Towards implementation of the provisions of article 20 of the COMIFAC Treaty on the loss of voting rights- (2) Towards a new Acting Presidency of COMIFAC and renewal of COMIFAC statutory staff  - a plan of action adopted for the implementation of the Paris Agreements in the Congo Basin - organization of the Third Summit of COMIFAC Heads of State in Equatorial Guinea taking shape…

Please download the final communiqué of the extraordinary session of the Council of Ministers of the COMIFAC

Kinshasa, 12 May 2016. Under the distinguished patronage of the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, His Excellency Joseph Kabila Kabange and on invitation of the Minister of Water, Environment, Territorial Development and Urbanism of Burundi, Acting President of the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC) a special session of the Council of Ministers in charge of the Environment and Forestry of the COMIFAC member countries took place on 12 May 2016 in Kinshasa.

The main purpose of the session was on the one hand, to rule on the operational conditions for implementing the decisions of COP-21 Paris, and on the other hand, to consider some important matters relating to the life of the institution.

A number of countries honored the invitation, including: Burundi, Cameroon, the Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Chad, as well as representatives of sub-regional institutions and initiatives, international organizations such ECCAS, CEFDHAC, the Coopération Française, the  European Union CBFP Facilitation, GIZ, IUCN, GVTC, REDD+ Project.

The opening ceremony was punctuated by several speeches. These included statements by the Ambassador and Head of European Union Delegation in the DRC,  the CBFP Facilitator, the representative of the ECCAS Secretary General, the representative of the Acting President of COMIFAC and the Minister of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Sustainable Development of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, also acting as the representative of the Prime Minister, Head of Government.

The ministers discussed specific items on the agenda behind closed doors. Following fruitful exchanges, the Ministers came up with recommendations and resolutions. The resolutions addressed the following:

• The COMIFAC Annual Activity Report 2015 ,
• The  financial audit and accounting reports and internal audit reports of  COMIFAC for 2014 and 2015
• The situation of COMIFAC financing and staff ,
• Selection criteria for statutory staff of COMIFAC
• Decoding the Paris Climate Agreement,
• Analysis of  Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs),
• Negotiations for future climate negotiation events and the next Climate Conference in Bonn,
• The Action Plan on the implementation of  the Paris Climate Agreement and INDCs

At the end of this special session of the Council of Ministers, organized with the help of the European CBFP Facilitation, Norway, the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the German Technical Cooperation (GIZ) and the Global Environment Fund/World Bank through the REDD regional project, the Council warmly thanked the DRC which had kindly hosted the special session in accordance with applicable provisions. The next session of the Council of Ministers is leaning towards Rwanda. The Executive Secretariat will hold talks with the Rwandan authorities to confirm their interest in hosting the meeting and taking over the Acting Presidency of COMIFAC.

For more information on this session, please download the final communiqué below: