Natural Resources and Violent Conflict - WaterWiki.net

getting it done 273to focus the attention of the parties on any pertinent matter (ArticleXII, 2[d], 2[e]). The convention also provides for the secretariat tonotify a party directly if it believes that the convention is not being effectivelyimplemented, whereupon the party in question is to respond.(It may also request an inquiry, with information from the inquirybeing furnished for the next meeting of the parties; Article X.) Thismakes CITES’s secretariat possibly one of the more independent secretariatsin the environmental field (Hajost and Shea n.d.).According to its secretariat, the value of CITES has been demonstratedby the fact that “not one of the species protected by CITES hasbecome extinct as a result of trade since the convention entered intoforce.” 70 Yet criticisms of this instrument and its effectiveness continueto be made, which include the following:• Absence of a supranational institution enforcing internationalobligations on individual states• Poorly drafted sections of the convention that leave critical loopholes(for example, reservations by parties and other exemptions)• Lack of financial commitment by some parties to enforce CITESat the domestic or international level and a poorly funded secretariat• International-level instrument that does not affect domestic trade• Listing system that puts the burden of proof on conservationistsrather than traders• Absence of a computerized database for enforcement agents(inspectors, customs)• Vulnerability of the permit system to fraud resulting from theabsence of a permit-tracking system and a uniform and tamper-proofpermit form and registration of traders and transporters• Potential for abuse in trade with nonparty countries and noncomplyingparties• Absence of minimal training standards and an international corpsof inspectors• Lack of transparency on inspection reports• Lack of economic incentives for legitimate trade• Lack of criminal and civil liability for illegal wildlife trade amongsome parties.The feasibility of applying similar instruments to all resources inorder to prevent conflict trade appears to be limited, given the greatervolume and greater difficulty in determining points of origin of regulatedcommodities (as opposed to the identification of threatened species).CITES nevertheless remains a valid model for the commodities most frequentlyinvolved in conflict trade, particularly those with highly specificor easily identified points of origin.