I. Opening of the meeting

1. The second meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade was held at the Headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome, from 27 to 30 September 2005.

1. Opening of the meeting.

2. Organizational matters:

Item 1. Opening of the meeting

1. The second meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, to be held from 27 to 30 September 2005 at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome, will be opened at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, 27 September 2005.

Note by the secretariat

The secretariat has the honour to transmit to the Conference of the Parties, in an annex to the present note, information for the second meeting of the Conference prepared by the secretariat in consultation with its President, Mr. Philippe Roch (Switzerland).

Note by the secretariat

1. At its first meeting, held in Geneva from 20 to 24 September 2004, in decision RC-1/1, the Conference adopted the rules of procedure for the Conference of the Parties as contained in the annex to that decision, with the exception of the second sentence of paragraph 1 of rule 45.

Note by the secretariat

Introduction

1. Except as otherwise noted or where apparent from the context, the present note describes activities undertaken by the secretariat during the period from 1 May 2004 to 30 April 2005.

Corrigendum

Note by the secretariat

At its first meeting, the Conference of the Parties, in decision RC-1/17, on financing and budget for the biennium 2005–2006, approved an indicative operational budget of $3,542,159 for 2006. This budget was for the purposes set out in table 1 to the decision. It also decided that the indicative figure for 2006 would be reconsidered at the second meeting of the Conference of the Parties on the basis of recommendations made by the head(s) of the Convention secretariat. The Conference of the Parties also approved the staffing table of the Convention secretariat for the operational budget for 2005 and indicative staffing table for 2006.

Note by the secretariat

Introduction

1. The purpose of the present note is to provide the Conference of the Parties with information on the status of implementation of the Rotterdam Convention, as at 30 April 2005, as requested by the Conference of the Parties at its first meeting in September 2004. The information provided in the present note includes a summary of the information circulated to designated national authorities by the secretariat through the PIC Circular pursuant to articles 4–7, 10, 11 and 14 of the Convention. The PIC Circular is published every six months, in June and December. The present note includes information on the status of implementation for Parties and for participating States. Also included is information relating to provisions in articles 12, 14 and 16, including activities of Parties which are not reported in the PIC Circular.

Note by the secretariat

I. Background

1. At its first meeting, held in Geneva from 20 to 24 September 2004, the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade decided, in accordance with paragraph 6 of article 18 of the Convention, to establish a chemical review committee.

Note by the secretariat

The first meeting of the Chemical Review Committee was held in Geneva from 11 to 18 February 2005. The secretariat has the honour to submit to the Conference of the Parties, in annex to the present note, the report of that meeting.

Note by the secretariat

Annexed to the present note is a paper prepared by the secretariat providing relevant background information and a summary of the deliberations of the Chemical Review Committee at its first meeting on selected issues that it wanted to be brought forward to the second meeting of the Conference of the Parties. The full report of the first meeting of the Chemical Review Committee is available in document UNEP/FAO/RC/COP.2/8.

Note by the secretariat

The secretariat has the honour to submit, in the annex to the present note, a study, prepared in response to the request in decision RC-1/5, on the possible options for lasting and sustainable financial mechanisms which will enable developing countries to implement adequately the provisions of the Convention. The study is being circulated without formal editing.

Note by the secretariat

1. In its article 17, the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade states:

Note by the secretariat

1. In its decision RC-1/14 on the regional delivery of technical assistance, adopted at its first meeting, the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade requested the secretariat to report to the Conference of the Parties at its second meeting on the experience gained in implementing the regional delivery of technical assistance to the Parties of the Convention.

Note by the Secretariat

I. Introduction

1. At the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties, several representatives questioned whether the existence of international trade in a chemical constituted a prerequisite for that chemical to be addressed in the Convention, and requested the secretariat to prepare a document on the subject for consideration by the Conference of the Parties at its second meeting. The present note, prepared in pursuance of that request, highlights the relevant provisions of the Convention, with a view to responding to the question raised by representatives.

Note by the secretariat

1. Article 19, paragraph 3, the Rotterdam Convention provides:

Addendum

Note by the secretariat

1. At its first meeting, in decision RC-1/15 on cooperation with the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade requested the secretariat to take the following actions:

Note by the secretariat

1. The Rotterdam Convention states, in article 13, paragraph 1:

Note by the secretariat

1. The present paper addresses the issue of communication with Governments and observers. The purpose of the paper is to initiate the process of consultation with Governments on their preferred official channels of communication and to develop a list of observers in line with the rules of procedure for the Conference of the Parties.

Note by the secretariat

1. In its decision RC-1/17, on financing and budget for the biennium 2005–2006, the Conference of the Parties at its first session included a number of actions to facilitate the financial operation of the Convention following its entry into force.