Swaziland's bid is a surprise after neighboring South Africa, which will host the next major CITES conference in September, decided not to push to loosen a global ban in trade in rhino horn in force since 1977.
It also comes against the backdrop of a surge in poaching of rhinos for the animal's horn, which is coveted in Vietnam and other Asian countries as an ingredient in traditional medicine. A record 1,305 rhinos were illegally killed in Africa last year.