For the first time, information about international trade in chemicals controlled by the Rotterdam Convention is now being systematically collected and analysed on the challenges being faced by both importing and exporting Parties. A valuable source of information that feeds into other work under the Convention, the analyses done by the Compliance Committee has led to a better identification of Parties’ needs and recommendations about how technical assistance could be tailored to address Parties’ needs.

As a priority, the Committee considered the case of one Party facing difficulties with designating its contacts under the Convention. The Committee agreed to continue communications with and support to this Party to lead to the designation of its national authority, which is the foundation enabling Parties to exchange information to control the international trade of hazardous chemicals and pesticides.

The Committee has been monitoring the work of similar bodies and explored lessons from implementation and compliance bodies of other multilateral environmental agreements to inform its work. This fed into the development of a template that Parties could use when making submissions of non-compliance to the Committee, to facilitate this process and make help available to Parties. The template has been recommended for adoption by the governing body of the Convention, as well as a recommendation to encourage Parties to use this resource.

Mr. Osvaldo Alvarez-Perez, Chair of the Committee, highlighted:   
“The Committee's role primarily involves facilitating communication and providing a platform for parties to express their challenges, potentially providing mediation or facilitate discussions among relevant stakeholders to seek collaborative approaches in addressing the challenges at hand”.

Over three days, Committee members and observers from governments and non-governmental organizations met in FAO headquarters, one of the seats of the Rotterdam Convention Secretariat. This situation helps to provide tailormade support to Parties, with a team of experts in the Plant Production and Protection Division supporting Parties with pesticides issues in Rome and a team within the United Nations Environment Programme in Geneva supporting Parties in relation to industrial chemicals.

The Committee considered systemic issues of general compliance with implementing the obligations under the Convention and tackled a wide range of matters including relating to laws, notifications under the Convention and information exchange, as well as related to cooperation with the Implementation and Compliance Committee of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal.

The second meeting of the Compliance Committee (CC-2) of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade took place in Rome, Italy, from 19 to 21 March 2024. Hosted at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The members of the Committee worked tirelessly to provide support to Parties dealing with individual compliance issues and with systemic issues with obligations under the Convention.

NOTES

The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade is jointly administered by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The 166 Parties to this legally binding Convention share responsibility and cooperate to safely manage chemicals in international trade. To date, 55 hazardous chemicals and pesticides are listed in its Annex III, making their international trade subject to a prior informed consent (PIC) procedure.

The Rotterdam Convention Compliance Committee deals with specific submissions relating to the compliance of an individual Party and reviews systemic issues of general compliance.

The Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions (BRS Secretariat) brings together three leading multilateral environment agreements that share the common objective of protecting human health and the environment from hazardous chemicals and waste.

The Rotterdam Convention Compliance Committee benefits from generous financial support provided by Switzerland.

For information on the Rotterdam Convention Compliance Committee, contact: Ms. Yvonne Ewang-Sanvincenti, Legal Officer, Yvonne.ewang-sanvincent@un.org and Mr. Mario Yarto, Agricultural  Officer, mario.yarto@fao.org

For media inquiries, contact: Ms. Asana Greenstreet, BRS Public Information Officer, asana.greenstreet@un.org

The 19th Chemical Review Committee meeting recommended that chlorpyrifos and mercury be listed in Annex III to the Convention.

The 19th meeting of the Chemical Review Committee (CRC-19) of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade convened in Rome, Italy, from 3 to 6 October 2023. Held at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CRC-19 recommended that chlorpyrifos and mercury be listed in Annex III and thus become subject to the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure of the Rotterdam Convention. The CRC experts will now start developing draft decision guidance documents to accompany the recommendations on those chemicals to be considered by the Convention’s governing body, the Conference of the Parties.

