Ratifications
The text of the Convention was finalized at a meeting of representatives of 80 countries in Washington, D.C., United States, on 3 March 1973. It was then open for signature until 31 December 1974. It entered into force after the 10th ratification by a signatory country, on 1 July 1975. Countries that signed the Convention become Parties by ratifying, accepting or approving it. By the end of 2003, all signatory countries had become Parties. States that were not signatories may become Parties by acceding to the Convention. As of 1 September 2012, 176 States had adhered to the Convention with Bahrain being the latest.
The CITES Convention includes provisions and rules for trade with non-Parties. Of the 193 member states of the United Nations, only 17 are not party to the treaty: Andorra, Angola, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Federated States of Micronesia, Haiti, Iraq, Kiribati, Lebanon, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Nauru, South Sudan, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Turkmenistan and Tuvalu. The Faroe Islands, a territory of Denmark, is also treated as a non-Party to CITES.
An amendment to the text of the Convention, known as the Gaborone Amendment would allow regional economic integration organizations (REIO), such as the European Union, to have the status of a member state. The REIO would vote at CITES meetings with the number of votes representing the number of members in the REIO, but it would not have any additional vote. This amendment has not yet been ratified by the requisite number of Parties, therefore it is not yet in force.
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