Resolution Conf. 11.3 (Rev. CoP15)*

Compliance and enforcement

RECALLING Resolutions Conf. 6.3 and Conf. 7.5, adopted by the Conference of the Parties at its sixth and seventh meetings (Ottawa, 1987; Lausanne, 1989), Resolution Conf. 2.6 (Rev.), adopted at its second meeting (San José, 1979) and amended at its ninth meeting (Fort Lauderdale, 1994), Resolution Conf. 3.9 (Rev.), adopted at its third meeting (New Delhi, 1981) and amended at its ninth meeting, Resolution Conf. 6.4 (Rev.), adopted at its sixth meeting and amended at its ninth meeting, and Resolution Conf. 9.8 (Rev.), adopted at its ninth meeting and amended at its 10th meeting (Harare, 1997);

RECOGNIZING the concerns expressed by various Parties that trade in plants and animals listed in Appendices II and III of the Convention may be detrimental to the survival of some species;

AWARE that, in the past, several cases of violation of the Convention have occurred because of inadequate or insufficient implementation by Management Authorities in both exporting and importing countries regarding surveillance, issuance of documentation and control of compliance with the provisions regulating trade in live and dead animal and plants, and their parts and derivatives;

CONSIDERING that it is of utmost moral, biological, ecological and economic interest for all Parties to the Convention that such violations not re-occur and that the mechanisms established for the Convention to this end are fully implemented, so as to ensure their normal and efficient functioning to control trade in, and afford effective protection to, endangered animal and plant species;

AWARE that there is considerable variability among Parties in their capacity to implement and enforce the provisions of the Convention;

RECOGNIZING that the developing countries, because of their special socio-economic, political, cultural and geographic circumstances have major difficulties in meeting appropriate control requirements, even though this does not exempt them from observing the highest possible degree of effectiveness;

RECOGNIZING the extreme difficulties that all producer countries are facing in implementing their own CITES controls, and that such difficulties exacerbate enforcement problems in other Parties, while there are still consumer countries that continue allowing illegal imports as a result of a lack of adequate CITES control;

RECOGNIZING that illegal exports from producing countries of specimens of species included in the Appendices cause serious damage to the valuable resources of wildlife, and reduce the effectiveness of their management programmes;

ATTENTIVE to the fact that the reservations made by importing countries allow loopholes through which specimens illegally acquired in the countries of origin can find legal markets without any control whatsoever;

OBSERVING that some importing countries that maintain reservations refuse to take into consideration the recommendations of the Conference of the Parties in Resolution Conf. 4.25 (Rev. CoP14), adopted at its fourth meeting (Gaborone, 1983) and amended at its 14th meeting (The Hague, 2007), weakening in that way the conservation policies of producing countries that wish to protect their wildlife resources;

RECOGNIZING that illegal trafficking in wild fauna and flora continues to be a major concern;

RECOGNIZING the rapid growth in e-commerce of specimens of CITES-listed species;

NOTING the conclusions and recommendations of the meeting on e-commerce of specimens of CITES-listed species in Vancouver (Canada) in February 2009;

CONSIDERING that the countries that import these illegally obtained resources are directly responsible for encouraging illegal trade worldwide, and in this way the natural heritage of producing countries is damaged;

CONSIDERING that it is essential for the success of the Convention that all Parties implement and comply effectively with all the regulations established by the Convention;

CONVINCED that enforcement of the Convention must be a constant concern of the Parties at the highest level if they are to succeed in fulfilling the objectives of the Convention;

CONVINCED of the need to strengthen enforcement of the Convention to address serious problems caused by the illegal trafficking of wild fauna and flora, and that the available resources for enforcement are negligible when compared to the profits gained from such trafficking;

RECALLING that Article VIII, paragraph 1, of the Convention provides that the Parties shall take appropriate measures to enforce the provisions of the Convention and to prohibit trade in specimens in violation thereof, and that these shall include measures to provide for the confiscation or return to the States of export of specimens illegally traded;

RECOGNIZING that the Preamble of the Convention states that international cooperation is essential for the protection of certain species of wild fauna and flora against over-exploitation through international trade;

AFFIRMING the obligation of Parties to collaborate closely in the application of the Convention, through expeditious exchange of information on cases and situations related to wildlife trade suspected to be fraudulent, so as to enable other Parties concerned to apply legal sanctions;

WELCOMING the adoption of a resolution on law enforcement cooperation at the Asian regional meeting in Israel in March 1994;

