The CITES 18th Meeting of the Parties Scheduled for May 28 – June3 in Colombo, Sri Lanka has been postponed to a date to be confirmed, possibly October, following the attacks last month in Sri Lanka.

The CITES secretariat said in a statement, “This decision has been taken out of respect for the victims of the recent attacks and the recognition by the Standing Committee, the Secretariat and the United Nations Department of Safety and Security of the time needed for the Government of Sri Lanka to address the current situation in the country”.