Secretary-General's statements

CITES Secretary-General's remarks on the destruction of confiscated elephant ivory at Colombo, Sri Lanka
John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary-General 26 January 2016   Religious dignitaries Hon. Gamini  Jayawickrema  Perera,  Minister for Sustainable Development and Wildlife  Hon. Ravi Karunanayake, Minister of Finance Cabinet Ministers, State Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Members of Parliament, Diplomats, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen and dear children. -----
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CITES Secretary-General's keynote address on Wildlife and Tourism at Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Keynote Address 'CITES and wildlife trade – how CITES works and how it links to wildlife tourism’ John E. Scanlon Secretary-General, CITES Secretariat Colombo, Sri Lanka 25 January 2016   Good morning and thank you to our colleagues from Sri Lanka Tourism for organizing today’s Public Seminar and for giving me the opportunity to address you.
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CITES Secretary-General's opening remarks at the Sixty-sixth meeting of the Standing Committee, Geneva, Switzerland
Sixty-sixth meeting of the Standing Committee Geneva (Switzerland), 11 January 2016 Opening remarks by John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary General Thank you Chair and I would like to join with you in wishing everyone a Happy New Year – bonne année , feliz año – and to extend a very warm welcome to the Standing Committee Members, Party Observers, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as the private sector and the media.
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Corruption as an enabler of wildlife and forest crime - Joint Statement of the Executive Director of UNODC and the Secretary-General of CITES
  Corruption as an enabler of wildlife and forest crime Joint Statement of Mr Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of UNODC and Mr John Scanlon, Secretary-General of CITES  Saint Petersburg, 3 November 2015 As the world turns to realising the new development agenda with the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, we are concerned that spiralling wildlife and forest crime, fuelled by corrosive corruption, can impede vital progress.
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CITES Secretary-General's welcoming remarks at the Workshop on illegal trade in cheetahs
Workshop on illegal trade in cheetahs 3 – 5 November 2015 Kuwait Welcoming remarks by John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary General   His Excellency Sheikh/ Abdullah Ahmad Al-Humoud Al-Sabah - Director of the Environmental Public Authority of the State of Kuwait & Chairman of the Board Distinguished guests, friends and colleagues We are most grateful to the Environmental Public Authority of the State of Kuwait for hosting and financing this week’s workshop on illegal trade in cheetahs.
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CITES Secretary-General's presentation on Corruption and illegal trade in wildlife at the 6th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention Against Corruption - Saint Petersburg, Russia
Corruption is “an insidious plague” that is present in the wildlife sector just as it is in other sectors, indeed in virtually any form of human activity. A clear message of the determination of the international community to work to prevent and combat corruption was sent with the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) of the UN Convention Against Corruption in 2003 and its entry into force in 2005.
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The New Sustainable Development Goals: a Vision for Living in Harmony with Nature - External link to CITES Secretary-General's Op Ed
This week in New York, the U.N. General Assembly will adopt a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets that represent an unprecedented opportunity to safeguard globally threatened wildlife species. The new goals are part of an agenda called Transforming Our World: The 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda – a vision for the planet in which “humanity lives in harmony with nature and in which wildlife and other living species are protected.”
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CITES Secretary-General's keynote address at the Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia.
Keynote Address 'CITES and wildlife trade – how CITES works and what it is and isn’t’ John E. Scanlon Secretary-General, CITES Secretariat Tbilisi, 20 October 2015
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CITES Secretary-General's welcoming remarks at the 22nd Meeting of the CITES Plants Committee - Tbilisi, Georgia
22nd Meeting of the CITES Plants Committee 19 – 23 October 2015 Tbilisi Welcoming remarks by John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary General   Mr. Gigla Agulashvili, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia First Deputy Minister Mr. Teimuraz Murgulia Chair of Plants Committee, Professor Margarita Clemente, and members of the Committee   Distinguished guests, friends and colleagues,
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CITES and Trade Agreements – Partnering to Combat Wildlife Crime and to Achieve Sustainable Development - CITES Secretary-General's Op Ed
Global trade in wild animal and plant species, including fish and timber, is on the rise - both legal and illegal. Legal and sustainable trade in certain species, such as the wool of the vicuna or the bark of the African cherry tree, can benefit people and wildlife. The current surge in illegal wildlife trade, estimated to be in the billions of dollars annually, is having devastating economic, social and environmental impacts. But not all the costs of wildlife trafficking can be quantified. Iconic species like elephants, and the lesser-known but heavily trafficked pangolin, are being driven toward what experts warn may be the next big extinction.
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