In anticipation of the first extraordinary meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (ExCOP1) for the adoption of an interim budget for 2024 (to be conducted electronically through a silence procedure starting on 28 November 2023), the Secretariat would like to clarify and remind Parties of a few key points.

Registration

Parties and observers can register for the meeting on the ExCOP1 Registration Page.

Please note that only registered participants will receive written communications during the meeting. To participate, Parties and observers must take the necessary steps to register for the meeting prior to 28 November.

Opening of the ExCOP and adoption of the interim budget by Silence Procedure

On 28 November 2023 (00:00 Central European Time, CET), the Secretariat will send a communication, on behalf of the CMS COP Presidency (India) as presiding officer, to all registered participants opening the extraordinary meeting of the COP and initiating the silence procedure for the adoption of the Resolution and interim budget for 2024.

The proposed draft resolution text will undergo a 72-hour silence procedure, concluding at 23:59 CET on 30 November 2023. If, within those 72 hours, the silence has not been broken, the Resolution and interim budget will be considered adopted.

Breaking the silence

Representatives of Parties with valid credentials may break the silence during ExCOP1 by submitting a written comment, stating their intent to break the silence, to the presiding officer and copying the Secretariat.  

Breaking the silence would suspend the meeting. Should this occur, the Secretariat and the Presiding Officer will seek to resolve the issue with the Party breaking the silence. Once the matter is resolved, the Secretariat, on behalf of the CMS COP Presidency (India) as presiding officer, would send a second communication to resume the meeting and continue it until a total of 72 hours have elapsed.

Closing of the COP

The ExCOP1 is expected to be closed on December 1 by a communication of the Presiding Officer. A report of ExCOP1 reflecting the outcome of the extraordinary meeting will be circulated with the Chair’s closing statement

Credentials

Parties are strongly encouraged to secure credentials for their representatives through the appropriate authority, in accordance with Rule 3(1) of the Rules of Procedure of the Conference of the Parties (COP ROP). Should any Party wish to break the silence, they must ensure their representatives hold valid credentials.

Credentials that have been obtained to cover the silence procedure period of 28 – 30 November will remain valid until the close of the ExCOP1, including in the event that the 72-hour period is interrupted and the ExCOP1 goes beyond the expected period.

As per Rule 3 (5) of the COP ROP, representatives are encouraged to submit their credentials as soon as possible, preferably no later than 26 November 2023, to allow time for the Secretariat to process their submission. Due to the exceptional nature of the meeting, an electronic copy of the credentials will be accepted on the understanding that a hard copy will be presented to the Secretariat as soon as possible by postal correspondence. The credentials should be sent as a scanned attachment by email to [email protected]. A sample letter of credentials that Parties may wish to use as a model is attached in Annex 1.

Parties may also consider issuing one letter of credentials for both ExCOP1 and COP14 as long as the names of both meetings are clearly stated and all other requirements for the validity of credentials are met.

Credentials Committee

Rule 3 (3) of the COP ROP establishes that a Credentials Committee of not more than five Representatives from at least three regions will examine the submitted credentials.

The Secretariat will continue consultations with regions to identify representatives to comprise the committee. As of today, only one region (Latin America and the Caribbean) has done so.  

The credentials committee is needed to examine the validity of any Party intending to break the silence.

For further information on registration, please contact the CMS Secretariat at [email protected]

For further information on credentials and the process for ExCOP1, please contact Ms Maria Jose Ortiz ([email protected])