Negotiators meeting in Geneva this week to draft a new agreement on trade in tropical timber have decided to reconvene next February to continue their work.
The UN Conference for the Negotiation of a Successor Agreement to the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1994, this afternoon adopted a resolution in which it requested the Secretary-General of UNCTAD, in cooperation with the Executive Director of the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), to prepare the working document resulting from the current session. That document reflects the proposals made this week for the draft successor agreement.
The representatives of 58 countries and the European Community who attended the conference asked that it be reconvened from 14 to 18 February 2005. Their further called on the UNCTAD Secretary-General and ITTO head to "maintain appropriate contacts with producing and consuming countries with a view to assisting the conference in achieving a successful conclusion".
The conference was held from 26 to 30 July, under UNCTAD auspices. Carlos Antonio da Rocha Paranhos (Brazil) was President; Jürgen Blaser (Switzerland) was Vice-President. (For background, see UNCTAD/PRESS/PR2004/014).
