Format and dates of the meeting
Taking into account the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic situation and in order to ensure the health and safety of all meeting participants, the seventeenth meeting of the Chemical Review Committee (CRC-17) will be held by electronic means from 20 to 24 September 2021. The entire meeting, including plenary sessions and group meetings will be conducted online. In order to allow all members and observers to fully and effectively participate in the meeting, input by email may be invited within time limits to be specified by the Chair if it becomes clear that participants are experiencing connectivity problems during the online meeting.
Schedule of the meeting
CRC-17 will be opened on Monday, 20 September 2021, at 1 p.m. (UTC+2) during the online session. Plenary sessions will take place online every day from 20 to 24 September 2021 from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (UTC+2). If possible, contact/drafting groups will be held within the same timeslot of 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (UTC+2).
The tentative schedule of CRC-17 (UNEP/FAO/RC/CRC.17/INF/2 ), as agreed by the Bureau, is available.
Pre-meetings of the intersessional task groups will be held on 14 and 15 September 2021, from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (UTC+2). The schedule of pre-meetings is available on the task group webpage .
Meeting documents
The provisional agenda, other pre-session documents, including the scenario note and the tentative schedule of work, are made available on the documents webpage.
Language of the meeting
As per decision RC-1/6 on the establishment of the Chemical Review Committee and in line with usual arrangements, the meeting will take place in English only.
Technical details of the meeting
The location of the intranet site accessible by all participants during the meeting will be provided to registered participants by email prior to the meeting.
Please note that the intranet page will be activated a few days before the meeting. Until then, all relevant information pertaining to the meeting will be posted on the meeting website at: www.pic.int/crc17. As per past practice, this intranet site will contain pre-session documents, in-session documents (Conference Room Papers), the draft meeting report, submissions from members and observers, information on the daily schedule, etc.
The online sessions will be conducted via Webex. All registered participants will receive the links to the online sessions by email.
Further detailed instructions and guidance on how to participate in the Webex sessions will be made available in a detailed user guide.
Registered participants will also receive an e-mail invitation for test sessions before the meeting to ensure that they are technically ready to connect to the Webex system. We strongly urge you to participate in at least one of the test sessions in order to ensure that your audio devices are working properly and that you can participate effectively in the meeting.
Please note that the Chair will speedily proceed to the opening of the meeting on Monday, 20 September 2021, at 1 p.m. (UTC+2). You are invited to connect to the online sessions 30 minutes before the start to once more confirm that your audio settings are working well.
Participants are invited to take note of the following important email addresses and telephone numbers:
- If you have questions on technical issues to connect to the intranet site and/or online sessions, encounter any technical issues and/or require technical support: email: ITsupport@brsmeas.org and telephone: +41 22 917 8229 or +41 79 203 7614
- If you wish to submit a Conference Room Paper (members only): crp@brsmeas.org
Communication allowance (for eligible members from developing countries and countries with economies in transition only)
During the COVID-19 pandemic situation that imposes limitations on travel and mass gatherings, as well as teleworking due to domestic lockdowns, the Secretariat will provide an exceptional support for the reimbursement of communication costs (i.e. costs incurred to secure a reliable and good quality internet connection) to assist eligible Committee members from developing countries and countries with economies in transition to participate in the meeting.
For more information about the Secretariat’s policy and modalities for the reimbursement of communication costs for eligible members to participate in online meetings, please kindly consult the supplemental information on the reimbursement of communication costs for online meetings.
Guidelines for rules of conduct for meeting participants
The attention of meeting participants is drawn to the following guidelines for rules of conduct developed:
- Guidelines on the use of cameras and audio/video recording devices by participants at meetings of the conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions (BRS) and their subsidiary bodies;
- Guidelines for the participation of representatives of observers at meetings of the conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions (BRS) and their subsidiary bodies;
- Guidelines on preventing and addressing all forms of harassment at meetings of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions.
Preparatory briefings
A number of online briefings are being organized prior to the meeting whose schedule will be available on the meeting website. These briefings will provide an overview of the issues that will be considered at the meeting and will also take place on the Webex platform. The briefings are open to all meeting participants, as well as Parties to the Rotterdam Convention, observers and stakeholders in general.