WELCOMING the Beijing Statement on the Control of Wildlife Trade in the Asian Region, made at a workshop on the subject in Beijing in October 1995, which stated that efforts would be made to create a mechanism for cooperation in law enforcement in the Asian region;

WELCOMING recognition by the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice that illicit international trafficking in forest products, including timber, wildlife and other forest biological resources is often perpetrated by individuals and groups, including organized criminal groups that may operate transnationally and that may also be engaged in other illicit activities; and that the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the UN Convention against Corruption provide additional legal frameworks for international cooperation to combat wildlife crime;

RECOGNIZING the contribution to enhancing enforcement of CITES made by the Lusaka Agreement on Cooperative Enforcement Operations Directed at Illegal Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora;

RECOGNIZING that the use of dogs in combination with other tools will increase the chance of detections and seizures; that detector dogs can detect items that can not be detected by other tools; and that a dog-handler team is highly effective in searching people and cargo or luggage in a short time;

AWARE of the need for improved cooperation and coordination among CITES authorities and wildlife-law enforcement agencies at the national, regional and international levels;

NOTING the conclusions and recommendations of the CITES Enforcement Expert Group at its meeting in Shepherdstown (United States of America) in February 2004;

CONSIDERING that Article XIII does not specify a time-limit for a Party to respond to a request for information from the Secretariat, and that such a deadline is necessary in order that the absence of response not be interpreted as a refusal to respond;

CONSIDERING that the use of certain terms to designate the parts and derivatives of wildlife may give rise to certain offences;

RECOGNIZING the important role the Secretariat can play in the enforcement process, and the means provided by Article XIII of the Convention;

CONSCIOUS of the Secretariat's role in promoting enforcement of the Convention, as provided by Article XIII, and of the measures that the Secretariat has taken with the International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO-Interpol) and the World Customs Organization to facilitate the exchange of information between enforcement bodies and for training purposes;

AWARE that, with the limited funding available, Parties and the Secretariat should make the maximum use of existing inter-governmental enforcement mechanisms and resources, for example mechanisms provided for under the UN Office on Drugs and Crime;

AGREEING on the need for additional measures to reduce further the illegal trade in species covered by the Convention;

ACKNOWLEDGING that, owing to such high levels of trade in wildlife, it is incumbent upon consumer nations together with producer countries to ensure that trade is legal and sustainable and that enforcement measures adopted and implemented by Parties support conservation in producer countries;

RECOGNIZING that illegal trade in specimens of species included in the Appendices of the Convention can cause serious damage to wildlife resources, reduce the effectiveness of wildlife management programmes, undermine and threaten legal and sustainable trade particularly in the developing economies of many producing countries;

THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES TO THE CONVENTION

Regarding compliance, control and cooperation

URGES all Parties to strengthen, as soon as possible, the controls on trade in wildlife in the territories under their jurisdiction, and in particular controls on shipments from producing countries, including neighbouring countries, and to strictly verify the documents originating from such countries with the respective Management Authorities; and

RECOMMENDS that:

a)    all Parties:

	i)	recognize the seriousness of illegal trade in wild fauna and flora and identify it as a matter of high priority for their national law enforcement agencies;
	ii)	if appropriate, consider formulating national and regional action plans, incorporating timetables, targets and provisions for funding, designed to enhance enforcement of CITES, achieve compliance with its provisions, and support wildlife-law enforcement agencies;
	iii)	provide officials who have wildlife-law enforcement responsibilities with equivalent training, status and authority to those of their counterparts in Customs and the police;
	iv)	ensure strict compliance and control in respect of all mechanisms and provisions of the Convention relating to the regulation of trade in animal and plant species listed in Appendix II, and of all provisions ensuring protection against illegal traffic for the species included in the Appendices;
	v)	in case of violation of the above-mentioned provisions, immediately take appropriate measures pursuant to Article VIII, paragraph 1, of the Convention in order to penalize such violation and to take appropriate remedial action; and
	vi)	inform each other of all circumstances and facts likely to be relevant to illegal traffic and also of control measures, with the aim of eradicating such traffic;

b)    Parties should advocate sanctions for infringements that are appropriate to their nature and gravity;

c)    Parties that are not yet signatories to, or have not yet ratified, the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the UN Convention against Corruption consider doing so;

d)    importing Parties in particular not accept under any circumstances or pretext, export or re-export documents issued by any authority, irrespective of its hierarchical level, other than the Management Authority officially designated as competent by the exporting or re-exporting Party and duly notified to the Secretariat;

e)    if an importing country has reason to believe that specimens of an Appendix-II or -III species are traded in contravention of the laws of any country involved in the transaction, it:

	i)	immediately inform the country whose laws were thought to have been violated and, to the extent possible, provide that country with copies of all documentation relating to the transaction; and
	ii)	where possible, apply stricter domestic measures to that transaction as provided for in Article XIV of the Convention; and

f)    Parties remind their diplomatic missions, their delegates on mission in foreign countries and their troops serving under the flag of the United Nations that they are not exempted from the provisions of the Convention;

