18.90 (Rev. CoP19), 18.91 (Rev. CoP19) & 19.84 to 19.88 Wildlife crime enforcement support in West and Central Africa

Decision directed to
18.90 (Rev. CoP19)
Decision directed to:
Parties importing CITES specimens from West and Central Africa

Parties importing CITES specimens from West and Central Africa are encouraged to assist their counterparts in West and Central Africa, by implementing measures that will address wildlife crime and support legal trade that is limited to sustainable levels, in particular by:

a) supporting efforts to determine and ensure sustainable levels of trade through scientific studies that can facilitate the making of robust non-detriment findings;

b) undertaking due diligence as outlined in Resolution Conf. 11.3 (Rev. CoP19) on Compliance and enforcement and closely scrutinizing consignments of CITES-listed species imported from West and Central Africa and accompanying CITES documents to ensure that illegal species are not laundered into legal trade; and

c) as a priority, raise any concerns about imports with the exporting State, or with the Animals Committee, Plants Committee, Standing Committee, or the Secretariat.

18.91 (Rev. CoP19)
Decision directed to:
Parties, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations
Parties, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations are encouraged to provide financial and technical assistance to Parties in West and Central Africa and mobilize resources to support the implementation of Decisions 19.84, 19.85, paragraphs a) and b), 19.86, 19.87 paragraphs a), b) and c) and 18.90 (Rev. CoP19) and, as appropriate, take these Decisions into consideration in the development of work programmes or activities they initiate in the two subregions.
19.84
Decision directed to:
Parties

Parties in West and Central Africa and Parties importing CITES specimens from West and Central Africa are strongly encouraged to enhance collaboration and communication regarding illegal wildlife trade affecting the two subregions, including by:

a) using existing secure communication channels such as those provided by INTERPOL and the World Customs Organization for exchange of enforcement and illegal trade related information, and by drawing upon the enforcement focal point information available through the National CITES Authorities and Enforcement focal points webpages;

b) actively pursuing international law enforcement collaboration through the mechanisms established by the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC); and other relevant information exchange platforms;

c) reporting seizures on timber exported from West and Central Africa to the exporting countries as soon as practical, as appropriate, including sharing information described in paragraph 2.1 d) under Strengthen regional and international collaboration to address illegal trade in CITES-listed tree species in the outcome document of the Task Force on illegal trade in specimens of CITES-listed tree species; and

d) actively pursuing the implementation of the measures and activities outlined in the Outcome document of the Task Force on illegal trade in specimens of CITES–listed tree species.

19.85
Decision directed to:
Parties in West Africa and Central Africa

Parties in West and Central Africa should:

a) as relevant to them and where not yet done, continue to actively pursue the implementation of the Recommendations to Parties in West and Central Africa for consideration in their implementation of measures and activities to address wildlife crime affecting the two subregions;

b) engage in regional and bilateral activities to share information on their national legislative and regulatory measures, exchange experiences and best practices, and identify opportunities for regional and cross-border cooperation and joint actions to address illegal trade in wildlife, taking into consideration paragraph 13 e) of Resolution Conf. 11.3 (Rev. CoP19) on Compliance and enforcement; and

c) identify priority actions that could benefit from support, including activities referenced in Decisions 19.84, 19.85, paragraphs a) and b), 19.86, 19.87 paragraphs a), b) and c) and 18.90 (Rev. CoP19), and present these to the International Consortium on Combatting Wildlife Crime (ICCWC), donors and the development community, to seek support to implement them.

19.86
Decision directed to:
Parties in West Africa and Central Africa

a) Parties in West Africa are invited to, through the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, request support from ICCWC for the implementation of the ICCWC Guidelines for Wildlife Enforcement Networks, to facilitate fully operationalizing the West Africa Network to Combat Wildlife Crime (WAN); and

b) Parties in Central Africa are invited to, through the Commission of Central African Forests (COMIFAC) or other appropriate platforms, request support from ICCWC for the implementation of the ICCWC Guidelines for Wildlife Enforcement Networks.

19.87
Decision directed to:
Secretariat, with its ICCWC partners

The Secretariat shall:

a) subject to external funding, work with its ICCWC partners to support Parties in West and Central Africa in addressing illegal trade in wildlife, including by promoting and facilitating collaboration and communication between Parties in West and Central Africa, transit and destination countries, through the convening of Wildlife Inter-Regional Enforcement (WIRE) and Regional Investigative and Analytical Case (RIACM) meetings as appropriate, and by supporting Parties upon request as anticipated in Decision 19.86;

b) subject to external funding, work with ICCWC partners to expedite ICCWC Wildlife and Forest Crime Analytic Toolkit in West and Central African Parties to inform capacity building activities;

c) subject to external funding and upon request from Parties, undertake general and targeted capacity-building activities to strengthen the effective implementation of CITES in the two subregions;

d) issue a Notification to the Parties requesting them to provide information on their implementation of Decisions 19.84, 19.85, 19.86 and 18.90 (Rev. CoP19);

e) report to the 78th meeting of the Standing Committee on the implementation of Decision 19.87, paragraphs a), b) and c), and the responses to the Notification in Decision 19.87, paragraph d), together with any recommendations it may have; and

f) support the Standing Committee in the implementation of Decision 19.88, paragraph a) and b).

19.88
Decision directed to:
Standing Committee

The Standing Committee shall:

a) establish a working group, with representation from all regions, to make recommendations on the development and adoption of procedures that will promote enhanced collaboration between source, transit and consumer countries, in particular to promote regular communication between source, transit and consumer countries;

b) consider whether the establishment and administration of a CITES enforcement fund or other mechanisms that could provide targeted and sustainable financial support to combat wildlife crime and implement CITES to Parties that request such support is needed;

c) consider the report of the Secretariat in accordance with Decision 19.87; and

d) make recommendations to the Parties, the Secretariat, and the 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties, as appropriate.