ABSTRACT
A compliance system is only as good as its information base. The collection, analysis and dissemination of information on violations and compliance are therefore essential. CITES was one of the first MEAs to provide for an information system. 1 The regime relies largely on self-reporting by parties, but also on information provided by NGOs and other inter-governmental organizations such as Interpol and the World Customs Organization (WCO, formerly Customs Cooperation Council, CCC). In addition, the Secretariat may be asked to visit parties on an ad hoc basis to verify specific information, such as the recent verification of ivory trade controls in parties wishing to trade in raw ivory, or in relation to cases of serious non-compliance such as Italy in the early 1990s or more recently the United Arab Emirates (see Chapter 5). The collection, review and dissemination of information, the substance of this chapter, are responsibilities of the Secretariat. The response to non-reporting, a long-standing problem which seriously undermines implementation of CITES, is dealt with in Chapter 6, and liaison with Interpol and WCO is covered in Chapter 9.
