Notification

Diplomatic Note 2025/2: 15th meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Wetlands

Date: 17.02.2025

CONVENTION ON WETLANDS
CONVENTION SUR LES ZONES HUMIDES
CONVENCIÓN SOBRE LOS HUMEDALES
(Ramsar, Iran, 1971)
 
 
Diplomatic Note 2025/2
 
15th meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties
to the Convention on Wetlands
 
“Protecting wetlands for our common future”
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, 23-31 July 2025
 

The Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands presents its compliments to the Permanent Missions and Administrative Authorities of the Contracting Parties to the Convention, and has the honour to share information regarding the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Wetlands (COP15), which will take place from 23 to 31 July 2025 in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
 
Registration for COP15
 
The online registration is open from 14 February to 30 June 2025 at https://contacts.ramsar.org/register-cop15. After this deadline, participants will be required to register on-site.
 
Upon completing the online registration, delegates will receive an automated message subsequently followed by an email confirming the registration.
 
Contracting Parties are encouraged to promote gender parity in their delegations, in accordance with Resolution XIII.18 on Gender and wetlands.
 
Agenda and documentation for COP15
 
The provisional agenda of COP15 is available at the Convention’s website: https://www.ramsar.org/meeting/15th-meeting-conference-contracting-parties. Documentation will be published at the same address three months before the conference.
 
65th and 66th meetings of the Standing Committee
 
The 65th meeting of the Standing Committee (SC65) will take place on 23 July and the Standing Committee’s 66th meeting (SC66) on 31 July 2025 in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Documentation for these meetings will be available at the Convention’s website at:
https://www.ramsar.org/meeting/65th-meeting-standing-committee  
https://www.ramsar.org/meeting/66th-meeting-standing-committee

Credentials
 
Representatives of Contracting Parties are invited to submit credentials in accordance with Rule 18 of the Rules of Procedure for meetings of the Conference of the Contracting Parties. Detailed requirements, submission modalities, and a template are provided below. Contracting Parties are requested to initiate this process as soon as possible.
 
To comply with Rule 19 of the Rules of Procedure, Contracting Parties are requested to nominate a regional representative of each region of the Convention for the Credentials Committee by 2 July 2025 and share this information with the Secretariat via email to secretariat@ramsar.org. Standing Committee members are encouraged to facilitate regional consultations in advance of the deadline.
 
Financial support
 
The Secretariat provides financial support for one delegate per Contracting Party listed on the OECD DAC list of aid recipient countries or on the UN Conference on Trade and Development’s List of Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Eligible delegates must register by 15 April 2025 to be considered. A nomination letter for sponsorship signed by the Head of the Administrative Authority or National Focal Point for the Convention must be uploaded during the online registration process.
 
Visa requirements for entry into Zimbabwe
 
For detailed information on the visa requirements, please visit https://www.evisa.gov.zw/faq.html. This process should be carried out as early as possible as visa formalities may take some time.
 
Side events
 
Applications to host a side event at COP15 should be submitted by 31 March 2025 at https://contacts.ramsar.org/cop15-sideevent-request. Information on side event logistics, including assigned times, dates and the catering contact, will be shared with side event organizers at a later date.
 
The Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the Permanent Missions and Administrative Authorities of the Contracting Parties to the Convention the assurance of its highest consideration.

Gland, 17 February 2025
 
 
Requirements and modalities on the submission of credentials
 
1. According to Rule 18.1 of the Rules of Procedure for meetings of the Conference of the
Contracting Parties “the original of the statement of credentials of the Head of the Delegation and other representatives, alternate representatives and advisers (specifying the individual named as the Head of Delegation) shall be submitted to the Secretary General, no later than 48 hours after the opening of the meeting. Submission of the statement of credentials may be done digitally, conditional upon compliance with the terms set out in Rule 18.3” (see item 3 below). “Any later change in the composition of the delegation shall also be submitted to Secretary General or the representative of the Secretary General.”
 
2. According to Rule 18.3, the credentials “shall be issued either by the Head of State or Government or by the Minister for Foreign Affairs or his/her equivalent. If other authorities in a Contracting Party are entitled to issue credentials for international meetings, this should be notified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with an original letter to the Secretary General at the time of submitting their credentials. Submission of credentials may be done in either hardcopy or digital form, with digital submission requiring authentication by a valid digital signature”.
 
3. The credentials should indicate the date and place where they were issued and, according to Rule 18.4, “must bear the name and position of the person who signs the credentials as well as the full signature of the appropriate authority or else be sealed and initialled by that authority. The seal and/or letterhead should clearly indicate that the credentials have been issued by the appropriate authority. When submitted digitally, the aforementioned criteria apply to the electronic copy of the credentials, and shall be accompanied by the electronic signature of the appropriate authority listed in the document.”
 
4. According to Rule 18.5, “A representative may not exercise the right to vote unless his/her name is clearly and unambiguously listed in the credentials.”
 
5. According to Rule 18.6, “If credentials are submitted in a language other than one of the official languages of the Convention, they shall be accompanied by a translation into one of the official languages, and the translation shall be produced and sealed or otherwise duly authorized by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs or its diplomatic representation, or the office of the Head of Delegation or the office of one of the delegates whose name is listed in the credentials.”
 
6. A sample template of a statement of credentials is included below.
 
 
Sample statement of credentials for the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
 
 
 
Letterhead [Head of State or Government or Minister of Foreign Affairs]

I, the undersigned [name of the Head of State or Government or Minister of Foreign Affairs], hereby make known that the following delegation has been duly appointed, authorized and empowered to represent [Country] at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Wetlands to be held from 23 to 31 July in the year 2025, in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe:
 
Head of Delegation [Name of Head of Delegation]
 
Alternate Head of Delegation [Name of Alternate Head of Delegation]
 
Representative(s) [Name of Representative(s)]
 
DONE in [name of City] on the [Day] of [Month] in the year [Year]
 
Name [of the Head of State or Government or Minister of Foreign Affairs]
 
Position [of the Head of State or Government or Minister of Foreign Affairs]
 
Seal and Signature [of the Head of State or Government or Minister of Foreign Affairs]
 
 
 
Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands
28 rue Mauverney, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 999 0170

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