17 July 2014: The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) Secretariat has announced that Uganda has deposited its instrument of accession to the Gorilla Agreement. It will thus become the 7th party to the Agreement on 1 October 2014, with Angola, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea remaining as the only non-Party range States. The Gorilla Agreement is the first dedicated agreement for conserving gorillas and their habitats across all ten range states, providing a legally-binding framework to maintain and restore gorilla populations and habitats.

The CMS Secretariat has also announced that a Revised Regional Action Plan for the Conservation of the Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) 2014-2019 has been developed by a group of stakeholders, led by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)/Species Survival Commission (SSC) Primate Specialist Group and the Wildlife Conservation Society, and with financial assistance from Norway. The revised Action Plan will be considered for adoption at the Third Meeting of Parties to the Gorilla Agreement (MOP3).

The CMS Secretariat has further announced that MOP3 will be postponed until further notice, following a recommendation by the CMS Standing Committee discouraging the practice of holding meetings of species agreements back-to-back with meetings of the Conference of the Parties, and due to a lack of funds. The CMS Secretariat has encouraged Parties to pay their annual contributions to the Gorilla Agreement and requested offers for financial support for MOP3 from Parties and other donors. [CMS Press Release] [Revised Regional Action Plan for the Conservation of the Cross River Gorilla] [CMS Gorilla Agreement]