Within its mandate to improve the implementation of and compliance with Article 5 of the Convention the Committee was requested to undertake a number of activities.
By its decision BC-16/14, the Conference of the Parties mandated the Committee to review Parties’ implementation of and compliance with the obligation to designate competent authorities and a focal point pursuant to Article 5, including any common difficulties or issues being faced by Parties with respect to the obligation to inform the Secretariat, within one month of the date of decision, of any changes made by them to the designation of such country contacts, and make recommendations to the Conference of the Parties.
In a letter dated 18 January 2024, the Secretariat wrote to 103 Parties that made updates to their designated country contacts in 2023, either by notifying the Secretariat thereof, or through the transmission of their national report for the year 2022 due by 31 December 2023, inviting completion by 1 March 2024 of a questionnaire seeking information on being faced by Parties with respect to the obligation to inform the Secretariat, within one month of the date of decision, of any changes made by them to the designation of such country contacts. The responses received to the questionnaire are set out in the table below.