CRC-19 was chaired by Ms. Noluzuko Gwayi from South Africa, leading the intense deliberations among twenty-eight government-designated experts in chemicals management present and elected by the Conference of the Parties. Seventy-one observers representing twenty-four governments and twenty-six non-governmental organisations also participated in the meeting.

The CRC experts also finalized two draft decision guidance documents on paraquat and methyl bromide, previously recommended for listing in Annex III at the Committee’s eighteenth meeting.

The recommendations on the listing of chemicals, together with their draft decision guidance documents, will be considered during the next meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention (COP-12), which will be held in 2025 in Geneva. Should COP-12, based on the recommendations of the Committee, decide to amend Annex III to the Convention to list these chemicals, they will become subject to the PIC procedure. This enables the currently 165 Parties to the Rotterdam Convention to take informed decisions on potential future imports of these chemicals.

Chlorpyrifos is an insecticide widely used in agriculture. It is a highly toxic organophosphate insecticide known to have adverse effects on the nervous system, particularly to children and pregnant women, and genotoxic potential, hence posing significant health risks.

Mercury is used in particular in small-scale artisanal gold mining, as well as products such as lamps, batteries, medical and measuring devices and dental amalgam. It is a toxic heavy metal that, when absorbed into the human body, can cause severe neurological and developmental issues, as well as harm to the kidneys, lungs, and other vital organs. Mercury is subject to global regulation through the Minamata Convention, which aims to mitigate and reduce its environmental and human health impacts.

Methyl bromide, historically used as a soil fumigant and pest control agent in agriculture, is known for its high toxicity to humans and the environment. Due to its adverse environmental impacts and ozone-depleting properties, methyl bromide has been listed as a controlled substance under the Montreal Protocol, leading to efforts to phase out its production and use worldwide.

Paraquat is widely used as a herbicide to control weeds in agriculture. Paraquat is highly toxic, primarily affecting the lungs, skin, and other internal organs, with ingestion or inhalation leading to severe health risks, including pulmonary fibrosis and organ failure.

The Rotterdam Convention promotes shared responsibility and facilitates cooperative efforts among its Parties to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of hazardous chemicals and pesticides.

NOTES TO EDITORS 

The Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS Secretariat) brings together the three leading multilateral environmental agreements that share the common objective of protecting human health and the environment from hazardous chemicals and wastes. 

http://www.brsmeas.org/

For information on pesticides under the Rotterdam Convention, contact: Christine Fuell, Executive Secretary a.i. of the Rotterdam Convention, christine.fuell@fao.org

For information on industrial chemicals under the Rotterdam Convention, contact: Abiola Olanipekun, Chief, Science and Technical Assistance Branch, abiola.olanipekun@un.org

For media inquiries, contact: Asana Greenstreet, BRS Secretariat Public Information Officer, asana.greenstreet@un.org

The 18th Chemical Review Committee recommended that methyl bromide and paraquat be listed under Annex III to the Convention.

The 18th meeting of the Chemical Review Committee (CRC-18) of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade convened in Rome, Italy, from 19 to 23 September 2022. Held at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CRC-18 recommended that two pesticides, paraquat and methyl bromide, be listed in Annex III to the Rotterdam Convention. The CRC experts will now start developing draft decision guidance documents to accompany the recommendations on those pesticides when brought to the Convention’s governing body, the Conference of the Parties.

Paraquat is a highly toxic herbicide, widely used for weed control, while methyl bromide is primarily applied in fumigation sites. In addition, methyl bromide is a potent ozone-depleting substance, controlled by the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

CRC-18 was chaired by Ms. Noluzuko Gwayi from South Africa, leading the intense deliberations between thirty government-designated experts. Almost fifty observers representing 20 governments and seven non-governmental organisations also participated in the meeting.

