A sovereign State, member to both CITES and the Inter-American
Convention for the protection and the conservation of sea turtles sees its
sovereign rights under CITES, become obligations under the Inter-American
Convention.
The 1994 decision by CITES to authorize the rights for a Party to
CITES to establish ranching in sea turtle, is completely annihilated if that
Party is also a member of the Inter-American Convention. Under the
Inter-American Convention, the measures to be taken by the Party under Article
IV, a. includes 'the prohibition of the international capture, retention or
killing of, and domestic trade in, sea turtles, their eggs, parts or products;
'A ranching operation would put the Party in direct conflicts with the
Inter-American Convention, which creates the obligation not to use sea
turtles. At this point, the balance between the rights and obligations of that
CITES Party change with less rights and more obligations.
This is confirmed by Article IV, 2. b. which quotes: compliance with the
obligations established under the Convention on International Trade inn
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora …'.
It refers to obligations, with no reference whatsoever to the respect
of rights. Several new conventions such as the Inter-American Convention
are created for the purpose of denying possibility of use, and reducing
sovereign rights that exist under another convention (CITES), by changing
them into obligations under the new regime.
