The Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), which serves as the Interim Secretariat of the Agreement on the Conservation of Gorillas and Their Habitats (Gorilla Agreement) is pleased to share that in response to Gorilla Agreement Resolution 3.3 on the institutional arrangements of the Gorilla Agreement, the Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration (GVTC) submitted a proposal to host the permanent Secretariat of the Gorilla Agreement. Parties to the Gorilla Agreement, at their Fourth Meeting (MOP4) in Paris, France in December 2023, considered this proposal and were unanimously in favour of accepting it pending high-level political confirmation by all Parties.

Through Resolution 4.1, adopted at MOP4, the Parties agreed to move the Secretariat to the Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration and requested the Interim Secretariat to send a notification to all Parties to confirm their agreement.

As such, through this notification, the Interim Secretariat requests Parties to the Gorilla Agreement to confirm, in writing, their approval for the GVTC hosting the Gorilla Agreement Secretariat. Parties are requested to submit confirmations signed by the highest relevant authority in their countries by email to [email protected] before 4 February 2024.

For further information on this matter, please contact the Interim Secretariat by email at [email protected].