The CRC experts finalised two draft decision guidance documents on terbufos and iprodione, chemicals that were recommended for listing in Annex III to the Rotterdam Convention at the Committee’s seventeenth meeting. The recommendations on the listing of iprodione and terbufos, together with these draft decision guidance documents, will be considered during the next meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention (COP-11), which will be held in May 2023 in Geneva. Should COP-11, based on the recommendations of the Committee, decide to adopt amend Annex III to the Convention to list these two pesticides, they will become subject to the Prior Informed Consent procedure, which enables the 165 Parties to the Rotterdam Convention to share responsibility on and take informed decisions on potential future imports.

Presently, Annex III to the Convention lists 52 chemicals, 35 of which are pesticides. Terbufos had been registered for use as an insecticide in various crops, and banned by Parties that notified the Convention Secretariat of their actions, which among other reasons were due to its high risk for aquatic and terrestrial organisms and risk to human health under conditions of use. Iprodione had been registered for use as a fungicide in vines, fruit trees and vegetables, and had been banned by the notifying Parties as it is highly toxic for aquatic life and potentially causes cancer.

In addition to the above, CRC-18 undertook the herculean task of reviewing a significant number of notifications of Final Regulatory Actions to ban or severely restrict ten pesticides, received from: China, Colombia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mozambique, Norway, Türkiye and Uruguay,.

The Rotterdam Convention promotes shared responsibility and facilitates cooperation among its Parties to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of hazardous chemicals and pesticides.

NOTES TO EDITORS

The Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS Secretariat) brings together the three leading multilateral environmental agreements that share the common objective of protecting human health and the environment from hazardous chemicals and wastes.
https://www.brsmeas.org/

For information on the Rotterdam Convention, contact: Christine Fuell, FAO Senior Technical Officer, christine.fuell@fao.org

For media inquiries, contact: Marisofi Giannouli, BRS Associate Public Information Officer, marisofi.giannouli@un.org

Pierce Brosnan and Dominic Thiem salute Basel Convention’s work to foster the environmentally sound management of plastic waste.

Geneva, 17 June 2022 — The 2021-2022 meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS COPs) come to a close today after marathon proceedings that begun with the online segment in July 2021, continued with the High-level Segment in Stockholm, Sweden,  on 1 June 2022 in association with the Stockholm+50 international meeting, and were finalized with the face-to-face segment in Geneva, Switzerland from 6 to 17 June 2022. Under the theme “Global Agreements for a Healthy Planet: Sound Management of Chemicals and Waste”, the hybrid BRS COPs were attended by over 1500 delegates from around the world.

Basel Convention

Upon the proposal by Ghana and Switzerland, the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention (BC COP-15) adopted landmark amendments to Annexes II, VIII and IX, which ensure that all transboundary movements of e-wastes, whether hazardous or not, are subject to the prior informed consent of the importing state and any state of transit. This bold decision not only protects vulnerable countries from unwanted imports, but also fosters the environmentally sound management of e-wastes with state-of-the-art technology and thus contributes to a circular economy.

In addition, BC COP-15 adopted technical guidelines on mercury wastes, as well as three updated technical guidelines on the environmentally sound management of wastes from Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). Other adopted technical guidelines included the environmentally sound incineration of hazardous and other wastes as covered by disposal operations D10 and R1, and the environmentally sound disposal of hazardous wastes and other wastes in specially engineered landfill (D5).

Decisions were taken to update the technical guidelines on the environmentally sound management of waste lead-acid batteries, to initiate the development of technical guidelines on the environmentally sound management of other waste batteries, and to move forward on electronic approaches to the notification and movement documents.

BC COP-15 also continued the small intersessional working group to prepare findings and improve the strategic framework of the Convention for 2012–2021, initiated a new track of work to improve the functioning of the Prior Informed Consent procedure, and adopted new measures on tackling plastic wastes.

COP-15 further welcomed the work of the Implementation and Compliance Committee to support individual Parties overcome their compliance difficulties, and adopted two guidance documents it to improve the implementation of the Convention’s prior informed consent procedure – one of transit transboundary movements and the other on insurance, bond and guarantee.

