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