Secretary-General's statements

CITES Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles Task Force Singapore, 25-27 April 2017 Welcome remarks by John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary-General Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Tan Poh Hong, Senior CITES Specialist, Mr. Bruce Weissgold, Distinguished guests, friends and colleagues from CITES Parties and international organizations, Good morning to you all and welcome to this very important, and timely, CITES Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles Task Force meeting!

The 3rd Regional Dialogue on Preventing Illegal Logging and Trading of Siamese Rosewood Bangkok, Thailand 29-31 March 2017 John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary-General   General Surasak Kanjanarat, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Dr.Wijarn Simachaya, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

Briefing on Fisheries Regulatory Framework at the Multilateral Level Palais des Nations, Geneva 20 March 2017 The Role of CITES in the Fisheries Regulatory Framework at the Multilateral Level John E. Scanlon, Secretary-General, CITES Thank you Chair. Distinguished Panelists Exellencies, colleagues Firstly, let me express our deep gratitude to UNCTAD, with FAO, for organizing today’s event and for extending an invitation to CITES. ----- What is CITES

Opening remarks of CITES Secretary-General, John E. Scanlon UN Headquarters, New York, 3 March 2017 Excellences Distinguished panelists Friends of wildlife It is a great pleasure to be here, and we extend our particular thanks to the United Kingdom for being the catalyst for today’s event, as well as Botswana and Vietnam, both of which have hosted important and highly successful conferences on illegal wildlife trade.

Opening remarks of CITES Secretary-General, John E. Scanlon UN Headquarters, New York, 3 March 2017 H.E. Mr. Peter Thomson, President of the UN General Assembly Excellences Distinguished panelists Friends of wildlife

On January 2, new rules related to the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) take effect, bringing hundreds of additional timber species under its legally binding global trade controls.   Conferences, declarations and reports highlight the scale of the challenge of sustainably and legally regulating trade in valuable timber. Yet, there is only one international agreement that obliges states across the value chain to ensure legal and sustainable trade in timber, and that is CITES.

CITES and Livelihoods Workshop Opening remarks by Mr John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary-General 23 November 2016, George, South Africa   Deputy Director-General, Mr Shonisani Munzhedzi, Distinguished guests and friends and colleagues from CITES Parties and international organizations,

Hanoi Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade Intervention by John E. Scanlon, Secretary-General, CITES Plenary Session 17-18 November 2016 – Hanoi, Vietnam   Hon. Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam, Dr. Ha Cong Tuan Hon. Ministers Distinguished guests Friends and colleagues It is wonderful to be back in the beautiful City of Hanoi. Vietnam has been a Party to CITES since 1994. It has taken many important measures to implement the Convention since that time.