The Third Meeting of Signatories (MOS3) to the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia (Raptors MOU) shall be held from 3 to 6 July 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

MOS3 offers the opportunity to convene the 61 Signatories and five Cooperating Partners of the Raptors MOU, to review progress on the conservation of birds of prey across the MOU’s area, celebrate successes, and define the focus of future priorities.

The Signatories will review proposed amendments to the MOU and its Annexes, including the Action Plan (as a result of a review carried out in 2020), the list of species covered by the MOU, their priority ranking (Table 1 of the Action Plan), and updates to the list of sites of international importance for migratory raptors (Table 3 of the Action Plan). Signatories will also review a ground-breaking first analysis of the conservation status of the 93 species listed under the MOU.

MOS3 provides the chance for relevant inter-governmental organizations, interested non-signatory Range States, and non-governmental and private sector organizations to attend as observers with a view to promote cooperation for the conservation of African-Eurasian migratory birds of prey and their habitats. The meeting will further provide an opportunity to share conservation initiatives and lessons learnt from them.

Meeting Venue

The Meeting will take place in the Sheraton Mall of the Emirates Hotel, Dubai. Address: Sheikh Zayed Road, al Barsha 1, Dubai, UAE.

Participant Registration

To participate in the Meeting, all participants are required to register online at https://meetings.cms.int/meetings/RaptorsMOUMOS3/registration by 24 May 2023.

Support for Participation

Limited funds are set aside to sponsor single representatives of eligible countries (refer to document UNEP/CMS/Resolution 13.2, paragraph 9), and priority for funding shall be granted to representatives of Signatories on a first come, first served basis. Representatives of eligible countries are encouraged to register as soon as possible to ensure that all necessary travel and visa arrangements may be completed in due time.

Credentials

Heads of Delegations, any Alternative Representatives, and other members of the delegations of Signatories must be granted permission to fully represent respective Signatories and vote at the Meeting. This permission must be granted by, or on behalf of the relevant appropriate authority. A scanned copy of the letter of credentials must be submitted to [email protected] in English or French, with copy to [email protected] by 3 June 2023. The original letter of credentials must be presented at the registration desk upon arrival at the venue. A template letter of credentials is available here.

Meeting Documents

Meeting documents shall be published in English and French on this webpage as they become available, and no later than 30 days before the start of the Meeting.

Code of Conduct

All participants are expected to behave with integrity and respect towards all other persons attending or involved with the Meeting. Discrimination, harassment, including sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and sexual abuse and exploitation will not be tolerated at the Meeting. Participants are invited to review carefully the Code of Conduct for Events Organised under CMS, which will apply to the Meeting.

Application for Side-Events and Exhibits

Signatories, Cooperating Partners, and others are encouraged to actively contribute to the success of the Meeting by presenting their work or issues of interest by hosting a side-event or an exhibit. To apply for this, a form (here for Side-Events; here for Exhibits) must be completed and submitted to [email protected] by 3 May 2023.

Visas

The Coordinating Unit can issue personalised invitation letters to support representatives that need to apply for an entry visa. If required, such must be indicated when registering via the online registration form.

More Practical Information

More practical information can be found in the Invitation to MOS3 and Information Note for Participants. Please direct any remaining queries to the Coordinating Unit at [email protected].

MOS3 Preparatory Workshop of 3 April 2023

The slides presented can be found here. 

MOS3 Photo Album

All photos accessible at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Y8P8C4oLSysGYxM3NKmRcol0SDJYXo06...