with SPS issues and International Standards for Ph ytosanitary Measure (ISPM);  and 
(e) undertaking training, in order to achieve in National Plant Protection Organization 
(NPPO) more effective control system in relation to pests and diseases. 
3. Reciprocity  
12. The WTO Secretariat has not requested observe r status in the African Union.  The WTO 
Secretariat is, however, an observer in the PAN-SPSO Steering Committee under AU-IBAR. 
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