Entry into force of the Ban Amendment

Decision BC-10/3: Section A (extract) 

Section A of decision BC-10/3 invited Parties to continue to take concrete actions to encourage and assist Parties to ratify the Ban Amendment, including:

  1. Specific actions, such as the Nordic Initiative, to assist Parties; 
  2. Regional meetings; 
  3. Country-specific studies.

Parties also agreed an interpretation of paragraph 5 of Article 17 of the Basel Convention on amendments to the Convention.

 

BC-10/3: Indonesian-Swiss country-led initiative to improve the effectiveness of the Basel Convention 

A. Addressing the entry into force of the Ban Amendment

The Conference of the Parties,

Recognizing that there are parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, especially developing countries, that are facing specific challenges with regard to controlling imports as they are unable to manage hazardous and other wastes in an environmentally sound manner but continue to receive such wastes, which results in serious harm and needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency,

Noting that, while the amendment to the Basel Convention adopted by the Conference of the Parties by its decision III/1 (Ban Amendment) is one way of meeting that challenge, there are other ways of meeting it responsibly, especially through stringently applying the prior informed consent procedure, strengthening environmentally sound management and putting in place national legislation,

Bearing in mind decision VIII/30, by which the Conference of the Parties emphasizes that the parties to the Convention have the ultimate power to agree on the interpretation of the Convention,

Stressing the need for the parties to agree on an interpretation of paragraph 5 of Article 17 of the Convention as an important step in the development of the Convention,

  1. Welcomes the practical initiative and activities that have taken place in response to the call by the President of the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties for parties to expedite ratification of the Ban Amendment, so as to facilitate its entry into force, and invites parties to continue to take concrete actions towards encouraging and assisting parties to ratify the Amendment, including:
    (a) Specific actions, such as the Nordic Initiative, to assist parties facing legal and technical difficulties in ratifying the Ban Amendment;
    (b) Regional meetings;
    (c) Country-specific studies of the implications of ratification and entry into force of the Amendment;
  2. Agrees, without prejudice to any other multilateral environmental agreement, that the meaning of paragraph 5 of Article 17 of the Basel Convention should be interpreted to mean that the acceptance of three-fourths of those parties that were parties at the time of the adoption of the amendment is required for the entry into force of such amendment, noting that such an interpretation of paragraph 5 of Article 17 does not compel any party to ratify the Ban Amendment.