Secretary-General's statements

Geneva, Switzerland, 10 November 2010 CITES Secretary-General John Scanlon with Minister Koichi MIZUSHIMA and Mr Masaaki YAMADA of the Japanese Mission in Geneva (Japan is president of CBD CoP10) Let me start by extending my sincere congratulations to the Government of Japan, through Minister Mizushima, for achieving a successful outcome in Nagoya. The diplomatic effort put into the meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP) – both before and during the CoP - coupled with announcements of additional financial commitments, was critical.

11.00 am 28 October 2010 Intervention by the Executive Heads of the Secretariats of the: Convention on Wetlands of International Importance; Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage; Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora; and Convention on Migratory Species Delivered by the Secretary-General of CITES Your Excellency President of the COP, Honorable Ministers, Executive Secretary of the CBD, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen.

Museum of Natural History of the City of Geneva Geneva, Switzerland Your excellencies, Madame la Maire, distinguished CITES authorities, colleagues within and outside of the United Nations system, friends of CITES, ladies and gentleman, 2010 is an important year for many reasons. It is the International Year of Biodiversity; in March the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES took place in Doha, in the State of Qatar; we celebrate our 35th anniversary of CITES entry into force today; and the Convention on Biological Diversity holds its 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties in October in Nagoya, Japan, and I would like to recognize the attendance, today, of His Excellency the Ambassador of Japan, Mr Kenichi Suganuma.

Geneva, 20 May 2010 The Secretariat has recently received a number of emails urging the return to Indonesia of 11 orangutans confiscated by the CITES Management Authority of Thailand in February 2009.

made during the Global Tiger Initiative side-event at the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity Nagoya, Japan, 28 October 2010 The subject of conservation of tigers is one that the CITES community has given a special focus to over many years. The CITES Secretariat has also been a very active player in the Global Tiger Initiative, since the President of the World Bank asked the Secretariat to take the lead in providing enforcement-related advice to the Initiative.