Following Notification 2023/028 and Notification 2023/033, the Secretariat is pleased to announce that it has now received 55 official letters from Parties requesting the convening 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.

The Secretariat sincerely thanks the Parties for their response and support. Official letters were received from over one-third of the Parties, thereby enabling the Secretariat to convene ExCOP1 in accordance with Article VII, Paragraph 3, of the Convention.

Consequently, Ms. Amy Fraenkel, the Executive Secretary of the Convention, invites Parties and observers to participate in ExCOP1. The extraordinary meeting will be conducted electronically through a silence procedure from 28 November 2023 to 1 December 2023.

Registration

Parties and observers can register for the meeting at the ExCOP1 Registration Page. Please note that only registered participants will receive written communications during the meeting.

Documents

The provisional agenda of the meeting, and a document setting forth a proposed budget and resolution on the interim budget, will be published on the ExCOP1 website at least three weeks before the meeting to provide Parties the opportunity to raise any concerns prior to the opening of ExCOP1.

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.

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 consult with regions for representatives to comprise the committee.   

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

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

On 28 November 2023, 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 interim 2024 budget.

If no objection by a Party is received within 72 hours, 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 for the remaining hours.

The Secretariat urges all Parties to review the budget document as soon as it becomes available online, and to raise any questions prior to the opening of the ExCOP1, to minimize the likelihood of the silence being broken.

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 Valentina DaCosta ([email protected]) and Ms Maria Jose Ortiz ([email protected])