CITES 1997 – Report back

Report on 10th Meeting of Cites in Harare. The proposal from South Africa at COP10 was to remove restrictions placed on Southern African white rhino at COP9. These restrictions prohibited trade in rhino horn and other products. South Africa asked for a zero quota, meaning that no actual trade would be conducted until the next conference. The proposal was rejected by one vote on 18 June, with 60 in favour and 32 against. On a technical issue, namely that some parties without voting rights participated in the vote, SA appealed against the decision and requested a second vote, this time by secret ballot. This would allow some countries to vote in favour of the proposal without being identified. In the second voting on 19 June by secret ballot, the proposal was rejected with 54 votes for and 48 against.