WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/121/Add.11 
23 March 2011 
 (11-1444) 
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 14 March 2011 
from the Chair of the Standing Committee of the C onference of the Parties to the Convention on 
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild  Fauna and Flora (CITES).  Information provided 
by CITES is summarized below. 
1. CITES States Parties (175) 
2. CITES is a legally-binding multilateral envir onmental agreement with 175 States Parties.
2   
2. Mandate, scope and area of work 
3. The Convention was concluded in 1973 and entere d into force in 1975.  Its Secretariat is 
provided by the United Nations Environment Progr amme and its purpose is to regulate, through a 
system of standardized permits and certificates,  commercial and non-commercial international trade 
in approximately 34,000 listed animal and plant species,  in order to ensure that such trade is legal, 
traceable and environmentally sustainable.  "Tra de" under the Convention m eans export, re-export, 
import and introduction from the sea.  "Specimens" covered by the Convention include live and dead 
animals and plants as well as their parts and deri vatives (e.g. raw, semi-finished and finished 
products).  These may take the form of food, medicines, clothing, cosmetics, or other items. 
4. Conditions of trade under CITES differ depending  on which Appendix a species is listed: 
• Appendix I - species threatened with extinction,  which are or may be affected by trade; 
• Appendix II - species which, although not necessarily now threatened with extinction, may 
become so unless trade in specimens  of such species is subject to strict regulation in order to 
avoid utilization incompatible with their survival;  or  
• Appendix III  - species which any Party identif ies as being subject to regulation within its 
jurisdiction for the purpose of preventing or restricting exploitation, and as needing the co-
operation of other Parties in the control of trade. 
5. Approximately 97 per cent of CITES-listed species are not threatened with extinction which 
means that specimens of these species can be co mmercially traded, provided that four general 
conditions are met:  (i) the specimens were legally acqui red;  (ii) trade in them is not detrimental to 
                                                      
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. 
2 For a complete list of States Parties, please refer to http://www.cites.org/eng/disc/parties/index.shtml . G/SPS/GEN/121/Add.11 
Page 2  
 
  the survival of the species in the wild;  (iii) trad e is recorded and reported to the Secretariat;  and 
(iv) living specimens will be so prepared and ship ped as to minimize the risk of injury, damage to 
health or cruel treatment.  Permits and certificates  authorizing CITES trade effectively serve as a sort 
of "green certification" issued by governments.  With regard to the three per cent of CITES-listed 
species that are threatened with extinction, their commercial trade is generally prohibited, unless the 
relevant specimens were captive-bred or artific ially propagated in accordance with the Convention 
and Resolutions adopted by the Conference of the Parties. 
6. Article XIV of the Convention gives Parties th e right to adopt stricter domestic measures 
regarding the conditions for trade, taking, possession or transport of specimens of species included in 
Appendices I, II and III, or the complete prohibiti on thereof.  Many Parties have adopted such 
unilateral measures and a number of them are acce ssible on the CITES website (see the sections on 
"Notifications to the Parties", "Reference lists" and "Biennial reports").  Article XXIII of the 
Convention gives Parties the right to enter speci fic reservations with regard to species.  
7. The text of the Convention and Resolutions of  the Conference of the Parties contains a 
number of specific trade obligations as shown in  the WTO Matrix on trade measures pursuant to 
selected multilateral environmental agreements.
3  Domestic legislation for implementing and 
enforcing the Convention contains similar trade obligations and, as mentioned above, may also 
contain trade measures which go beyond the Conventi on.  Such domestic legislation is periodically 
subject to review and amendment. 
8. The Convention has permanent observer status in regular sessions of the WTO Committee on 
Trade and Environment (CTE).  It has ad hoc  observer status in special sessions of the CTE.  The 
CITES Secretariat has participated in both regular  and special sessions of the CTE as well as 
information sessions aimed at facilitating informatio n exchange.  The WTO has been treated by the 
CITES Secretariat as a part of the broader United Nati ons system with automatic observer status in all 
of the Convention's technical and decision-making bodi es, pursuant to Article XI, paragraph 6, of the 
Convention.  The WTO Secretariat has been represe nted at meetings of the Standing Committee and 
the Conference of the Parties but not at the Animals and Plants Committees. 
9. Institutional partners of the Convention include  the Food and Agriculture Organization of the 
United Nations (FAO), the International Tropical  Timber Organization (ITTO), Interpol, the 
International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation 
and Development (OECD), the International Air Tr ansport Association (IATA), the International 
Trade Centre (ITC), the United Nations Enviro nment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations 
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 
(UNODC), the World Bank, and the World Customs Organization (WCO). 
3. Contribution to the work of the SPS Committee 
10. There is a clear link between national sanitary  and phytosanitary regimes and national CITES 
implementation, particularly in relation to the transport of live CITES specimens.  Several CITES 
authorities are located in national veterinary or ph ytosanitary offices.  Under certain circumstances, 
phytosanitary certificates may be used in place of CITES permits or certificates.  National and 
international trade policy or decisions based on sanita ry or phytosanitary measures, which are applied 
to wild animals or plants, often have implicati ons for CITES implementation.  Resolution Conf. 10.21 
(Rev. CoP14) of the Conference of the Parties on Tr ansport of live specimens recommends that "the 
regular communication of the CITES Secretariat and the Standing Committee with IATA’s Live 
Animals and Perishables Board and with the board of directors of the Animals Transportation 
Association (AATA) be continued and that a rela tionship with the International Animal Health 
                                                      
3 WT/CTE/W/160/Rev.4.  G/SPS/GEN/121/Add.11 
 Page 3 
 
 
  Organization (OIE) and the International Plan t Protection Convention (IPPC) be developed".  The 
CITES Secretariat is currently exploring the possibi lity of sitting on the advisory panel to IATA's 
Live Animals and Perishable Board, where OIE already has a seat.  The CITES Secretariat, WTO, 
OIE and IPPC are all members of the Inter-a gency Liaison Group on Invasive Alien Species, 
established under the Convention on Biological Diversity.  In addition, both the OIE and CITES 
participated in the WCO Inter-Agency Forum on Coor dinated Border Management held in June 2009. 
11. The SPS Agreement promotes the use of science and scientific risk assessment as a means for 
substantiating trade-related measures, as does CITES. 
12. Ad hoc  observer status with the SPS Committee would allow the CITES Secretariat to provide 
information to the Committee on the content, scope  and implementation of the Convention, including 
specific trade obligations within the Convention or adopted by its decision-making bodies.  In return, 
the CITES Secretariat could gather information rega rding the SPS Agreement process, in particular 
the notifications on national measures, and advise CITES Parties on relevant developments.  Finally, 
the CITES Secretariat could enhance its coordination with standard-setting organizations such as OIE 
and IPPC, as requested by the Conference of the Parties.  
4. Reciprocity 
13. The WTO Secretariat has not formally requested official, permanent observer status in 
CITES, but this would be welcome.  In the past, the WTO Secretariat has simply informed the CITES 
Secretariat of its wish to participate in CITES meeti ngs and has then been allowed to participate as an 
observer in meetings of the CITES Standing Comm ittee and the CITES Conference of the Parties. 
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