Notification to the Parties

CONCERNING:

YEMEN

Recommendation to suspend trade

1. Decision 11.77 directs the Standing Committee to decide the appropriate measures to be taken with respect to the Parties identified in Decision 11.15. These are Parties whose national legislation, analysed during phase 3 of the National Legislation Project, is believed generally not to meet the requirements for implementation of CITES and that are engaged in significant amounts of international trade in specimens of CITES species. Yemen is identified as one of these Parties.

2. Decision 11.16 states that all Parties should refuse any import of specimens of CITES-listed species from, and any export or re-export of such specimens to, the Parties listed in Decision 11.15, if, in spite of receiving the assistance that was requested from the Secretariat, the Parties concerned do not adopt the legislation required before 31 October 2001.

3. Pursuant to Decisions 11.15, 11.16 and 11.77, the Secretariat informed the Standing Committee, at its 45th meeting (Paris, June 2001), about the progress made by the countries concerned. Having considered the report of the Secretariat, the Standing Committee agreed to defer until 31 December 2001 a recommendation to suspend trade in specimens of CITES species with those countries.

4. The inadequacy of Yemen’s legislation was brought to the attention of the Management Authority on several occasions, and the Management Authority has been aware since the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties, in April 2000, that Yemen might be subject to a recommendation to suspend trade in specimens of CITES species.

5. As it did not receive any response to its letter of 27 November 2000, the Secretariat wrote again to Yemen on 12 March 2001 reminding the Management Authority that Decision 11.15 would be reviewed during the 45th meeting of the Standing Committee, advising the Management Authority that it had learned indirectly about new domestic legislation in Yemen related to rhinoceros horn and asking for further information on legislation to implement CITES. The Secretariat also expressed regret that it had not received any response to a letter sent to Yemen in January 2001 suggesting that a member of the Secretariat might visit Yemen in March 2001.

6. On 20 October 2001, the Secretariat received a fax providing draft copies (in English and Arabic) of a Council of Ministers Resolution regarding the charter of protection and regulation of trade for endangered species of terrestrial and marine fauna and flora. The Management Authority of Yemen indicated that they would provide a final version upon the Resolution's approval by the Council of Ministers. On 29 October, the Secretariat provided detailed comments and reiterated its readiness to provide further assistance, at any time before the period of the deadline decided by the Standing Committee.

7. To date, the Secretariat has not received any enacted legislation in one of the three languages of the Convention. It appears, therefore, that Yemen was unable to adopt the necessary the legislation before the deadline established.

8. Therefore the Secretariat hereby informs the Parties that, pursuant to Decision 11.16, the Conference of the Parties recommends that, from the date of this Notification, all Parties should refuse any import from and export or re-export to Yemen of specimens of CITES-listed species, until further notice.