. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/121/Add.4 
19 October 2009 
 (09-5133) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures  
  
 
APPLICANTS FOR OBSERVER STATUS 
 
Note by the Secretariat
∗ 
 
Addendum  
 
 1. An application for observer status in the SPS Committee was received on 5 October 2009 
from the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS).  Information provided by 
ECOWAS is summarized below. 
I. ECONOMIC COMMUNITY FOR WEST AFRICAN STATES (ECOWAS) 
1. Membership (15) 
Benin    Liberia 
Burkina Faso   Mali 
Cape Verde   Niger 
Côte d'Ivoire   Nigeria Gambia    Senegal Ghana    Sierra Leone Guinea    Togo  Guinea Bissau  
 
2. Mandate, Scope and Area of Work 
2. ECOWAS was formed in 1975 with the aim of promoting cooperation and integration leading 
to the establishment of an economic union in the West African Sub-region.  ECOWAS is a Regional Economic Community (REC) that comprises fifteen me mber states, with fourteen members belonging 
to the World Trade Organization.  Liberia is an ob server to the WTO, having submitted an application 
for membership in June 2007.  ECOWAS has observer status in Codex, the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and the World Organiza tion for Animal Health (OIE), as well as an ad 
hoc observer status on a meeting-by-meeting basis in the Committee on Trade and Development.   
3. Contribution to the Work of the SPS Committee 
3. ECOWAS has adopted international regulations  on sanitary and phytosanitary measures in the 
sub-region.  ECOWAS organizes training workshops fo r the SPS focal persons in its member states at 
the national level.  In addition, it has formed a Regional Veterinary Committee, which is a technical 
advisory body composed of Directors of Veterina ry Services in the region that provides advice and 
expertise on sanitary issues.  
                                                     
 
∗ 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.4 
Page 2  
 
  4. ECOWAS participates in several capacity build ing initiatives, notably the Better Training for 
Safer Food (BTSF) in Africa initiative funded by the European Commission.  It collaborates with the 
African Union/Inter-African Bureau for Animal Re sources (AU/IBAR) in the implementation of the 
Participation of African Nations in Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Standards Setting Organizations (PAN-
SPSO) project.  These projects aim at improving unde rstanding of sanitary and phytosanitary issues, 
building capacities in member states to enable effec tive involvement and participation in international 
standard-setting activities, as well as boosting tr ade within the region and internationally. 
5. As part of the PAN-SPSO project, several RE Cs, including ECOWAS, have been encouraged 
to apply for observer status in the SPS Committee (as well as in Codex, IPPC and OIE) to enable 
them to better assist their member states in the implementation of the SPS Agreement. 
4. Reciprocity 
6. The WTO Secretariat has not requested observer status in ECOWAS.  However, ECOWAS is 
willing to give access to the WTO Secretariat to the records of its relevant meetings and SPS-related 
documents, upon request. 
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