Regarding application of Article XIII

RECOMMENDS that:

a)    when, in application of Article XIII, the Secretariat requests information on an alleged infraction, Parties reply within a time-limit of one month or, if this is impossible, acknowledge within the month and indicate a date, even an approximate one, by which they consider it will be possible to provide the information requested;

b)    when, within a one year time-limit, the information requested has not been provided, Parties provide the Secretariat with justification of the reasons for which they have not been able to respond;

c)    if major problems with implementation of the Convention by particular Parties are brought to the attention of the Secretariat, the Secretariat work together with the Parties concerned to try to solve the problem and offer advice or technical assistance as required;

d)    if it does not appear a solution can be readily achieved, the Secretariat bring the matter to the attention of the Standing Committee, which may pursue the matter in direct contact with the Party concerned with a view to helping to find a solution; and

e)    the Secretariat keep the Parties informed as fully as possible, through Notifications, of such implementation problems and of actions taken to solve them, and include such problems in its report of alleged infractions;

Regarding enforcement activities of the Secretariat

URGES the Parties, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to provide additional financial support for the enforcement of the Convention, by providing funds for the enforcement assistance work of the Secretariat;

DIRECTS the Secretariat to utilize such funds towards the following priorities:

a)    the appointment of additional officers to the Secretariat to work on enforcement-related matters;

b)    assistance in the development and implementation of regional law-enforcement agreements; and

c)    training and technical assistance to the Parties;

URGES the Parties to offer secondment of enforcement officers to assist the Secretariat in addressing law-enforcement issues; and

DIRECTS the Secretariat to pursue closer international liaison between the Convention's institutions, national enforcement agencies, and existing intergovernmental bodies, particularly the World Customs Organization, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and ICPO-Interpol;

Regarding communication of information and coordination

RECOMMENDS that:

a)    Management Authorities coordinate with governmental agencies responsible for enforcement of CITES, including Customs and the police, and, where appropriate, sectoral non-governmental organizations, by arranging training activities and joint meetings, and facilitating the exchange of information;

b)    Parties establish inter-agency committees at the national level, bringing together Management Authorities and governmental agencies responsible for the enforcement of CITES, including Customs and the police;

c)    Parties, as a matter of urgency, inform the Secretariat of contact details of their relevant national law-enforcement agencies responsible for investigating illegal trafficking in wild fauna and flora;

d)    Parties, when informed by the Secretariat of the fraudulent use of documents issued by them, carry out an inquiry to identify the instigators of the crime, calling on ICPO-Interpol where necessary;

e)    when presented with a false document, Parties do everything in their power to determine where the specimens are and where the false document originated and inform the Secretariat and other Parties involved where appropriate;

f)    Parties work together within their regions to develop appropriate mechanisms for cooperation and coordination between wildlife-law enforcement agencies at the regional level;

g)    the Secretariat, in consultation with the Standing Committee, establish ad hoc CITES enforcement task forces as needed focusing initially on species included in Appendix I;

h)    Parties that have not already done so consider nominating officials from relevant national enforcement and prosecuting agencies to participate in the Interpol Wildlife Crime Working Group;

i)     Parties with existing detector-dog programmes share knowledge and experience with those Parties that may be interested in developing and implementing such programmes;

j)     Parties provide to the Secretariat detailed information on significant cases of illegal trade; and

k)    Parties inform the Secretariat, when possible, about convicted illegal traders and persistent offenders; and

DIRECTS the Secretariat to communicate such information quickly to the Parties;

Regarding e-commerce of specimens of CITES-listed species

RECOMMENDS that Parties:

a)    evaluate or develop their domestic measures to ensure that they are sufficient to address the challenges of controlling legal wildlife trade, investigating illegal wildlife trade and punishing the perpetrators, giving high priority to the offer for sale of specimens of species listed in Appendix I;

b)    establish, at the national level, a unit dedicated to investigating wildlife crime linked to the Internet or incorporate wildlife trade issues into existing units that investigate or monitor computer or cyber-crime; and

c)    establish at the national level a mechanism to coordinate the monitoring of Internet-related wildlife trade and to provide for the timely sharing between designated contact points in CITES Management and Enforcement Authorities of information that results from these activities;