Finally, COP-15 agreed to further consider the amendments put forward by the European Union to amend Annex IV of the Convention which is key to determining when a substance or object is to be considered a waste falling within the scope of the Convention.

Rotterdam Convention

The tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention (RC COP-10) engaged in very extensive and inclusive discussions on chemicals and pesticides, and listed two industrial chemicals: decabromodiphenyl ether, and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA-related compounds. This listing will make these chemicals subject to the Prior Informed Consent procedure, thereby granting Parties the right to decide on their future import.

“Parties explicitly thanked the Secretariat and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for their support to identify less hazardous alternatives to the pesticides on the agenda” said Christine Fuell, Coordinator of the FAO part of the Rotterdam Convention Secretariat. However, no consensus to list them could be reached due to just a few of the 160 Parties present objecting. Numerous delegates commended the Chemical Review Committee for its excellent work in reviewing the chemicals and pesticides recommended for listing, and noted with disappointment that most of the reasons brought forward to object listings fell outside the scope of the Rotterdam Convention.

On a positive note, RC COP-10 agreed on the work programme for the newly established Compliance Committee. This important subsidiary body will take up its work as soon as possible and is expected to further improve the implementation of the Rotterdam Convention.

Stockholm Convention

The tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention (SC COP-10) listed perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), its salts, and PFHxS-related compounds in Annex A to the Convention, setting them for elimination. PFHxS, its salts and related substances have a high resistance to friction, heat, and chemical agents. They are widely used in firefighting foam, carpets, and non-stick cookware. They have been found to influence the human nervous system, brain development, and thyroid hormone.

In addition, a process was put in place for Parties to provide information on a voluntary basis about cases of trade occurring in contravention of the Stockholm Convention, building on the positive experience under the Basel Convention which sets out a similar process.

SC COP-10 also adopted decisions on two of the initial POPs listed under the Convention: PCB and DDT. On PCB, the SC COP urged Parties to step up their efforts by immediately implementing actions to eliminate its use in equipment by 2025, and to achieve the environmentally sound management of relevant PCB wastes by 2028. On DDT, the COP noted that, while there is a continued need for DDT for indoor residual spraying in specific settings for malaria vector control, it is assumed that DDT use may not be needed after 2030. Parties still using DDT for disease vector control were invited to review their needs, while a decision was taken to initiate a consultative process on a possible DDT phase-out plan.

Plastics Forum

From 8 to 10 June, the BRS COPs hosted the Plastics Forum, a multi-stakeholder event dedicated to promoting the environmentally sound management of plastic waste. The Plastics Forum, which featured more than 20 side events held in a 3-D virtual platform, marked the peak of the Plastic is Forever campaign, with a hackathon, a photo exhibition, the launch of a social media challenge, and an illuminations show on Geneva’s Palais des Nations. Two of the campaign’s promotional videos were screened during the closing plenary of the BRS COPs, featuring Hollywood stars Pierce Brosnan and his son Paris, as well as professional tennis player Dominic Thiem. The videos will be officially released on 21 June 2022, with a separate press release to follow.

Τhe three conference meetings strengthened the mandate for international cooperation with other organizations, including the Minamata Convention on mercury, in support of the recently adopted resolutions by the United Nations Environment Assembly to forge a new international legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution, and to establish a science policy panel to contribute further to the sound management of chemicals and waste and prevent pollution.

The 2023 BRS COPs will be held next May in the Bahamas.

NOTES TO EDITORS

The Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS Secretariat) brings together the three leading multilateral environmental agreements that share the common objective of protecting human health and the environment from hazardous chemicals and wastes. www.brsmeas.org

Communication material is available on the BRS Secretariat Trello: https://trello.com/b/iEDpXNHv/the-basel-rotterdam-and-stockholm-conventions

For media inquiries contact: Marisofi Giannouli, BRS Associate Public Information Officer, marisofi.giannouli@un.org