At each of its meetings, the Conference of the Parties to CITES considers problems of implementation of the Convention and its effectiveness. The results of its deliberations are in the form of recommendations (Article XI, paragraph 3) that are recorded either in Resolutions or in Decisions of the Conference of the Parties.
The Resolutions are generally intended to provide long-standing guidance over periods of many years. The Resolutions include the guidance provided by the Conference of the Parties on how to interpret the provisions of the Convention but also include: the documents establishing the permanent committees; the budget and work programme of the Secretariat; rules for controlling the trade (such as issuing permits and marking specimens in trade); and the texts establishing long-term compliance processes.
All valid Resolutions after the 19th meeting of the Conference of the Parties are available below.