Posted on Fri, 03 Oct 2025, 15:26

Deadline on Fri, 31 Oct 2025, 23:59

The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat is soliciting nominations for appropriately qualified experts to establish an Expert Working Group to develop an International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) on the Safe provision of humanitarian aid in the phytosanitary context (2021-020).  This standard should provide guidance for the NPPOs of origin, transit and recipient countries on the safe movement of regulated articles as humanitarian aid.

Nominations are due on 31 October 2025.

Experts should be available to attend the face-to-face meeting which is tentatively scheduled from 2-6 March 2026 in Nadi, Republic of Fiji.

The group will operate in English language (without interpretation), so experts should have a strong working knowledge of English.

1. Specific expertise required

Members should have knowledge and expertise in one or more of the following areas:

• providing or receiving humanitarian aid;
• plant-health policy, the management of pest risk and the provisions of the IPPC;
• clearance, pest risk assessment or management of imported goods, preferably under operating conditions compromised by disaster; and
• emergency management systems.

The Standards Committee (SC) will select the experts based on how closely an expert’s skills and experience match the specific expertise required.

The tasks of the Expert Working Group are described in the Specification 77 that has been updated by the CPM Focus Group on Safe Provision of Food and Other Humanitarian Aid and approved by the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures Nineteenth Session (CPM-19).

2. Instructions for making nominations

Nominations can be submitted both by e-mail and via the online form no later than 31 October 2025.

Nominations will be accepted from contracting parties, national or regional plant protection organizations (NPPOs or RPPOs) through their respective NPPO or RPPO official IPPC Contact Point and self-nominations should be supported by an accompanying letter from the respective IPPC contact point.

A nomination should only be made if the nominee has agreed to his/her nomination, is available for the meeting dates as posted on the IPPC Calendar and can allocate appropriate time to the tasks as outlined in the Statement of Commitment. Each nomination must be accompanied by the following documentation:

1. Completed nominee details and summary of expertise form

2. Completed and signed Statement of Commitment form

3. The nominee's Curriculum Vitae (CV)

The templates for the summary of expertise form and the Statement of Commitment form are posted below on this webpage.

2.1 Nominations by e-mail

Submissions should be sent to the IPPC Secretariat by e-mail ([email protected], put in copy [email protected] and [email protected]) no later than 31 October 2025. The name of the nominating country or RPPO and the words “Call for EWG experts - Safe provision of humanitarian aid in the phytosanitary context” should be placed in the subject line of the email message.

The email should contain the following three attachments:

1. Completed nominee details and summary of expertise form – (only as a word processing file such as MS Word). All sections should be completed, including contact details, education and professional training. A clear description of the nominee’s expertise is required.

The file should be named as follows: COUNTRY_SURNAME_Firstname_Summary;

2. Completed and signed Statement of Commitment form – this should be read carefully by each nominee and discussed between the nominee and their employer. The form should then be signed by the nominee and a senior person in authority from the organization that employs the nominee.

The form should be submitted with the nomination (as a scanned image file such as PDF). The file should be named as follows: COUNTRY_SURNAME_Firstname_commitment;

3. The nominee’s Curriculum Vitae (CV) – electronic copy of the nominee’s CV.

The file should be named as follows: COUNTRY_SURNAME_Firstname_CV.

2.2. Online Submission form

The online submission form should be completed no later than 31 October 2025. It allows you to work offline as well. After completing the form, a confirmation email will be sent to the specified email address with the completed form attached.

The online form will generate the following:

1. Completed nominee details and summary of expertise online form (the forms are enclosed for ease of reference);

You will have to attach to the online submission form the following documents:

2. Completed and signed Statement of Commitment form – should be read carefully by each nominee and discussed between the nominee and their employer. The form should then be signed by the nominee and a senior person in authority from the organization that employs the nominee. The form should be submitted with the nomination (as a scanned image file such as a PDF). The file should be named as follows: COUNTRY_SURNAME_Firstname_commitment;

3. The nominee's Curriculum Vitae (CV) – electronic copy of the nominee's CV with the file named as follows: COUNTRY_SURNAME_Firstname_CV.

The online form is available here after logging in as the NPPO: https://ee-kobo.fao.org/x/No3lXzvd

4. Funding for experts to attend meetings

The organization that employs an IPPC meeting participant is responsible for funding the travel and daily subsistence allowance for that person to attend. If the employer is unable to allocate sufficient funds, participants are first encouraged to seek assistance from sources other than the IPPC Secretariat. Where such demonstrated efforts to secure assistance have been unsuccessful, requests for assistance (i.e. travel and subsistence costs) from the IPPC Secretariat may be made. However, any support is subject to available funds. The IPPC Secretariat will consider funding assistance for participants following IPPC criteria for funding. Full details on these criteria can be found on the IPP (https://www.ippc.int/publications/criteria-used-prioritizing-participants-receive-travel-assistance-attend-meetings).

It is expected that participants will attend all sessions of the meeting and those participants who plan to attend only part of a meeting should fund their own travel.

For more information about this call, please contact [email protected] or [email protected].