RECOMMENDS further that Parties and Interpol:

a)    submit information to the Secretariat on methodologies used by other agencies that may assist in the evaluation of mechanisms to regulate legal commerce of CITES-listed species via the Internet;

b)    ensure that sufficient resources are directed to the investigation and targeting of illegal Internet-related trade in specimens of CITES-listed species;

c)    use the data acquired during monitoring activities to establish strategies regarding enforcement, capacity building and public awareness; and

d)    consider ways in which funding may be provided for the establishment of a full-time position, dedicated to e-commerce aspects of wildlife crime, within the General Secretariat of Interpol. The responsibilities of such a position should include ensuring that all information or intelligence regarding e-commerce is consistently collected and disseminated to the relevant Enforcement Authorities designated by Parties; and

Regarding additional actions to promote enforcement

RECOMMENDS further that the Parties:

a)    take the necessary measures to develop a comprehensive strategy for border controls, audits and investigations, by:

	i)	taking into account the different procedures for Customs clearance of goods and Customs procedures such as transit, temporary admission, warehouse storage, etc.;
	ii)	ensuring that officers in charge of control are aware of and trained in CITES matters regarding, for example, CITES requirements, identification of specimens and the handling of live animals;
	iii)	implementing document control in order to ensure the authenticity and validity of CITES permits and certificates, especially, if necessary, by requesting the Secretariat to confirm their validity;
	iv)	conducting physical examinations of goods, based on a policy of risk assessment and targeting;
	v)	using wildlife detector dogs;
	vi)	increasing the quality of controls at the time of export and re-export; and
	vii)	providing the necessary resources in order to achieve these objectives;

b)    promote incentives to secure the support and cooperation of local and rural communities in managing wildlife resources and thereby combating illegal trade;

c)    where appropriate, evaluate and utilize for enforcement purposes, information from non-governmental sources while maintaining standards of confidentiality;

d)    consider the formation, at national level, of specialized wildlife-law enforcement units or teams;

e)    explore innovative means of increasing and improving national enforcement capacity;

f)    carry out focused national and regional capacity-building activities with particular focus on fostering inter-agency cooperation and improving knowledge of legislation; species identification; risk analysis and investigation of criminal actions; and

g)    whenever appropriate and possible, liaise closely with CITES Management Authorities and law enforcement agencies in consumer, source and transit countries to help detect, deter and prevent illicit trade in wildlife through the exchange of intelligence, technical advice and support;

URGES the Parties, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to provide, as a matter of urgency, funds and expertise to enable enforcement-related training or the provision of training materials, focusing on developing countries and countries with economies in transition, preferably on a regional or subregional basis, and provide funds to ensure that wildlife-law enforcement personnel in such countries are adequately trained and equipped;

ENCOURAGES Parties to give priority to the enforcement of CITES and prosecution of violations of the Convention;

ENCOURAGES States to offer rewards for information on illegal hunting and trafficking of specimens of Appendix-I species leading to the arrest and conviction of the offenders;

URGES ICPO-Interpol to support the attendance of a representative from the Interpol Wildlife Crime Working Group at meetings of the Conference of the Parties to CITES; and

INSTRUCTS the Secretariat to:

a)    cooperate with the World Customs Organization, ICPO-Interpol and competent national authorities to:

       i)     prepare and distribute appropriate training material; and

       ii)    facilitate the exchange of technical information between the authorities in charge of border controls; and

b)    submit a report on enforcement matters at each Standing Committee meeting and each regular meeting of the Conference of the Parties; and

REPEALS the Resolutions or parts thereof listed hereunder:

a)    Resolution Conf. 2.6 (Rev.) (San José, 1979, as amended at Fort Lauderdale, 1994) – Trade in Appendix-II and -III species – paragraph b) and paragraph under 'REQUESTS';

b)    Resolution Conf. 3.9 (Rev.) (New Delhi, 1981, as amended at Fort Lauderdale, 1994) – International compliance control;

c)    Resolution Conf. 6.3 (Ottawa, 1987) – The Implementation of CITES;

d)    Resolution Conf. 6.4 (Rev.) (Ottawa, 1987, as amended at Fort Lauderdale, 1994) – Controls on illegal trade;

e)    Resolution Conf. 7.5 (Lausanne, 1989) – Enforcement; and

f)    Resolution Conf. 9.8 (Rev.) (Fort Lauderdale, 1994, as amended at Harare, 1997) – Enforcement.

* Amended at the 13th, 14th and 15th meetings of the Conference of the Parties.

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