. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/121/Add.10 
15 March 2011 
 
 (11-1286) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures  
  
 
APPLICANTS FOR OBSERVER STATUS 
 
Note by the Secretariat
1 
 
Addendum  
 
 1. An application for observer status in th e SPS Committee was received on 8 January 2011 
from the Economic Community of Central Africa n States (ECCAS/CEEAC).  Information concerning 
ECCAS is provided below. 
A. List of members (9) 
 Angola  Burundi 
 Central African Republic  Republic of the Congo  Democratic Republic of the Congo  Gabon  Equatorial Guinea  Sao Tome and Principe  Chad  
 
B. Mandate, scope and area of work 
2. ECCAS was established on 18 October 1983 by the members of the Central African Customs 
and Economic Union (UDEAC), which in 1981 had ag reed in principle to form a wider economic 
community of Central African States, and by the members of Economic Community of the 
Great Lakes Countries (CEPGL).  It is one of  the African continent's Regional Economic 
Communities (RECs).  ECCAS is an international or ganization created for Africa's economic, social 
and cultural development, with a view to setting up regional structures that can gradually lead to a 
common market.  ECCAS stems from the Lagos Plan of Action adopted in April 1980. 
3. Under Article 43 of the 1983 Treaty Establis hing the Economic Community of Central 
African States and its Protocol IX, the ECCAS Me mber States undertook to cooperate in the areas of 
agriculture, food and trade in food products.  Such cooperation has the following objectives: 
• To satisfy the food requirements of populations and enhance food security, inter alia , 
through the quantitative and qualitative improve ment of food crops and the definition 
of a trade and food reserves policy; 
• to harmonize food export and import regul atory and quality control policies, as well 
as policies concerning the packaging and storag e of agricultural, animal and forestry 
products. 
                                                     
 
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. G/SPS/GEN/121/Add.10 
Page 2  
 
  4. To address the food insecurity problem compounded in the majority of ECCAS Member 
States by armed conflicts and disabling diseases (HIV /AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis), in 2004 the 
ECCAS Heads of State and Government adopted the Regional Food Security Programme (PRSA), 
whose targets include: 
 (i) Increasing food and production input safety; 
 
 (ii) facilitating intra- and extra-ECCAS trade;   (iii) building the capacity of Member States to  participate effectively in the multilateral 
trade negotiations on agriculture in the World Trade Organization (WTO). 
 
5. ECCAS is involved in the implementation of the PAN-SPSO (Participation of African 
Nations in Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standard Setting Organizations) programme, aimed at helping 
to reduce poverty and increase food security in A frica by improving access to international markets 
for agricultural products from African countries.  This programme specifically seeks to facilitate 
effective involvement of African countries in the activities of the OIE, IPPC and the CODEX 
Alimentarius relating to the preparation of intern ational food safety and animal and plant health 
standards.  ECCAS launched the PAN-SPSO progr amme with a number of awareness-raising 
workshops that led to the establishment of na tional SPS committees in Cameroon and in Gabon. 
6. ECCAS was granted observer status in th e United Nations General Assembly on 
12 December 2000 (Resolution A/RES/55/161).  It b ecame an observer in the OIE in January 2011 
and is awaiting responses to its applications for observer status in the CODEX Alimentarius 
Commission and the IPPC. 
C. Contribution to the work of the SPS Committee 
7. ECCAS is applying for observer status in the WTO SPS Committee to ensure better 
coordination in the preparation, implementation and impact assessment of standards in the 
Member States and effective facilitation of intra- and extra-ECCAS trade.  As regards ECCAS work 
on food safety, plant and animal health protectio n and quarantine measures, the key subregional 
initiatives are the common regulations for pesticide registration, common phytosanitary regulations in 
Central Africa and the PAN-SPSO programme. 
D. Reciprocity 
8. The WTO Secretariat has not requested observe r status in ECCAS.  The ECCAS General 
Secretariat is willing to provide the WTO with a ll information concerning its SPS-related work, upon 
request.  
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