Bonn, 18 September 2002 - Shafqat Kakakhel, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Federal German Minister of Environment Jürgen Trittin signed a new Headquarters Agreement. [click here for picture of the signing ceremony]

It conveys CMS the same status as the Secretariats of United Nations Framework of Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) and the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). CMS came to Bonn as the first UN-Secretariat. The Agreement is likewise open for signature to the Agreement Secretariats of European Bats (EUROBATS), the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) and Small Cetaceans in the Baltic and North Seas (ASCOBANS).
[click here for picture]